FBI report, Seattle, NORJAK investigation 11/19/73-5/20/74
Document date 31 May 1974
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Id: Cooper-Part-34:248-258
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-34:248-258 Document: FBI report, Seattle, NORJAK investigation 11/19/73-5/20/74 Id: Cooper-Part-34:248-258 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-34%3A248-258 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
A person reads every report. Corrections are made by hand, to the data — titles, dates, names, which pages belong together — never to the scans, and they can take a while to appear.
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 34 pp. 248–258 (DB Cooper-1289, DB Cooper-12882, DB Cooper-12883, DB Cooper-12884, DB Cooper-12885, DB Cooper-12886, DB Cooper-12887, DB Cooper-12888, DB Cooper-12889, DB Cooper-12892), Report, dated 31 May 1974, serial SE 164-81-6D58 (as read from the transcript) — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-34%3A248-258
FD-263 (Rev. 1-7-72) FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
REPORTING OFFICE: SEATTLE OFFICE OF ORIGIN: SEATTLE DATE: 5/31/74 INVESTIGATIVE PERIOD: 11/19/73 - 5/20/74 TITLE OF CASE: UNSUB; aka, Dan Cooper; Northwest Airlines Flight #305 Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington 11/24/71 REPORT MADE BY: [redacted] rtr CHARACTER OF CASE: CAA - HIJACKING; EXTORTION Sub G-G
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REFERENCES:
Seattle report of SA [redacted] dated 11/29/73.
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ADMINISTRATIVE:
A code name for this case has been given by the Bureau as "NORJAK" and will be used in all communications.
The purpose of this report is to advise the Bureau of the pertinent investigation that has occurred since referenced report. All results have been negative since the last report, therefore, a copy has not been designated for the United States Attorney's Office at Seattle.
There are currently 719 suspects, 636 of whom have been
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ACCOMPLISHMENTS CLAIMED: [X] NONE CONVIC. | FUG. | FINES | SAVINGS | RECOVERIES ACQUITTALS: CASE HAS BEEN: PENDING OVER ONE YEAR [X] YES [ ] NO PENDING PROSECUTION OVER SIX MONTHS [ ] YES [X] NO
APPROVED: [signature] SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE COPIES MADE: 8 - Bureau (164-2111) 3 - Seattle (164-81) [redacted]
DO NOT WRITE IN SPACES BELOW 164-81-6d58 Searched [stamped] Serialized [stamped] Indexed [stamped] Filed [stamped]
Dissemination Record of Attached Report Agency | Request Recd. | Date Fwd. | How Fwd. | By
Notations
DB Cooper-12882
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processed and eliminated. New suspects are being developed and expeditious processing of these suspects continues.
The following is a table that shows the total num- ber of suspects as well as the number of suspects that have been processed and eliminated on certain dates during the past year:
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DATE TOTAL SUSPECTS PROCESSED & ELIMINATED 5/8/73 634 467 6/8/73 644 468 7/6/73 651 486 8/7/73 659 501 8/29/73 664 506 10/9/73 665 555 11/8/73 670 567 11/23/73 677 574 12/6/73 682 576 1/9/74 694 586 2/8/74 706 597 3/6/74 706 607 4/9/74 708 615 5/6/74 718 627 5/20/74 719 636
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Total suspects developed during the past year: 85 Total suspects processed and eliminated during the past year: 169
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Leads are not being set out in this report but rather are being set out by separate communications.
The FBI Laboratory advised by communication dated 4/19/74 as follows:
It should be noted that this crime was committed on 11/24/71. Due to the amount of time that has passed since that date, the value of any further hair comparisons is very limited.
San Francisco Division advised by communication dated 1/2/74 as follows:
[REDACTED] U. S. Parachute Associa- tion, Monterey, California, has advised his office staff is rather small and his own work schedule usually crowded and therefore, he would prefer checks of his records be limited to those suspects on whom he might provide worthwhile infor- mation. If any suspect has not been eliminated through other investigation, and should the FBI desire other specific infor- mation not otherwise obtained but which might be available from the U. S. Parachute Association, [REDACTED] will furnish same from his records.
