AOTP Campfire Tales Ep.12

Accounts of the Paranormal's Campfire Tales 

Vanishing Act at 10,000 Feet: The D.B. Cooper Mystery 

Explore the enduring mystery of D.B. Cooper, the hijacker who vanished from 10,000 feet into the icy night skies with a leap of faith and $200,000.

Paranormal and mystery short stories told around the campfire, straight from our Accounts of the Paranormal YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9zKn4LcW3VJROe1-l9EAcQ

If you have an account to share and would like to be a guest on the show, email me at show@accountsoftheparanormal.com and tell me what you saw!

Accounts of the Paranormal -

Creator/Producer/Host: Gino Barreto

WEBSITE: https://accountsoftheparanormal.com/ 

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Accounts of the Paranormal (theme song) 

Written by: Gino Barreto / Produced by: Kobe Ofei

All music produced by: 

Kobe Ofei https://www.fiverr.com/kobeofei 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to Accounts of the Paranormal's Campfire Tales. I'm Julia, your host and guide into strange, unexplained history and chilling tales of the paranormal. Join us around the campfire for tonight's story. On the afternoon of November 24th, 1971, the day before Thanksgiving, a quiet man in a dark business suit walked into Portland International Airport and stepped up to the Northwest Orient Airlines counter. He gave his name as Dan Cooper, paid cash for a one-way ticket to Seattle, and carried with him a black attache case. No one knew then that the name would soon be misreported as DB Cooper, and that the mistake would become legend. He boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305, a Boeing 727 bound for Seattle. The flight was scheduled to leave at 250 PM. It was supposed to be a short trip, barely half an hour in the air. Cooper sat near the back of the plane, calm as a shadow, and ordered a bourbon and soda while the other passengers settled in for the holiday flight. A little after 3 PM, as the aircraft lifted into the gray Pacific Northwest sky, Cooper handed a note to flight attendant Florence Shaffner. At first she thought it was just another lonely passenger passing along a phone number. Then, Cooper leaned close and quietly warned her to read it. The note said he had a bomb. When she sat beside him, he opened his case just enough for her to see wires, a battery, and red cylinders inside. His demands were precise, two hundred thousand dollars in twenty dollar bills and four parachutes. No panic, no shouting, just a man in a suit speaking softly while a plane full of people flew through the clouds, unaware that death might be sitting in the last rows. Below, the ground came alive. Police, airline officials, and FBI agents scrambled in Seattle. The ransom money was gathered from Seattle First National Bank, with the serial numbers already recorded. Parachutes were rushed to the airport. Meanwhile, Flight 305 circled Seattle in stormy weather, while passengers were told there was a mechanical problem. Around 5 40 p.m., the plane landed at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Cooper ordered the window shades closed. He exchanged the passengers for the money and parachutes, allowing all 36 passengers to leave. But he kept the pilots, the flight engineer, and flight attendant Tina Mucklow aboard. Then he gave his next instructions. Fly toward Mexico City, stay below 10,000 feet, keep the speed low, and lower the rear stairs of the 727. At about 740 PM, Flight 305 rose back into the night. This time, the cabin was nearly empty. Outside, fighter jets followed in the darkness, struggling to trail the slow moving airliner. Inside, Cooper cut cords from a parachute and tied the money bag to himself. Then he sent Mucklow to the cockpit and told her not to return. She pulled the curtain closed behind her. That was the last confirmed moment any person saw Dan Cooper alive. Five minutes after takeoff, at 7 forty two PM, a warning light showed the rear stairs had been opened. Around eight PM, somewhere over southwestern Washington, the crew felt the aircraft shudder. The cold air outside was below freezing. Sleet and rain whipped through the blackness. When the crew called back to Cooper, there was no answer. The plane landed safely in Reno, Nevada, with the rear stairs still down. Cooper was gone. Left behind were parachutes, a black tie, and questions that would outlive everyone aboard that flight. The FBI launched a massive investigation called Norjack, interviewed hundreds of people, and examined more than 800 suspects in the first five years. None led to Cooper. In 1980, a boy found bundles of Cooper's ransom money buried along the Columbia River, their serial numbers matching the stolen bills. But most of the money was never recovered. Cooper's body was never found. His real name was never learned. And so the story ends where it truly began. In the dark above Washington, with an open stairway, a roaring storm, and a man stepping out of an airplane into nothing.com, where you can access full episodes and links to all our socials. And while you're there, be sure to sign up for our blog so you never miss show info or other announcements. I'll see you next time.