WA WA - D.B. Cooper hijacking mystery, 24 Nov 1971 - #1

[leftcoast]

j2mish The airline did have a passenger list. However, the hijacker paid with cash and gave a name, most likely an alias, of Dan Cooper. So, when the passengers were released in Seattle, the airline knew the hijacker had boarded in Portland, paid in cash, and gave the name of Dan Cooper.


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[j2mirish]

j2mish The airline did have a passenger list. However, the hijacker paid with cash and gave a name, most likely an alias, of Dan Cooper. So, when the passengers were released in Seattle, the airline knew the hijacker had boarded in Portland, paid in cash, and gave the name of Dan Cooper.


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thanks-- i didnt know where they came up with the alias- now I know !
funny you said you would be a bad witness--- that is sooooooooo me---- dear lord dont ever put me in a position where i have to give any info for a crime, cause i do not pay attention to details about people- as bad as i t may sound- i couldnt tell you what clothes my 10 or 12 year old wore to school today- and if someone ask me to describe the gal at the grocery store, that checked me out tonight......not gonna happen---my husband was a sheriff before i met him- his details are unbelievable- he just rolls his eyes at me ! guess it is a knack, or gift- but i wasnt given even a tiny piece of it !

 

[j2mirish]

He was well-acquainted with skydiving and schooled in jet aerodynamics, including such details as the specs for wing flap angles and minimum air speeds for the Boeing 727. Some believe he was an active or retired airman who had spent time stationed at McChord.


where did they come up with this lc?

 

[reportertype]

LC, does your suspect have any close family? Did he ever marry?

Thanks for answering my earlier questions. That is very interesting.

 

[leftcoast]

Reportertype: you are welcome. My suspect was married briefly in the late 50's, and then again after the Cooper heist. He actually had family living in Seattle at the time of the heist. He does have children, but I don't want to go into specifics about how many, for obvious reasons. He also had a mother and father, and two siblings. His parents had low paying, blue collar jobs while he was growing up. As a result, it was obvious that he does not come from money. Further evidence is his record of low paying, blue collar employment in the 60's, and up through 1971. He actually held a job for quite a few years, and then ran into financial trouble, committed the armed robbery, I believe lost his job, and then the hijacking. There is no record of him having a legitimate job after this.

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[leftcoast]

jrmirish: Well, the FBI and reporters were trying to come up with a profile of Cooper. Since Cooper knew certain things about Seattle, they assumed he was from Seattle. As for working at Boeing or McChord. It was just a guess, since Cooper knew about stall speed, the workings of a 727, and knowing that the aftstairs would be a good diving platform, as well as the setting for the flaps.

In actuality, many of the things Cooper knew, could be learned from somebody who was a pilot and studied certain items about the 727. I argue that Cooper did not work at Boeing. One hint of this was that Cooper did not know how to lower the aftstairs of the 727, nor did he know that the stairs could be lowered during flight. As a result, he wanted the aftstairs lowered before takeoff from Seattle. The pilot and Cooper argued on the interphone about this, and finally the pilot said he wouldn't takeoff with the stairs down. Cooper finally relented and demanded that Tina stay in the back with him to asssist him to lower the stairs after the plane took off from Seattle.

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[reportertype]

I saw earlier that the suspect was a trained pilot. Does he have any military experience? Forgive me if this has already been answered.

 

[leftcoast]

reportertype: No, this has not been asked. He served in the military for two years. I do not know what his job was in the military. I seriously doubt that a two year stint resulted in being a pilot. My guess, and just a guess, is that he was a paratrooper. But, I have no proof.

Let me clear something up. He is a private pilot. He started flying at 16, and eventually obtained his small plane license. to my knowledge, he has never flown a large, commercial plane.


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[reportertype]

That is what I was wondering, it would account for his knowledge of jumping. I sort of guessed he may have been military, based soley on his ability to make a plan and execute it so exactly. I'm actually surprised he wasn't in longer.

 

[j2mirish]

Reportertype: you are welcome. My suspect was married briefly in the late 50's, and then again after the Cooper heist. He actually had family living in Seattle at the time of the heist. He does have children, but I don't want to go into specifics about how many, for obvious reasons. He also had a mother and father, and two siblings. His parents had low paying, blue collar jobs while he was growing up. As a result, it was obvious that he does not come from money. Further evidence is his record of low paying, blue collar employment in the 60's, and up through 1971. He actually held a job for quite a few years, and then ran into financial trouble, committed the armed robbery, I believe lost his job, and then the hijacking. There is no record of him having a legitimate job after this.

left

but no record of the money being spent- what do you think he did with the money ?

 

[CatMama3]

leftcoast, this is really fascinating stuff.

I apologize if I'm asking questions that were already asked: If the FBI knew of this guy AND other people called in suggesting him as a suspect AND he called to say it wasn't him, why didn't the FBI jump all over him when it happened?
And has he ever been suggested as a suspect by the media or another sleuther investigating the case?

Anything I've ever read that named names usually had pretty general evidence connecting the suspect(s) to the hijacking. Your info is extremely detailed.

I honestly never thought DB Cooper would be identified. But then again, I never thought Deep Throat would be identified either.

 

[leftcoast]

jm-Well, I think he was probably in debt before the heist. I know he hasn't worked since. He has also been living a good life, playing with planes, and having fun. Owning a plane is very expensive, especially if you aren't wealthy, and even more so if you don't have a job.