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DB Cooper-12884
FD-204 (Rev. 3-3-59)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Copy to:
Report of: SA[REDACTED] Office: SEATTLE Date: 5/31/74
Field Office File #: 164-81 Bureau File #:164-2111
Title: UNKNOWN SUBJECT, also known as Dan Cooper NORTHWEST AIRLINES FLIGHT #305, PORTLAND, OREGON TO SEATTLE, WASHINGTON NOVEMBER 24, 1971 Character: CRIME ABOARD AIRCRAFT - HIJACKING; EXTORTION
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Synopsis: Investigation to identify Unsub. to date has been negative. Information disseminated during the prior hunting season produced leads, but no positive results. A new reward has been offered by the Portland, Oregon Journal of $1,000 for the first missing $20 bill recovered. Investigation con- tinuing. ARMED & DANGEROUS.
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DETAILS:
Investigation to identify Unsub. to date has been negative.
Prior to the hunting season which began in October, 1973, the Seattle Division again disseminated information con- cerning this matter to hunters via the Washington State Game Wardens responsible for the area into which Unsub. parachuted.
At the end of the 1973 hunting season, no positive results were achieved from the leads that were received because of the publicity made available to Pacific Northwest hunters.
On 12/17/73, EARL COSSEY advised that the parachute supplied to Unsub. was made of a white "rip-stop" material in- vented since 1945. Several of the canopies shown to him as possibly being identical with Unsub.'s parachute were made of a "twill" material manufactured prior to 1945. Further, COSSEY stated, the parachutes supplied to Unsub. were of a nonstearable variety with no stearing devices whatever.
It is noted that although COSSEY "packed" Unsub.'s
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This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency. DB Cooper-12885
U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1970 O - 406-819
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[...] parachutes they were the property of [REDACTED] address [REDACTED] Kent, Washington, phone number [REDACTED] advised on 5/20/74 that the parachutes used by Unsub. had no hooks on which to fasten a chest pack, i.e., auxiliary parachute. [REDACTED] stated that an experienced parachutist would be able to fashion ties to the "back pack", i.e., main parachute, which would allow the auxiliary parachute to be fastened to the "back pack" and it could be used in an emergency.
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The main parachute used by Unsub. is described as follows:
Model NB6 (Navy Back Pack 6) in a sage green nylon container with matching harness, without "D" rings to attach an auxiliary parachute. The parachute has a 28-foot white nylon flat circular canopy with a specially fitted foam padded cushion. The pilot chute is also white. The "chest pack" parachute used by Unsub. was a training pack dummied up to look like a good parachute for training purposes. It has no pilot chute and its canopy is white in color.
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On 11/22/73, the Portland, Oregon Journal Newspaper offered a reward of $1,000 for the first missing $20 bill "recovered from the loot collected two years ago by D. B. COOPER, the still missing parachuting airplane hijacker." In a Portland, Oregon Journal article dated 11/26/73, the following information was published:
"The Journal is making its 'Secret Witness' plan available for use in helping recover the 'Cooper cash,' the $200,000 that disappeared the night of Nov. 24, 1971, with the parachuting hijacker popularly known as D. B. COOPER.
"The plan can be used with or separate from the newspaper's offer to pay $1,000 for the first $20 bill to be turned in that can be verified by the FBI to be part of the money Cooper obtained from Northwest Orient Airlines prior to jumping from a jetliner he had commandeered. It can be used to return the money, enter into negotiations for its return or to provide information on the whereabouts of the elusive hijacker.
"The 'Secret Witness' plan will enable someone with one or more of the missing bills to surrender the money and still keep his or her identity secret.
"Here is how to use the plan:
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"1. Place the money in a place of your choosing and write down instructions for locating it.
"2. Do not sign your name, but on both lower corners of the first page write a code, using any combin- ation of numbers and letters.
"3. Tear off one of the corners, making a jagged tear. Keep the torn off corner bearing your code and mail the report containing the duplicate code to 'Secret Witness,' The Journal, 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, Ore. 97201.
"The Journal will forward your information to the FBI which will pick up the money and verify whether it is indeed from the Cooper ransom. If it is, that fact will be published in the newspaper.
"After that, give the torn off corner you have kept to a trusted friend or to an attorney or to your minister with instructions to take it directly to the Secret Witness plan coordinator at The Journal. If the codes and torn edges match, your agent will be given the $1,000 for the first $20 of the 'Cooper cash' to be turned in."
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In addition to the above reward, [redacted] Northwest Orient Airlines, authorized a finder's fee of $25,000 total reward or 15% of any portion of the D.B. COOPER ransom money that is returned.
