# D B Cooper - still? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711 "2017-08-15T13:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Pippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pippers)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/1 "2017-08-15T13:52:24Z")
> **['Credible source' leads D.B. Cooper hunters to parachute](https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/08/credible_source_leads_db_coope.html)** > > On November 24, 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked a plane flying from Portland to Seattle. Convenient timing of finding additional info? Or could this really be Coopers parachute? Will the FBI reopen the case if they find the new “evidence” convincing? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/2 "2017-08-15T16:04:11Z")
Looks like a pre-WWII parachute strap to me. Could be Amelia Earhart’s… ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/3 "2017-08-15T16:07:06Z")
> [@Pippers](#): > > [‘Credible source’ leads D.B. Cooper hunters to parachute, restarting push to identify famed hijacker - oregonlive.com](http://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/08/credible_source_leads_db_coope.html#incart_river_mobileshort_home_pop) > > Convenient timing of finding additional info? Or could this really be Coopers parachute? Will the FBI reopen the case if they find the new “evidence” convincing? The last I saw on this the FBI was basically done with this case. I seriously doubt they will officially reopen it at this stage for anything less than positive proof of who did it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/4 "2017-08-15T16:35:21Z")
A piece of parachute was found a few years ago, IIRC. Turned out it was silk, not nylon, and therefore WW2 or earlier. Some number of pilots in training disappeared in the area in rough weather, and were not always found. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/5 "2017-08-15T16:45:41Z")
The article correctly states the hijacker bought his ticket under the name “Dan Cooper” but doesn’t mention how the unrelated name “D.B. Cooper” became conflated with the story - D.B. Cooper was an Oregon resident and early suspect in the case, but quickly cleared of involvement. A reporter wrote in error that the hijacker used the initials D.B., and it stuck when the more mundane “Dan Cooper” did not. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/6 "2017-08-15T19:41:05Z")
The guy could be 90 years old by now if he’s still alive. It’s highly unlikely he’s much less than 80. Even if he’s found today it’s hardly worth a prosecution. However, his identity is a gold mine. If he’s alive and his identity known it will set the media on fire, books, movies, TV news, talk shows, documentaries, and series, websites, comic books. Even if he’s simply identified and not found or no longer alive there will be an information explosion, and unless he’s known to be deceased the FBI will have to pursue him and if he’s found they’ll prosecute even if he’s unlikely to be convicted. If he pleads not guilty the trial will be showcase for legal experts as 50 year old evidence and memories are brought before the court and challenged. By the time it’s over people will say “OJ who?”. But I doubt any of that will happen because this is another dead end. He’s another Jimmy Hoffa. Don’t fall for it, don’t be a Charlie Brown, Lucy will pull that football away at the last moment every time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/7 "2017-08-15T19:47:25Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The article correctly states the hijacker bought his ticket under the name “Dan Cooper” but doesn’t mention how the unrelated name “D.B. Cooper” became conflated with the story - D.B. Cooper was an Oregon resident and early suspect in the case, but quickly cleared of involvement. A reporter wrote in error that the hijacker used the initials D.B., and it stuck when the more mundane “Dan Cooper” did not. I wonder, if not for that mistaken ID leading to the catchy moniker DB Cooper would story have the same kind of legs? I’m sure the mystery skyjacking story would stay alive but would people remember the name ‘Dan Cooper’? Would it generate this kind of excitement? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/8 "2017-08-15T23:36:37Z")
They found a good chunk of his money in a riverback awhile back. He’s fish (or grizzly) food. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/9 "2017-08-15T23:41:47Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I wonder, if not for that mistaken ID leading to the catchy moniker DB Cooper would story have the same kind of legs? I’m sure the mystery skyjacking story would stay alive but would people remember the name ‘Dan Cooper’? Would it generate this kind of excitement? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/10 "2017-08-15T23:51:53Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > They found a good chunk of his money in a riverback awhile back. He’s fish (or grizzly) food. That’s the best theory I’ve ever heard. He probably aimed for an opening in the trees, and hit deep water. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/11 "2017-08-16T00:22:27Z")
He jumped into a freezing cold night, at altitude, in street clothes - he’d have lost consciousness pretty quick. One of the chutes he jumped with was a training model that wouldn’t open. None of the cash appeared until some was found washed downstream, years later. So he died on impact and maybe earlier. The only remaining mystery, and it’s a good one, is who he really was. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/12 "2017-08-16T00:28:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The guy could be 90 years old by now if he’s still alive. It’s highly unlikely he’s much less than 80. Even if he’s found today it’s hardly worth a prosecution. However, his identity is a gold mine. If he’s alive and his identity known it will set the media on fire, books, movies, TV news, talk shows, documentaries, and series, websites, comic books. Even if he’s simply identified and not found or no longer alive there will be an information explosion, and unless he’s known to be deceased the FBI will have to pursue him and if he’s found they’ll prosecute even if he’s unlikely to be convicted. If he pleads not guilty the trial will be showcase for legal experts as 50 year old evidence and memories are brought before the court and challenged. By the time it’s over people will say “OJ who?”. But I doubt any of that will happen because this is another dead end. He’s another Jimmy Hoffa. Don’t fall for it, don’t be a Charlie Brown, Lucy will pull that football away at the last moment every time. Could they even prosecute him? There were no deaths attributed to him. Was there a federal statute of limitation on hijacking back then? ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/13 "2017-08-16T00:52:54Z")
