Verified
& Sourced
Episode Documentation Page
D.B. Cooper: The Man Who Hijacked a Plane and Vanished Into the Sky
This page exists for one purpose: to give you the source for every piece of information used to build this episode. The story is told in a narrative style, but every event, name, and date in it is based on a source listed below — you can verify it yourself.
Case Summary
On Thanksgiving Eve 1971, a man calling himself "Dan Cooper" bought a domestic plane ticket in the U.S. After takeoff, he told the flight attendant he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 and 4 parachutes. After getting his demands met and releasing the passengers in Seattle, he ordered the pilot to take off again toward Mexico — and over Washington state, he parachuted out of the rear door of the plane and was never seen again. The case remained officially open for decades, and the FBI closed the active investigation in 2016 without ever identifying him.
November 24, 1971
Cooper buys a plane ticket from Portland to Seattle under the name "Dan Cooper," and boards Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305.
After takeoff
He informs the flight attendant he has a bomb, and demands $200,000 and 4 parachutes in exchange for the passengers' safety.
Seattle Airport
His demands are met, all passengers are released, and he orders the pilot to take off again toward Mexico at low altitude and a specific speed.
Over Washington
He parachutes out of the plane's rear door, and is never seen or heard from again.
1980
A child finds part of the missing money (about $5,800) on the banks of the Columbia River — the first physical evidence in the case.
2016
The FBI officially announces the closure of the active investigation, after 45 years without a definitive result.
After 45 years of intensive investigation, the FBI decided to redirect its resources to higher-priority cases, while preserving physical evidence for any future development.
— Based on the official FBI statement, 2016
Official Source
FBI — D.B. Cooper Hijacking
The FBI's official page on the NORJAK case, with case details and the official update on the closure of the active investigation in 2016.
fbi.gov/history/cases-and-criminals/db-cooper-hijacking
Why this source: The FBI's own official page on the case — we took the precise timeline and details of the 2016 active-investigation closure from it.
Original Documents
FBI Records: The Vault
The official FOIA archive — thousands of pages of original investigation files between 1971 and 1992, published directly by the FBI.
vault.fbi.gov/D-B-Cooper
Why this source: The original documents themselves with no intermediary — we used them to verify small details like Cooper's description and the content of his note to the flight attendant.
National Archive
National Archives (Seattle)
The original U.S. Attorney's case file (Case CR-0451) for the hijacking case, preserved in the U.S. National Archives.
archives.gov/seattle/highlights/d-b-cooper
Why this source: The original prosecution file establishes the official legal proceedings taken regarding the case at the time it occurred.