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[j2mirish]

reportertype: No, this has not been asked. He served in the military for two years. I do not know what his job was in the military. I seriously doubt that a two year stint resulted in being a pilot. My guess, and just a guess, is that he was a paratrooper. But, I have no proof.

Let me clear something up. He is a private pilot. He started flying at 16, and eventually obtained his small plane license. to my knowledge, he has never flown a large, commercial plane.


left.

then how would he know all the fancy stuff about altitude, flaps, speed for a jump, etc?

 

[j2mirish]

leftcoast, this is really fascinating stuff.

I apologize if I'm asking questions that were already asked: If the FBI knew of this guy AND other people called in suggesting him as a suspect AND he called to say it wasn't him, why didn't the FBI jump all over him when it happened?
And has he ever been suggested as a suspect by the media or another sleuther investigating the case?

Anything I've ever read that named names usually had pretty general evidence connecting the suspect(s) to the hijacking. Your info is extremely detailed.

I honestly never thought DB Cooper would be identified. But then again, I never thought Deep Throat would be identified either.

this made me stop and think-- if D.B. Cooper was an alias---- how exactly did the fbi know all about him?:doh:

 

[j2mirish]

jm-Well, I think he was probably in debt before the heist. I know he hasn't worked since. He has also been living a good life, playing with planes, and having fun. Owning a plane is very expensive, especially if you aren't wealthy, and even more so if you don't have a job.


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but they say none of the bills were ever "reported" - that is what i am asking- how did he launder the money- plus-- 200,000 dollars minus the money found--- thats not muuch to go on for 35 years--- thats not much money at all if you say he didnt work after the " heist"

 

[leftcoast]

ff: great questions; First of all, the FBI, in my opinion dropped the ball. The agent in charge of this investigation did not think that Cooper could jump at 8:13pm and get to a telephone at 10m. Hence, he decided he couldn't have been Cooper. A fatal mistake. As for other sleuths or media. I think they were quite simply not as thorough. They assumed the FBI thoroughly investigated everyone and that Cooper must be somebody with no friends, or live out of state, etc. In addition, this case was never turned over in the fbi. So, once he was eliminated, nobody ever looked at him again. If his name ever came up, they would simply say, we already looked at him. This is proof of why cold case squads are so effective.


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[leftcoast]

j2 All of the info. about flaps, altitude, and speed applies to all planes. I think he winged some of it to give the impression that he was an airline pilot. But, trust me, the information he knew about the 727 is info. that can be learned from an aviation magazine, or simply visiting the Boeing plant, doing your homework, etc.

As for laundering: The average bill lasts 18 months in circulation in the US. the only people who were looking for the twenties were tellers in the northwest, and who knows how often. All he had to do was wait six months, fly to the east coast, go to a bunch of banks and exchange twenties for hundreds and he is set. Not to mention the possibility of going to a casino and simply buying chips, and then cashing out. It wouldn't take long to get rid of the money, and nobody is going to questiong you.

I really don't think laundering the money was that difficult. AS long as he did it in another part of the US or in another country, such as mexico, cayman islands, etc.

AS for the money lasting, it didn't. He has been arrested for other crimes since the hijacking. I believe the money only lasted four years, give or take. It's not like he could invest the money or buy stocks or a house for cash. Dirty money is harder to spend, and does not go as far as clean money.

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[j2mirish]

j2 All of the info. about flaps, altitude, and speed applies to all planes. I think he winged some of it to give the impression that he was an airline pilot. But, trust me, the information he knew about the 727 is info. that can be learned from an aviation magazine, or simply visiting the Boeing plant, doing your homework, etc.

As for laundering: The average bill lasts 18 months in circulation in the US. the only people who were looking for the twenties were tellers in the northwest, and who knows how often. All he had to do was wait six months, fly to the east coast, go to a bunch of banks and exchange twenties for hundreds and he is set. Not to mention the possibility of going to a casino and simply buying chips, and then cashing out. It wouldn't take long to get rid of the money, and nobody is going to questiong you.

I really don't think laundering the money was that difficult. AS long as he did it in another part of the US or in another country, such as mexico, cayman islands, etc.

left

all great answers- make sense- now explain to me how he has lived on 195,000 for 35 yesrs?

 

[CatMama3]

ff: great questions; First of all, the FBI, in my opinion dropped the ball. The agent in charge of this investigation did not think that Cooper could jump at 8:13pm and get to a telephone at 10m. Hence, he decided he couldn't have been Cooper. A fatal mistake. As for other sleuths or media. I think they were quite simply not as thorough. They assumed the FBI thoroughly investigated everyone and that Cooper must be somebody with no friends, or live out of state, etc. In addition, this case was never turned over in the fbi. So, once he was eliminated, nobody ever looked at him again. If his name ever came up, they would simply say, we already looked at him. This is proof of why cold case squads are so effective.


left

Makes perfect sense to me. Reminds me of an old saying about anybody, somebody and nobody. Can't remember it exactly, but basically everybody assumes somebody else took care of something when in fact nobody handled it. Now that doesn't make perfect sense to me, but I'm getting sleepy.

 

[leftcoast]

j2 The money did not last 35 years, IMO. I believe it lasted four of five years. this guy has been busted for other crimes since the hijacking, and we are talking big dollar crimes. So, he has survived by committing other crimes. I really don't know all the answers. But, I do know that there is no way in he-- that he was able to support the lifestlye he had in late 1972, given he lack of employment, and his bleak financial situation. He basically went from a blue collar employee, to a playboy, within one year.


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