November 24, 1971 – D.B.Cooper Jumps – Todd Snider puts it to Song!
In November of 1971, I was 20 years old and entering my sophomore year at the University of Florida. On the 24th of that month……
A hijacker calling himself D.B.Cooper parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines 727 into a raging thunderstorm over Washington State. He had $200,000 in ransom money in his possession.
Cooper commandeered the aircraft shortly after takeoff, showing a flight attendant something that looked like a bomb and informing the crew that he wanted $200,000, four parachutes, and “no funny stuff.” The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where authorities met Cooper’s demands and evacuated most of the passengers. Cooper then demanded that the plane fly toward Mexico at a low altitude and ordered the remaining crew into the cockpit.
At 8:13 p.m., as the plane flew over the Lewis River in southwest Washington, the plane’s pressure gauge recorded Cooper’s jump from the aircraft. Wearing only wraparound sunglasses, a thin suit, and a raincoat, Cooper parachuted into a thunderstorm with winds in excess of 100 mph and temperatures well below zero at the 10,000-foot altitude where he began his fall. “The storm prevented an immediate capture, and most authorities assumed he was killed during his apparently suicidal jump. No trace of Cooper was found during a massive search. Continue Reading at History.com
Yes, the legend of D.B.Cooper lives…Is it possible that D.B. survived the jump..here’s a link to a pretty good article at How Stuff Works: Is D.B.Cooper Still Alive? Actually,I don’t think we’ll ever know!
Anyway, let’s celebrate the 44th anniversary of D.B.’s jump by listening to Todd Snider’s song about the event …..titled appropriately “D.B.Cooper”….What do ya’ll think?