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Finally, the Seattle Post Intelligencer Newspaper has offered a $5,000 reward in connection with its "Secret Witness Program" for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for this crime.
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On 11/29/73, the following article was published in the Tacoma, Washington News Tribune under the headline "Skyjacker Cooper: Still A Folk Hero, Still A Mystery":
"Two years after parachuting from a Northwest Airlines jet with $200,000 in ransom money, the skyjacker known as Dan Cooper remains a folk hero and a mystery.
"He is, according to the U. S. Department of Transportation, the only person ever to hijack a domestic airliner who has not been killed or brought to justice. " 'We really know nothing more about him today than we did at 11 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1971,' says [redacted] special agent in charge of the Portland FBI office.
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"Authorities said this is what happened on that Thanksgiving Eve:
"A man who gave his name as Dan Cooper bought a one-way ticket at Portland International Airport to Seattle aboard Northwest Airlines' Flight 305 which originated in Washington, D.C.
"No antihijacking measures were in operation as the 36 passengers boarded the Boeing 727 for the 25-minute flight.
"Once in the air, Cooper handed stewardess [REDACTED] a note saying he had a bomb. Following Cooper's orders, [REDACTED] sat beside the skyjacker and wrote down instructions to the pilot.
"He wanted 10,000 $20 bills to be delivered to him at Seattle in a laundry sack, along with two sets of parachutes. Otherwise he threatened to blow up the plane.
"Airline officials and Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion agents complied with his requests and Cooper allowed the passengers and two of the three stewardesses to disembark at Seattle.
"Then he ordered the plane to fly south to Reno, Nev., at 200 miles per hour, at 10,000 feet, flaps down. The crew was to stay in the cockpit.
"After takeoff from Seattle, a red light flashed in the cockpit indicating the plane's rear boarding ramp had been unlatched.
"Nothing was heard from Cooper for about 20 minutes. At 8:10 p.m., as the plane crossed the Lewis River in south- western Washington, [REDACTED] thought the hijacker was having trouble with the ramp and called back over the plane's interphone:
"Anything we can do for you?"
"There was no answer.
"Another light flashed showing the ramp was fully extended. A few seconds later the hijacker came back on the interphone: "No."
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"That was the last ever heard of him.
"When the plane landed in Reno, the rear ramp was down and Cooper was gone. The 21-pound sack of money was gone. One set of parachutes was gone. The skyjacker, who had carefully reclaimed his note to the stewardess, had left no fingerprints.
"Authorities believed Cooper jumped from the plane near Woodland, Wash. The town was transformed into a bustling command post for a small army of newsmen and dozens of FBI agents, police and soldiers from Ft. Lewis.
"With planes, helicopters, Jeeps and track dogs, they combed the vast, densely wooded region northeast of Woodland. Much of it was rugged terrain, thick with freshly fallen snow, and virtually impassable.
"The hijacker left the plane clad only in a light business suit and street shoes. He parachuted into the black- ness of a raging thunderstorm, into a 200 m.p.h. hour wind and temperatures of minus 7 degrees.
"He could not have survived, police reasoned. They said they were simply looking for a body and a bag of money and that could wait until the spring thaw. A week later the army of searchers was disbanded.
"In the ensuing months Cooper became a legend in the Northwest - pictured as a lone Robin Hood who stole from a giant corporation, hurt no one and got away. A song ex- tolling his feat became a hit. "D. B. Cooper, Where Are You?" Tee shirts sold by the thousands.
"The media had erroneously identified the skyjacker as D. B. rather than Dan Cooper.
"Then, late in March, 1972, 300 soldiers from Ft. Lewis searched the thawing terrain for 18 days. They found not a trace of Cooper, 'although we did find a body and cleared up a local murder,' says FBI agent [REDACTED]
" 'We investigated every report and so far have proved that the various men reported to be Cooper could not have been the man on Flight 305,' [REDACTED] says.
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" 'We have no physical evidence to go on except the $20 bills,' he said, adding the numbers of all 10,000 bills were circulated to banks in a 34-page booklet. None has turned up.
"Northwest Airlines, which offered a $25,000 reward for recovery of the ransom, has canceled the offer.
"But last week, on the second anniversary of the hijacking, the Oregon Journal newspaper offered $1,000 to anyone who could produce one of the $20 bills. There have been no takers.
