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Hosted by Leonard Nimoy, the 1979 episode examines the mysterious, unsolved case of the man who, on November 24, 1971, hijacked a Boeing 727, extorted $200,000 in ransom money, and then parachuted into the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest, never to be found.
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LearningTranscript
00:00During the waning hours of Thanksgiving Eve 1971, a Boeing 727 leaves Portland bound for Seattle.
00:10This plane and its passengers will become the most infamous skyjacking in American history.
00:17A man called D.P. Cooper by the news media jumped from the plane over dense forests carrying four parachutes and $200,000.
00:29Why is the crime still unsolved?
00:34Who is Cooper?
00:36Where is the money today?
00:46The day before Thanksgiving 1971 was busy as usual for air traffic.
00:52The air corridor between Portland and Seattle was crowded.
00:57By mid-afternoon, the bulk of departing passengers had left Portland International Airport.
01:06At approximately two o'clock, a man calling himself Dan Cooper arrived at one of the seven entrances to the terminal.
01:13As recreated for In Search Of, he passed anonymously through the 2,500 people who still remained.
01:25Flight 305, a milk run originating in Washington D.C., was on schedule for its quick stopover in Portland.
01:36Asking your board travels for Flight 728.
01:44Please pick up the white courtesy telephone...
01:45Dan Cooper purchased the ticket with cash for the last leg of the flight, Portland to Seattle.
01:51the airline clerk who sold him his ticket did not take any special notice of Cooper
01:57later through an error in newspaper reporting he was incorrectly identified as DB Cooper
02:06not Dan Cooper a mistake which often continues to this day
02:11at 2.30 boarding began for flight 305
02:19in the final stage of Cooper was the 36th passenger to board the plane
02:24Mr. Simpson please report to the baggage pickup area
02:28loading of both cargo and passengers was complete by 2.45
02:35the 727 carrying Cooper and his fellow passengers swung out onto the airport runways in the early
02:44twilight Portland Tower cleared flight 305 for takeoff at 2.58 p.m. the plane was lifting off
02:52when Cooper approached the stewardess and gave her a note it demanded $200,000 in $20 bills
03:00and four parachutes
03:02everything was to be delivered to him when the plane landed in Seattle
03:08the skyjacker calling himself Cooper was the first American to hold a plane and its passengers for ransom
03:16he established the dangerous precedent of air piracy for financial extortion
03:22which is still copied by many terrorists today
03:25but in Cooper's case it was an act of pure greed
03:29it was not a social protest
03:32not an outcry for political justice
03:35Cooper's only motivation was the money
03:40the way in which he carried out his crime was coldly calculated
03:46he reinforced his demands by opening a briefcase
03:50and showing the stewardess what appeared to be a bomb
03:53the stewardess reported directly to the captain
03:57who then communicated the skyjacker's demands to the airlines and the FAA
04:02Ralph Himmelsbach
04:06an FBI veteran with 29 years service
04:09was notified of a skyjacking in progress
04:12flight 305 from Portland to Seattle
04:17normally takes 36 minutes
04:19this day it would last more than two hours
04:23two of the passengers on that flight were Richard and Barbara Simmons
04:30they had asked us to remain in our seats
04:33and of course after two hours in the air
04:35I felt an urge to go back to the men's restroom
04:38and got up and walked down the aisle
04:40and noticed the expression of the stewardess
04:44who was rather horrified
04:46she glanced first at me getting walking up the aisle
04:50and then at B.B. Cooper
04:52and at the handbag by his side
04:55and then back at me again
04:57as if why are you doing what you're doing
04:59but as I walked past her into the men's room
05:04he turned around and looked very intently at me
05:08and I got a pretty good look
05:09I thought it rather strange that he was that interested in me
05:12and so I got a pretty good impression of him
05:17he was very alert and very much in command of the situation
05:21he knew what was going on
05:23and he was watching carefully every move of every passenger
05:26meanwhile law enforcement officers and airline officials
05:32were now preparing to meet Cooper's demands
05:35Earl Cossie
05:38a parachutist with 16 years experience
05:41and 3,200 jumps to his credit
05:44was asked to supply the four parachutes Cooper wanted
05:47by 3.34
05:51Captain Robert Scott
05:53was circling the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
05:56while airline officials collected the $200,000
06:00from a group of Seattle banks
06:02Cossie was quickly preparing the parachutes
06:07to be delivered to Cooper
06:08by mistake
06:10one was a ground training chute
06:12with its panels sewn shut
06:14thus making it defective
06:16at FBI headquarters
06:22a furious effort was being made
06:24to record each serial number
06:26on the $10,020 bills
06:28that would comprise the ransom demanded by Cooper
06:31a plane finally landed in Seattle
06:37at 5.46 p.m.
