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History

Db Cooper

What is db cooper?

· James MacDonald

Key facts

Alias used Dan Cooper[1]
Flight Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305[1]
Route Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington[1]
Date November 24, 1971[1]
Ransom demanded $200,000 and four parachutes[2]
Outcome Identity and fate remain unknown[1]

D.B. Cooper is the widely used name for an unidentified airline hijacker who, in 1971, took $200,000 and four parachutes, then parachuted from a Northwest Orient plane; his identity and fate remain unknown.

Context

On November 24, 1971, a man using the alias Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 between Portland and Seattle, demanding $200,000 and four parachutes [1]. After the ransom was delivered and passengers released, he parachuted from the plane and was never seen again [1]. The name 'D.B. Cooper' came from a reporter mishearing the alias [1]. The case remains the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. commercial aviation history [3].

Documented claims

  • The name 'D.B. Cooper' came from a reporter mishearing the alias 'Dan Cooper.' [1]
  • Cooper parachuted from the aircraft after the ransom was paid and passengers were released. [1]
  • The case is described as the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. commercial aviation history. [3]

Questions and answers

Did they find D.B. Cooper's DNA?

The sources do not state that DNA evidence was found or used to identify him.

How much money did D.B. Cooper have?

He demanded and received $200,000 in ransom [2].

Why did D.B. Cooper get four parachutes?

The sources do not explain why he requested four parachutes, but he did demand them [2].

Did people ever find D.B. Cooper?

No, his identity and fate remain unknown [1].

Sources

  1. Who Was the Mysterious Hijacker D.B. Cooper? | HISTORY — history.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. D.B. Cooper - Clark County: A history — history.columbian.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  3. After 50 years of mystery, siblings claim hijacker DB Cooper was their father — theguardian.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in History