On Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1971, a man identified as Daniel Cooper bought a $20 one-way ticket on Northwest Airlines on Flight 305 from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. Cooper was described as being in his mid-40s, wearing a business suit, an overcoat, brown shoes, a white shirt, and a black tie. He also carried a briefcase and a brown paper bag.
Before the flight took off, he ordered a bourbon and soda from a flight attendant. After the plane was airborne, Cooper handed the flight attendant a note. At first, she just put it in her pocket without looking at it but then Cooper told her “Miss, you better look at that note. I have a bomb.” Cooper then told her the bomb was in his briefcase and asked her to sit next to him. He opened the briefcase to reveal red-colored sticks, surrounded by an array of wires. Cooper told the flight attendant to write down everything he was saying and then take it to the Captain. The note said “I want $200,000 by 5 p.m. in cash exclusively in $20 bills, put in a knapsack. I want two back parachutes and two front parachutes. When we land, I want a fuel truck ready to refuel. No funny stuff or I’ll do the job.”
FBI agents assembled the ransom money from several Seattle-area banks and Seattle police obtained the parachutes from a local skydiving school. When Cooper claimed his demands were met, he allowed all passengers and some of the crew to exit the airplane. Cooper told the remaining crew to refuel the plane and chart a course for Mexico City while staying below 10,000 feet.
During the flight, Cooper put on a pair of dark wraparound sunglasses which would make it into the official sketch and become famous to anyone investigating the case. A little after 8 p.m. and somewhere in between Seattle and Reno, Nevada, Cooper jumped out of the rear door of the plane with two of the parachutes and the money. He was never seen again.
Despite an expansive manhunt and over 45 years of searching, no conclusions have been made as to the man’s identity or his fate after he jumped. It is called one of the greatest cold cases in FBI and US history
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