06:39it was brought to a remote area of the runway
06:42when we finally did land
06:45we landed way off in the far end of the field
06:51which I felt was just a way that showed
06:54that he had engineered things
06:56so that there was just no possible thing
06:58that could have gotten in his way
06:59he allowed the passengers to be unloaded
07:03but kept them grouped out on the airport
07:05for close to 45 minutes
07:06in the wind and the cold and the rain
07:08and a car met the airplane
07:11with the parachute and the money
07:13and we were rumored that that was there
07:16but none of us were allowed to leave
07:19until that had all taken place
07:22and then we were allowed slowly to walk across the airfield
07:25the flight crew and Cooper remained aboard the aircraft
07:30at 7.36 p.m.
07:33the plane refueled and prepared for flight
07:36headed south in low clouds, wind and showers
07:40Cooper demanded that the landing gear be kept down
07:44and displaying basic flight knowledge
07:47he also ordered the wing flap set at 15 degrees
07:51to slow the jet's speed
07:52the air force scrambled jet fighters
08:01from McCord Air Force Base near Tacoma
08:03to follow the plane from a safe distance
08:06trying to find and follow a low-flying 727
08:25even with radar vectors
08:27is like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack
08:31about 20 minutes later
08:38Cooper ordered the entire crew
08:41to stay locked in the front of the plane
08:43at 8.11 p.m.
08:55the crew felt a sudden change
08:57in the pressure throughout the plane
08:59because of the inclement weather
09:05no one, including the air force jets
09:08ever saw Cooper jump or a chute open
09:11the territory in which Cooper jumped
09:15was to be searched by planes, helicopters
09:17and trackers on foot
09:19both Washington and Oregon
09:22possessed some of the most impenetrable forests
09:25in the country
09:26that Cooper would pick these areas
09:29may provide clues to his identity
09:31for the present
09:33all we have
09:35is an artist's rendering of his face
09:37who was Cooper?
09:41why has this skyjacking bedeviled investigators for so long?
09:53we will have to retrace the crime
09:56and analyze the incredibly complex strategy
09:58Cooper might have plotted
10:00meteorologists
10:01expert parachutists
10:03and the crew of flight 305
10:06were all questioned
10:07that data and flight log information
10:10were fed into FBI computers
10:12the FBI concluded
10:14that Cooper jumped in a 4x6 mile area
10:17near Merwin Dam
10:19Merwin Dam
10:22313 feet high
10:24and 1250 feet wide
10:26it holds back the Lewis River
10:29in order to create Lake Merwin
10:32when Cooper jumped
10:34the dam was crowned
10:36with a series of brilliant lights
10:38if Cooper could have caught some glimpse
10:40through the cloud layers
10:42he would have been provided
10:44with an unmistakable landmark
10:45he would have known
10:47exactly where he was
10:49Les Nelson
10:53Sheriff of Cowlitz County
10:54the supposed Cooper landing site
10:57assisted FBI agents
10:59in coordinating the search
11:00by procuring a helicopter
11:02from Weyerhauser Paper Company
11:04in Longview, Washington
11:05we searched the area
11:08up the Lewis River
11:10to the south
11:11into Clark County
11:12north side
11:13into Cowlitz County
11:15and made several passes
11:17we ran for several days
11:20there
11:21with an intensified search
11:24initially with patrol cars
11:26and some foot patrol
11:27but basically
11:28just the overflight
11:30of both fixed wing
11:32and helicopters
11:33we have had
11:36experience in the past
11:38with downed aircraft
11:39searching for different individuals
11:41and we have had
11:43comparatively good success
11:45of spotting people
11:46from the air
11:46who were lost
11:47or incidents
11:49where we've had
11:49plane crashes
11:51it's my belief
11:53that
11:53had this man
11:54made a safe jump
11:56and
11:57had
11:58pulled the ripcord
12:00on that chute
12:01and it had
12:02blossomed out
12:02that
12:02we would have easily
12:04have spotted it
12:05from the air
12:06but if the chute
12:08caught in the trees
12:09and hung vertically
12:10the chances
12:11for finding Cooper
12:12would have been minuscule
12:13searchers
12:14would have been looking
12:15for a one square foot
12:16white splotch
12:17in the more than
12:1924 square miles
12:20they were searching
12:21Cooper could not
12:26have landed
12:27in a more
12:27inhospitable place
12:28the landscape
