FBI shares fresh leads in cold case of 'D.B. Cooper'

By SUSAN SAULNY

New York Times

CHICAGO — It is considered one of the great unsolved mysteries of FBI history: how a seemingly quiet man in his mid-40s hijacked an airliner somewhere between Seattle and Reno, Nev., in November 1971, then parachuted in his loafers and trench coat, making off with $200,000 in cash.

Who was he? Did he survive? After all these years, federal authorities say they still do not know, and the case lingers and vexes and fascinates as the only unsolved airplane hijacking in U.S. history.

But now, with the advantage of technologies that were not available decades ago and with newfound attention from an agent on the West Coast, the FBI has announced that the cold case is officially hot again — and the search is on for the parachuter who called himself Dan, and sometimes, D.B. Cooper.

And, for the first time, the FBI is providing pictures and information on the case to the public on its Web site.

The hijacked flight, Northwest Airlines 305, left Portland, Ore., bound for Seattle on Nov. 24, 1971. After takeoff, Cooper handed a flight attendant a note saying he had a bomb in his suitcase. He demanded four parachutes and $200,000 in $20 bills, the FBI says. Upon the plane's landing in Seattle, Cooper exchanged all 36 passengers for the ransom, but continued to hold several crew members on the plane with him as, on his orders, it took off again, this time on a flight to Mexico City.

"This case is 36 years old, it's beyond its expiration date, but I asked for the case because I was intrigued with it," said Larry Carr, a federal agent based in Seattle who usually investigates bank robberies, and who was 4 when the hijacking occurred.

Since the case was turned over to him about six months ago, Carr has come up with a new way of seeing the incident: as a bank robbery that just happened to be on an airplane. The fresh perspective led to new investigating techniques.

"The classic way we solve bank robberies is with the public," Carr said. "Everything we know — pictures, descriptions, m.o., everything. We put it all out there."

Now, with the information made public, he said, "maybe someone will say: My uncle who disappeared in 1971 — he could have been Cooper. I just never thought about it until now."