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[REDACTED] says a number of FBI agents have worked on the case, to no avail."
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The Seattle Division advised Minneapolis by airtel dated 7/23/73 as follows:
It is possible that Unsub. made a trial run or runs prior to NORJAK, with the purpose of perfecting his hijack plan. If passenger lists of flights from Portland to Seattle for two weeks prior to NORJAK could be obtained the names on these lists could be compared to NORJAK indices, and other lists currently on file at Seattle in order to possibly identify Unsub.
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In an attempt to determine if Unsub. made a trial run prior to NORJAK, [REDACTED] Northwest Orient Airlines, Seattle, Washington, was contacted and furnished the following information:
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Records of reservations are stored in Northwest Orient Airline Univac Computer Systems and can be retrieved as far back as 5 years. Copies of tickets sold by Northwest Orient Airlines are on file and can also be reviewed.
Concerning the above, the Minneapolis Division ad- vised that tapes recording passengers of all Northwest Orient Airlines flights are maintained by Northwest Orient Airlines only six (6) months. The tapes are then erased and reused. No passenger lists for Northwest Orient Airlines flights from Portland to Seattle from 11/10/71 to 11/23/71 are in existence.
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The San Francisco Division advised by airtel dated 11/21/73 of the following:
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On 11/19/73, [REDACTED] Novato, California, advised as follows:
Since he had seen the movie "Airport" on television he has given a great deal of thought as to how this crime was perpetrated. He stated that he was principally interested in obtaining any reward that might be forthcoming for furnishing information concerning this case. He also stated that he had formally worked on airplanes and was familiar with them; how- ever, he did not know the difference between a Boeing 727 and a 737.
In essence, [REDACTED] theory is that the hijacker was probably a mechanic for Northwest Orient Airlines and at some time prior to the hijacking, had access to this particular aircraft. According to [REDACTED] any confident mechanic, if given enough time, could remove panels from the airplane, either in the floor or restroom area, secrete himself in the space after fashioning some kind of device to pull the panel or floor in behind him. He suggested that the hijacker could have gotten into the cargo area and hidden in a box in the above manner. [REDACTED] theory was that a mechanic with the Airline could have accomplished these things at any time when the aircraft was having a major overhaul.
It should be pointed out that in all probability the hijacker jumped from the aircraft since there was evidence of a pressure change when the stairwell closed apparently after a heavy object jumped from the stairs. The same pres- sure change occurred when a subsequent demonstration was con- ducted by throwing a 150 lb. object from the stairs.
The Minneapolis Division advised by communication dated 1/4/74 as follows:
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Northwest Orient Airlines, was contacted on 12/17/73. [REDACTED] advised that it would be virtually impossible for unknown subject to remove panels from the airplane, either in the floor or restroom area, in order to secrete himself under the floor of the airplane. He advised that in order to remove the panels, rivets must be removed. He advised that the floor panels are small and it would require the removal of several of the panels in order for a man to secrete himself under the floor. [REDACTED] advised that an individual very familiar with the aircraft could get from the cabin area to the cargo area using internal passages. He advised that if the individual accomplished this feat, he would experience extreme cold. He advised that the air pressure in the cargo area is adjusted and could be tolerated by an individual.
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[REDACTED] advised that when the 727 aircraft landed after the hijacking incident, it was thoroughly inspected. He advised that flooring was removed in both the passenger and restroom sections, floor panels were removed, and the entire cargo area was inspected, as well as all cargo con- tained in that area. [REDACTED] advised that it was his opinion that Unsub. was not in the 727 when it landed.
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The following is a list of NORJAK witnesses and their current addresses:
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Northwest Orient Airline Stewardesses:
[REDACTED] DENVER DIVISION Aurora, Colorado Telephone: [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] CHICAGO DIVISION Schaumburg, Illinois
[REDACTED] MINNEAPOLIS DIVISION Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota Telephone: [REDACTED]
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Northwest Orient Airline Personnel:
[REDACTED] PORTLAND DIVISION Portland, Oregon Telephone: [REDACTED]
[REDACTED] PORTLAND DIVISION Portland, Oregon Telephone: [REDACTED]
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Northwest Orient Airlines Crew:
[REDACTED] MINNEAPOLIS DIVISION Minneapolis, Minnesota Telephone: [REDACTED]
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Serials: 164-2111, SE 164-81, SE 164-81-6D58