12:30is laced
12:30with bogs
12:31and thickets
12:32is it possible
12:33that just such a setting
12:35helped Cooper
12:36instead of hindering him
12:37Frank Heil
12:40is a survival school expert
12:42who trains men
12:43working on the Alaskan pipeline
12:45he is convinced
12:46that given the proper background
12:48Cooper could easily survive
12:50in the wilderness
12:51I like to feel that
12:54with the clothing
12:55that I have on my back
12:56and the tools of survival
12:57that I carry in my pocket
12:59that I could live
13:00indefinitely out here
13:01now these tools
13:03of survival
13:04can be of course
13:06concealed in your pockets
13:08no one would even know
13:09that you had them
13:10and maybe this is
13:11what Cooper did
13:12this area
13:14that supposedly
13:15Cooper came down in
13:17would be
13:18in my way of thinking
13:19an ideal area
13:21I'd select it myself
13:23La Center, Washington
13:26population 420
13:29a tiny farming community
13:31a tiny farming community
13:31nestled in a pine forest
13:33it and another town
13:36Ariel
13:36were the closest
13:38to the supposed drop site
13:39on the night of
13:41November 24th
13:421971
13:43Cooper could have passed
13:45through the town
13:45unnoticed
13:46because everyone
13:47had crammed into
13:48the Evangelical Free Church
13:50to attend the wedding
13:52of their popular
13:52high school music teacher
13:54while it is most likely
13:56that Cooper was not
13:57from southwestern Washington
13:59it is possible
14:00that he knew the area
14:01and that he knew
14:02about the wedding
14:03there is more
14:06one highly questionable report
14:09concerns a light plane
14:11people in this area
14:14claim that a small plane
14:15intermittently
14:16crisscrossed the skies
14:18over lonely farm fields
14:19near Ariel
14:20and La Center
14:21for a week
14:22preceding Cooper's jump
14:23sometimes rendezvousing
14:26with a car
14:26the mystery of who
14:31Cooper is
14:31may be unlocked
14:32by the man
14:33totally dedicated
14:34to finding
14:35the skyjacker
14:36Ralph Himmelsbach
14:38the FBI agent
14:40still searches the area
14:41in his own plane
14:42he believes
14:43Cooper was incapable
14:45of the intricate planning
14:46needed for the skyjacking
14:48I think he was
14:49a desperate man
14:50possibly had
14:52a criminal background
14:53he was probably
14:57not very well educated
14:59he may have been
15:02in a service capacity
15:03he was wearing
15:04the type of clothing
15:05that would be worn
15:06by perhaps a bartender
15:08or a waiter
15:09we don't know
15:11who he was
15:12where he came from
15:13or where he went
15:14we may learn more
15:18about Cooper
15:19from the type
15:19of chute
15:20he chose
15:20Earl Cossie
15:22demonstrating
15:23the normal
15:23freestyle parachute
15:25explains
15:26the type of parachute
15:27that D.B. Cooper used
15:28was a 28 foot parachute
15:31in a military type
15:32container
15:33and
15:34this type of
15:36container and harness
15:37would be
15:38very very difficult
15:40as far as finding
15:41the ripcord goes
15:42in selecting
15:43this type of parachute
15:44it would seem
15:45that he had
15:46some military background
15:48he would encounter
15:56numerous problems
15:57number one
15:58as he exited
15:59the airplane
15:59he's likely
16:00to go unstable
16:01which would
16:03also cause him
16:04some problems
16:04in reaching
16:05and locating
16:06and finding
16:06his ripcord
16:07aside from the fact
16:09that it was night
16:09since it's rainy
16:11and windy
16:12if he got
16:13the parachute
16:14open
16:14then
16:16the problems
16:17of his
16:18landing
16:19would come up
16:20I'm just sure
16:22if he pulled
16:22the ripcord
16:22he made it
16:23the sketchy evidence
16:35leads us to a peculiar
16:37but quite plausible
16:38conclusion
16:38during the Vietnam War
16:41727s were
16:42extensively used
16:44they turned up
16:45at both civilian
16:46and military terminals
16:47carrying supplies
16:49and personnel
16:50the 727 pilots
16:52were drawn
16:53from both
16:53air force
16:54and civilian sources
16:55Cooper could have
16:57been any one
16:58of these pilots
16:59if so
17:01he would have
17:01had a familiarity
17:02with military
17:03parachutes
17:04and survival
17:05techniques
17:05who was Cooper
17:10Dr. David Hubbard
17:12a psychiatrist
17:13and leading authority
17:14on the psychology
17:15of skyjackers
17:16has interviewed
17:17most of the individuals
17:18who've been apprehended
17:19for skyjacking
17:20Hubbard has drawn