He may well have augured into the river. The money found on the river bank some years back, was a result of dredging operations done periodically. None of the money has ever turned up in circulation. If he survived, he didn’t get to spend any of the loot, whoever he was. FBI profilers at the time seemed to think he had an aviation background, perhaps as a Boeing worker or one of their contractors and sniffed around some of the factories and asking employers in those fields if any workers had turned up missing. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/14 "2017-08-16T01:52:01Z")
I don’t see a debate here. We’ll try IMHO, although MPSIMS could be a good home for this, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/15 "2017-08-16T02:17:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > They found a good chunk of his money in a riverback awhile back. He’s fish (or grizzly) food. Yeah, but I thought the money was found on the banks of the Columbia, and it would have had to have traveled upstream from the area where Cooper is thought to have jumped. I heard a podcast about the case a while ago, and it seemed like there was some possible uncertainty in exactly when he jumped out of the plane. They took off from Seattle and flew south. Cooper put on a parachute and told the flight attendant to go to the flight deck. The pilots saw a warning light that indicated the rear air stairs had been opened, and there was a small disturbance to the plane’s trim. The plane landed in Reno and Cooper was not on board. It seems to be taken as gospel that Cooper bailed out over southwest Washington, but he was out of anyone’s sight for quite some time. I’ve always wondered if he might have jumped later, but I don’t know if that was ever seriously considered. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/16 "2017-08-16T09:51:27Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > The article correctly states the hijacker bought his ticket under the name “Dan Cooper” but doesn’t mention how the unrelated name “D.B. Cooper” became conflated with the story - D.B. Cooper was an Oregon resident and early suspect in the case, but quickly cleared of involvement. A reporter wrote in error that the hijacker used the initials D.B., and it stuck when the more mundane “Dan Cooper” did not. Exactly , as Samclem says. I cannot understand that whoever did it would be alive and no story come out. Same as the guys who allegedly escaped from Alcatraz. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/17 "2017-08-16T10:02:36Z")
> [@Pippers](#): > > [‘Credible source’ leads D.B. Cooper hunters to parachute, restarting push to identify famed hijacker - oregonlive.com](http://www.oregonlive.com/history/2017/08/credible_source_leads_db_coope.html#incart_river_mobileshort_home_pop) > > Convenient timing of finding additional info? Or could this really be Coopers parachute? Will the FBI reopen the case if they find the new “evidence” convincing? I think we need to see and hear more info first. What I would say about this “find” is that the couple of reports I have read have been woeful. They look and smell of clickbait type stuff. Until we get anything more substantial im assuming this new find is just another instance of the monemaking/publicity industry that surrounds the case. Im more of an expert on Jack the Ripper. I see these same type of Ripper stories about a dozen times each year. ---
**Author:** ![Pippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b5a626/32.png) [@Pippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pippers)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/18 "2017-08-18T00:20:14Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Yeah, but I thought the money was found on the banks of the Columbia, and it would have had to have traveled upstream from the area where Cooper is thought to have jumped. > > I heard a podcast about the case a while ago, and it seemed like there was some possible uncertainty in exactly when he jumped out of the plane. They took off from Seattle and flew south. Cooper put on a parachute and told the flight attendant to go to the flight deck. The pilots saw a warning light that indicated the rear air stairs had been opened, and there was a small disturbance to the plane’s trim. The plane landed in Reno and Cooper was not on board. > > It seems to be taken as gospel that Cooper bailed out over southwest Washington, but he was out of anyone’s sight for quite some time. I’ve always wondered if he might have jumped later, but I don’t know if that was ever seriously considered. Very interesting. I wonder if they could ever figure out exactly when he jumped. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/19 "2017-08-18T05:08:08Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > They found a good chunk of his money in a riverback awhile back. He’s fish (or grizzly) food. This has my vote. Nobody ever seems to think that someone who could do something like that would likely have a hard time keeping his mouth shut, as well. If he did survive, he probably got lung cancer (was a heavy smoker) and died without lack of first world treatment options. So many things point to him not surviving or if so, not for long. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711/20 "2017-08-19T00:13:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He jumped into a freezing cold night, at altitude, in street clothes - he’d have lost consciousness pretty quick. Wiki says the altitude was 10,000’ - very unlikely to lead to a loss of consciousness. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-b-cooper-still/793711.md?page=2)