In 1971, a man hijacked a commercial airliner, collected $200,000 in ransom, and parachuted into the night over the Pacific Northwest, never to be seen again.
On November 24, 1971, a man using the alias "Dan Cooper" boarded Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305, a Boeing 727, and carried out one of the most audacious hijackings in aviation history. He claimed to have a bomb, demanded $200,000 in ransom and four parachutes, released the passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, then ordered the plane to fly toward Mexico City.
After takeoff, the hijacker lowered the aft airstair and leaped into the darkness over southwestern Washington State. It was a winter night, and he jumped from roughly 10,000 feet — conditions that cast doubt on whether he could have survived the landing.
In 1980, an eight-year-old boy found approximately $5,800 in deteriorating bills buried in the sand along the Columbia River at Tena Bar. Serial numbers confirmed the money was from Cooper's ransom, but no further bills or trace of the hijacker have ever been found.
The FBI investigated the case for 45 years, examining over 1,000 suspects. The active investigation was closed in 2016, though credible tips are still accepted.
Credibility 9/10 — The event is indisputable and supported by physical evidence including partial ransom recovery. Only the hijacker's identity and fate remain unknown. As the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. aviation history, the case is extremely well-documented.
