On November 24, 1971, a man boarded a Northwest Orient Airlines flight and executed one of the most famous unsolved crimes in American aviation history. Identifying himself as Dan Cooper, the sharply dressed passenger handed a flight attendant a note claiming he had a bomb.
He demanded $200,000 in cash and four parachutes, sparking a massive FBI manhunt that would span decades. For years, investigators chased dead ends, but a team of cold case experts eventually pointed to a singular prime suspect. They believed the man who jumped from the plane was a former U.S. Army paratrooper named Robert Rackstraw.
Flight 305 and the $200,000 Ransom
Shortly after Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 departed from Portland bound for Seattle, the hijacker initiated his plan. The media later mistakenly dubbed him D.B. Cooper.
He instructed the crew to have the money, two front parachutes, and two back parachutes ready upon landing. He also demanded a fuel truck to refuel the aircraft in Seattle. Once the plane landed and his demands were met, Cooper released the passengers and ordered the pilot to fly toward Mexico City.
The Disappearance Over the Pacific Northwest
The aircraft took off again, but Cooper agreed to a refueling stop in Reno, Nevada. Sometime during this flight, he strapped on a parachute, grabbed the cash, and jumped out of the plane.
He vanished into the woods of the Pacific Northwest. The FBI launched an expansive search, interviewing thousands of individuals to uncover the hijacker’s identity.
Robert Rackstraw: A Paratrooper with a Criminal Record
Robert Rackstraw was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1943. He dropped out of high school and joined the military, serving as a U.S. Army paratrooper and explosives expert during the Vietnam War. Although he earned multiple air medals during his 1970 tour, the military discharged him in 1971 for misconduct.
Rackstraw had lied about his high school education. His legal troubles continued. He was acquitted of murdering his stepfather, but in 1978, a court convicted him of stealing a plane and forging checks, resulting in a two-year prison sentence.
Decoded Letters and the FBI Investigation
Early in the investigation, the FBI dismissed Rackstraw because he was 28 years old. Witnesses estimated the hijacker to be between 35 and 45 years in age. Years later, filmmaker Tom Colbert and a 40-person investigative team of former FBI agents reopened the inquiry.
They acquired letters allegedly written by Cooper. A former Vietnam War codebreaker named Rick Sherwood analyzed them and claimed one contained a hidden message stating, “I am 1st Lt. Robert Rackstraw.” Rackstraw himself never formally confessed. He often responded to questions with a smile, once claiming he was afraid of heights. He died from a heart condition on July 9, 2019.