Though it’s been more than four decades since the skyjacking incident, traces of the cunning man known as D.B Cooper is still yet to be found. Thousands of suspects have been closely investigated but the Federal Bureau of Investigation could not come close to capturing the man. Bravo for the sky pirate for pulling off such terror but how can we even begin to describe the terror it has caused and inspired! The story of this skyjack alone has inspired dozens of books and movies, inspiring even more terror to be caused to the world. Five months after the skyjack, a Vietnam veteran Richard McCoy was inspired to stage a similar skyjack, demanding $500,000 ransom in hand. Furthermore, 31 skyjacks were committed in the following year and a large majority of them demanded money as well. Granted, there are no casualties caused by this terror as all 42 passengers including crew were released safely but Cooper managed to escape with the $200,000 ransom in 20 dollar bills, which was his main demand. If you look at it that way, he did get what he wants, making it a very successful mission.

His motifs to stage the hijack in the first place remain unknown but judging from the $200,000 (roughly 2.5 million dollars in today’s value) he get to carry away, it’s most likely that he’s just in it for the money. His demands were the money in cash as well as four parachutes for him to escape the plane with.

The date was November 24th 1971, the night before Thanksgiving and the plane he skyjacked was a Boeing 727 from Portland, Oregon to Seattle. Having purchased a one-way ticket and gaining the seat number 18C, Cooper walked into the plane so casually. On the plane, he ordered a whiskey, lit up a cigarette and handed the flight attendant Florence Schaffner a note:

“I HAVE A BOMB IN MY BRIEFCASE. I WILL USE IT IF NECESSARY. I WANT YOU TO SIT NEXT TO ME. YOU ARE BEING HIJACKED”Having seen the eight red cylinders attached to wires with red insulation bomb in his briefcase, Schaffner was petrified and she made sure she jotted down his demands: $200,000 in 20 dollar bills and four parachutes. In exchange for the ransom, Cooper agreed to release the passengers and later the crews. Cooper also demanded the plane to head to Mexico City but the plane was headed to Reno instead.

GLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKINGGLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKING PAGE 40

THE SOPHISTICATED SKY PIRATE:

UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF D.B

COOPER’S SKYJACK

SOME OF THE RANSOM MONEY IN $20 BILLS

The reason that this case have been so popular is due to the fact that even after four decades, it hasn’t been resolved. The FBI have made progress however no trace of D.B Cooper have been found.

In the recent 2011, a woman named Marla Cooper c l a i m e d D . B Cooper (whose real name was Lynn Doyle Cooper) was her uncle. She remembered her uncle plotting a scheme at age eight and coming back injured on Thanksgiving day.

She also stated that her uncle was deceased in 1999. The information she shared have certainly brought us closer to unraveling the mystery however no firm conclusions have been drawn. According to Marla, her uncle was a Korean War Veteran which would make sense because flying down a parachute requires proper training. After further investigation over the years, some of the ransom money (a total of almost $5,000) has been found in the 1980s. In my opinion, Marla Cooper isn’t a very reliable source because anyone can claim to be D.B Cooper’s niece and make up all kinds of stories about him but I do put my trust on the FBI. If they think that she’s a witness worth looking into, then she’ll probably lead us to finally unraveling the mystery.

Cooper succeeded to cause terror to the passengers and crew in the plane and managed to get the $200,000 and four parachutes that he demanded as well as managing to escape successfully. Agus, a local historian thinks it’s a very successful mission and a job well done for Cooper. “Very few terrorists have escaped from

punishment of the act of terror they performed. Though he didn’t manage to get all $200,000, he did snatch a lot of money which was his core intention. Forget the bleeding and injuries that he might face when he lands because there’s no such thing as a perfect mission. This skyjacking incident alone have inspired books and movies, grabbed tons of the media’s attention as well as keep the FBI busy in this case. Having no casualties in my opinion actually made it an even more successful mission. If people were scared of him even before he uses the violence, then imagine if he did!”

Anne, a passenger who was 22 at that time would argue that the mission that Cooper conducted wasn’t effective. The reason she thinks that Cooper gained so much publicity is because of the fact that his escape was so successful. “I would believe that the mission is successful if he really did come home safely with that $200,000,” said Anne. “I’m glad that I didn’t die at that time even though I’m pretty sure I would. It’s kind of weird hearing about it because I lived that moment.”

So it’s just the money right? No one’s killed or injured? We are making a bigger deal out of this issue that we should be. Worst case scenario: everybody dies but they didn’t! In my honest opinion, the mission was a success but I don’t think the FBI should be wasting any more of their time trying to find Cooper. Chances are, Marla was right and he’s dead and there’s no point crying over lost money. Looking back at what happened in 1971, it brought me back to reflect on how technology have played a big role in terrorism. If Cooper were to stage a similar scheme today, I would highly doubt that he would get passed the security. He probably won’t do it alone and probably not with a parachute. With the advancement of technology, acts of terrorism have unfortunately grown and sadly, we’re living in a world where it still continues to grow. Though skyjacking was made famous by the 9/11 incident, it’s important to look back in our history books that lots more happened before then.

GLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKINGGLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKING PAGE 41

A DRAWING OF D.B. COOPER BY THE FBI

SOURCES

1) "Skyjack - Aviation Terrorism Research." Skyjack

- Aviation Terrorism Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 05

Feb. 2013.

2) Rob. "Terrorist Skyjackings: A CIA Report."

Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://

www.scr ibd.com/doc/53824134/Terror is t -

Skyjackings-A-CIA-Report>.

3) "D. B. Cooper." Wikipedia. Wikimedia

Foundation, 02 July 2013. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper>.

4) "NMA." NMA. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.

<http://newsdirect.nma.com.tw/SingleItem.aspx?

asset_id=OEM_20110801_OINT_006>.

5) "Special Packages." Http://www.time.com/

t i m e / s p e c i a l s / p a c k a g e s / a r t i c l e /

0,28804,1846670_1846800_1846854,00.html. Time,

n.d. Web.

6) "DB Cooper: Update on Marla Cooper âì

Examining Her Credibility and Ethical Implications

to Her Family If Her Story Is True | The Mountain

News âì WA." The Mountain News WA. N.p., n.d.

W e b . 0 6 F e b . 2 0 1 3 . < h t t p : / /

themountainnewswa.net/2011/12/12/db-cooper-

marla-cooper-and-her-uncle-ld-an-update/>.

7) "DB Cooper: The Legendary Daredevil." âî A

Mystery âî Crime Library on TruTV.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.trutv.com/library/

c r ime/cr imina l_mind/scams/DB_Cooper/

index.html>.

8) "Is D.B. Cooper Still Alive?" HowStuffWorks.

N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://

history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/db-

cooper.htm>.

9) "The New Evidence in the Hunt for âúDB

Cooperâ�." Jalopnik. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb.

2013. <http://jalopnik.com/5826512/the-new-

evidence-in-the-hunt-for-db-cooper>.

10) "Is D.B. Cooper Still Alive?" HowStuffWorks.

N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://

history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/db-

cooper1.htm>.

11) Ariel, Wash., Katharine Q. Seelye And Charlie

Savage; Reporting Was Contributed By Lee Van

Der Voo In. "Forty Years Later, A Tip With

Potential In a Famous Case." The New York

Times. The New York Times, 02 Aug. 2011. Web.

06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/

2011/08/02/us/02dbcooper.html?_r=0>.

GLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKING

12) "USA TODAY." USATODAY.COM. N.p., n.d.

W e b . 0 6 F e b . 2 0 1 3 . < h t t p : / /

u s a t o d a y 3 0 . u s a t o d a y. c o m / n e w s / n a t i o n /

2011-08-03-DBCooper-hijackijng-new-lead-niece-

LD-Cooper-uncle_n.htm>.

13) THOMAS, PIERRE, and JACK CLOHERTY.

"D.B. Cooper Exclusive: Did Niece Provide Key

Evidence?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 03

Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://

abcnews.go.com/US/db-cooper-exclusive-niece-

provide-key-evidence/story?id=14219052>.

14) "FBI-backed Team Finds Canadian Link to

Famous âô70s Plane  hijacking." National Post

News FBIbacked Team Finds Canadian Link to

Famous 70s Planehijacking Comments. N.p., n.d.

W e b . 0 6 F e b . 2 0 1 3 . < h t t p : / /

news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/24/fbi-backed-

team-finds-canadian-link-to-famous-60s-era-

plane-hijacking/>.

15) "Tina Mucklow, D.B. Cooper-hijacking Flight

Attendant Found; Woman Was Go-between for

Cooper, Crew." NY Daily News. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

Feb. 2013. <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/

national/tina-mucklow-b-cooper-hijacking-flight-

attendant-found-woman-go-between-cooper-

crew-article-1.953428>.

16) "D. B. Cooper and His Forgotten,

Hapless  imitators." The View from Seven. N.p.,

n . d . W e b . 0 6 F e b . 2 0 1 3 . < h t t p : / /

theviewfromseven.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/d-

b-cooper-and-his-forgotten-hapless-imitators/>.

17) "FBI Checking 'our Most Promising' Lead in

D.B. Cooper Case." Seattlepi.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.seattlepi.com/

local/article/Report-FBI-testing-strong-lead-in-D-

B-Cooper-1666409.php>.

18) "Photo Evidence." Sluggoâôs NW 305

Hijacking Research Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

F e b . 2 0 1 3 . < h t t p : / / n 4 6 7 u s . c o m / P h o t o

Evidence.htm>.

19) "DB Cooper Case 'solved': FBI Tells Niece of

Skyjacking Suspect They Are Ready to Close One

of America's Biggest Mysteries after 'matching'

Fingerprint." Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb.

2013. <http://www.dai lymai l .co.uk/news/

article-2070038/DB-Cooper-case-solved-FBI-tells-

n i e c e - s k y j a c k i n g - s u s p e c t - m a t c h i n g -

fingerprint.html>.

GLOBAL TERRORISM: SKYJACKING