17:22a personality portrait
17:23of who he thinks
17:25Cooper is
17:26as an individual
17:27as a personal failure
17:28who had lost
17:31the capability
17:32of earning a living
17:33in our society
17:34in actual fact
17:35Cooper was
17:36an early middle-aged
17:38mentally deteriorated
17:40ex-aircraft pilot
17:42he had flown
17:44he had flown
17:44clearly
17:44in the Vietnamese war
17:46and had
17:47undoubtedly
17:48taken part
17:49in the airdrops
17:50in which
17:50the tailgate
17:51of a 727
17:52was used
17:53for dropping
17:53materiel
17:54the evidence
17:56suggests
17:57that Cooper
17:57must have had
17:58military experience
17:59to be able
17:59to plan
18:00and successfully
18:01execute
18:01such a crime
18:02some experts
18:04consider this
18:04theory irrelevant
18:05insisting
18:06that Cooper
18:07never even
18:07survived his jump
18:08seven years
18:10after Cooper
18:11committed
18:11the first
18:11American skyjacking
18:13a scrap
18:14of evidence
18:14of his possible
18:15survival
18:16was found
18:17Carol Hicks
18:21is a hunter
18:21and woodsman
18:22while hunting
18:24with my
18:25hunting partner
18:25I took off
18:27chasing a herd elk
18:28and
18:28as I was going
18:30through the woods
18:31chasing his elk
18:32which I never saw
18:33of course
18:34I
18:35well
18:37I was
18:37going through the brush
18:38and
18:39lo and behold
18:41there this
18:42piece of plastic
18:43was with some
18:44writing on it
18:45I noticed
18:46that it
18:46was an emergency
18:47exit plaque
18:48of course
18:49we collect the trash
18:50and stuff
18:50that we find
18:51in the woods
18:51so I folded it up
18:53and put it in my pocket
18:53the thought wasn't there
18:55about Cooper's plane
18:56but I knew it was off
18:58an emergency exit
18:59off of a plane
19:00I returned
19:01to where we started
19:03while emptying my pockets
19:04into a trash container
19:06there
19:06why
19:06I remembered
19:07this was in my
19:08uppermost pocket
19:09and I
19:10showed it to my
19:11hunting partner
19:12and
19:13we decided
19:14that we should
19:15turn it over
19:15to the sheriff's department
19:16my personal thoughts
19:18are that
19:19when Mr. Cooper
19:21opened the door
19:22on the back
19:23of that jet
19:24that he
19:26was sucked out
19:27and fell
19:29to a very
19:29very cold death
19:30somewhere up in the mountains
19:31there
19:32for an instant
19:34in February
19:351979
19:36the police
19:37and FBI
19:38thought they had
19:39their man
19:3935 year old
19:41Robert Wesley
19:42Rackstraw
19:43arrested by the police
19:44on unrelated charges
19:46was at first
19:47connected with
19:48the skyjacking
19:48a few days later
19:51law enforcement
19:52officers admitted
19:53he was completely
19:54cleared
19:54of the crime
19:55to this day
19:58Cooper
19:59who he is
20:00where he is
20:02and where the
20:03$200,000
20:04are
20:04remain
20:05a mystery
20:06the FBI's
20:10Ralph Himmelsbach
20:11admits that
20:12Cooper's true
20:13identity
20:13is still unknown
20:14he had to have
20:16been someone
20:17he had to have
20:17had friends
20:18family
20:19associations
20:20perhaps a job
20:21he's missing
20:23we don't know
20:24any more about him
20:26really
20:26now than we knew
20:27at that time
20:28I expect that
20:29we'll keep looking
20:30from now on
20:32until we find him
20:34or find out
20:34what happened
20:35we have a long
20:37memory
20:37we built our
20:38reputation
20:39on perseverance
20:40I can see
20:42no reason
20:43that would
20:43stop us
20:44from continuing
20:45the investigation
20:45to its conclusion
20:47a federal indictment
20:53has been handed
20:54down in Portland
20:55against
20:56Dan Cooper
20:57John Doe
20:58for air piracy
20:59and extortion
21:00so far
21:02not one dollar
21:04of the ransom
21:05has ever been found
21:06nor the existence
21:07of a Dan Cooper
21:08ever been proven
21:10coming up next
21:15in search of
21:16continues
21:17with a probe
21:17into the disappearance
21:18of mob connected
21:19union leader
21:20Jimmy Hoffa
21:21then agents
21:22investigating
21:22the murder
21:23of radio DJ
21:23Alan Berg
21:24uncover a white
21:25supremacist
21:26conspiracy
21:26on FBI
21:27the untold story
21:29and later tonight
21:30History's Mysteries
21:31investigates
21:32the case
21:32of Ted Hall
21:33the teenager
21:34who gave away
21:34the atom bomb secret
21:36to the Soviets
21:37at 8
21:37here on the History Channel
21:38where the past
21:39comes alive
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