The Possibility of D.B. Cooper's Survival

As the FBI investigated deeper into the D.B. Cooper case, their initial impression that he must've been a skilled parachutist began to crumble. He clearly had some aviation knowledge -- Cooper had directed the pilot to fly below 10,000 feet and to keep the wing flaps at a 15-degree angle. This would slow the plane to about 200 knots [source: New York Magazine]. But only a madman or an inexperienced skydiver would have made the jump Cooper attempted.

For one, the conditions were terrible for skydiving. The plane's altitude was based on sea level, and Cooper jumped out over the Cascade Mountains. So the actual distance between him and the ground (or the tall trees) below would have been extremely unpredictable. It was rainy and cold when he jumped -- with the wind chill, Cooper's business suit wouldn't have kept him very warm when he dove into below-zero temperatures [source: FBI].

Cascade Mountains.
James P. Blair/National Geographic/Getty Images
Part of the Cascade mountain range in Washington, the rugged area where Cooper could have landed

Cooper had also demanded four parachutes. He'd used the lines from at least one to secure the money to his torso, and strapped on two of them -- front and back. Cooper had at least some knowledge of parachutes; he'd requested chutes designed for front and back. But he failed to recognize that the one he'd donned didn't operate. It was for training purposes only [source: FBI].

Even if he did survive the jump with faulty parachutes, one visitor to a party held in Cooper's honor in each year near Woodland, Ore., believes that Cooper might have had another problem to contend with: "encounter[ing] Sasquatch in Washington's woods" [source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer].

Many FBI agents don't believe that D.B. Cooper survived his famous jump from the Northwest Boeing 727. Among the disbelievers is Special Agent Larry Carr, who took over the case in 2007 [source: The Independent]. When Karr took over, he released evidence on an FBI Web site (see link on the next page) in the hopes that someone may come forward with clues needed to close the case once and for all.

Among this evidence are the serial numbers from cash discovered in 1980. That year, a boy playing in the woods along the Columbia River found $5,800 worth of $20 bills buried in the muddy banks. The serial numbers matched those given to Cooper as ransom [source: Los Angeles Times]. An intensive search was launched of the surrounding area, which produced a human skull. It turned out, however, that the skull belonged to a woman [source: U.S. News and World Report].

Agent Carr hopes this money will ultimately provide the answer to the whereabouts of D.B. Cooper's final resting place. He's made appeals to hydrologists -- scientists who study the movement of water in nature -- to examine the bills [source: FBI]. Perhaps someone can determine if the money originally landed elsewhere and was carried to the Columbia River years later.

So far, the bills are the only tangible link to Cooper. In 2008, a parachute matching those given to Cooper was dug up by children in southwestern Washington. But it was made of silk; the chutes Cooper had were nylon. The owner of the skydiving business that provided the parachutes to the FBI for Cooper confirmed that they weren't the same [source: AP].

If Cooper survived his jump, he may still be alive. Based on the descriptions given by the two stewardesses on the flight, he'd be in his mid-80s. Until incontrovertible evidence is uncovered, the D.B. "Dan" Cooper case continues. And with a legend as big as Cooper's, even proof probably won't satisfy some who've followed the crime.

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