From a Wheelchair Suspect to Titanium on a Tie, FBI Files Reveal New Clues in Unsolved Airline Hijacking by D.B. Cooper

Newly released FBI files are offering a deeper look into the only unsolved airline hijacking in U.S. history — the 1971 case of D.B. Cooper, who parachuted from a commercial airliner with $200,000 in ransom and was never seen again. 

A 398-page case file, released this week by the FBI, includes hundreds of tips and suspect profiles, including a man who agents noted was confined to a wheelchair. 

According to investigators, Cooper boarded the flight in Portland using the alias “Dan Cooper” on Nov. 24, 1971. After takeoff, he passed a note to a flight attendant stating that he had a bomb, and demanded $200,000 in ransom and four parachutes. 

After the plane landed in Seattle, Cooper released the passengers in exchange for the money and directed the flight crew to take off again, instructing them to fly south at a low altitude. 

He opened the rear stairs somewhere over rural Washington and parachuted out of the plane with the ransom money strapped to him. 

No one has ever been been identified or arrested in connection with the case. Although the hijacker purchased his ticket under the name “Dan Cooper,” a media mix-up early in the investigation mistakenly referred to him as “D.B. Cooper,” solidifying the name that stuck in public memory despite never appearing in official FBI records. 

The newly released files confirm that agents examined Cooper’s tie, which was left behind on the plane, and found that it was covered in more than 100,000 microscopic particles — including rare metals such as unalloyed titanium, bismuth and strontium sulfide. 

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The presence of these materials suggested that Cooper may have worked in specialized manufacturing, such as aerospace or electronics, and helped shape early theories that he had technical training or access to Boeing facilities.

The just-released documents also show that FBI agents pursued hundreds of leads in the case.

One suspect, who used a wheelchair, was quickly ruled out — in a brief note, an agent wrote, “A man confined to a wheel chair [sic] did not hijack the plane in this case.”

The files also reference Donald Sylvester Murphy, who falsely claimed to be D.B. Cooper in 1972 in an attempt to extort $30,000 from the editor of Newsweek. 

According to investigators, Murphy wore a wig and sunglasses and attempted to present forged bills with altered serial numbers. He was arrested along with an accomplice, and later convicted of fraud. 

The files include interviews with dozens of individuals who claim to have information about the hijacking. Some described neighbors, coworkers or acquaintances who resembled the FBI’s widely-distributed composite sketch of Cooper. 

Others claimed to know people who had suddenly come into money or who had experience with parachuting. Most leads were closed without further action. 

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Richard McCoy Jr., who was long speculated to be a suspect by members of the public due to similarities to a later hijacking he committed, does not appear in the newly released material. 

Less than five months after D.B. Cooper’s hijacking, McCoy hijacked a United Airlines flight using a nearly identical method, including a ransom demand, a Boeing 727 with a rear airway and a parachute escape. He was captured two days later, with investigators finding nearly all of the stolen money. 

The FBI ruled McCoy out in the 1971 hijacking, citing physical differences between eyewitness descriptions and an alibi placing him in Utah during the first incident. 

The agency officially closed the hijacking investigation in 2016, citing a lack of credible new evidence. Recently released files do not identify a definitive suspect, and Cooper’s identity remains unknown.