The DB Cooper Case: The Only Successful Skyjacking in U S History

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[@megaprojects9649]

End of Winter Sale! Get 70% off NordPass at nordpass.com/megaprojects or use code megaprojects. Plus, you get an additional month for FREE!

[@dmanvell]

Really enjoy the content, but you've let the theme of this channel go completely sideways.... Why not have things like this on Side Projects? Have actual megaprojects on....Megaprojects? Why not put largest controlled demolitions on here, DB cooper on Side Projects? Makes no sense. Anyway, happy viewer despite the minor gripe. :)

[@cleverusername9369]

That was a smooth ad transition, by the way. Well done

[@mustafaemad3614]

I have been campaigning for a long time for the Bar Lev Line with no success. But instead of giving up, I will be campaigning for Benban Solar Park, Aswan High Dam and of course Bar Lev Line.

[@kommandantgalileo]

this man was a MadLad

[@bmoturtleco]

Why was the name "Donald" censored?

[@rickcastellon9090]

Airline pilot here. I have been lucky enough to have flown the Boeing 727 aircraft. After the incident, Boeing installed a fix on the aircraft that made it impossible to open the air stairs in flight. It was called the DB Cooper switch.

[@LarryisControversial3000]

Awesome and Legendary at the same time

[@barryfowler954]

This is true, I'm a retired Australian pilot who flew 727's for an old and now gone company called Ansett, It was referred to as the Dan Cooper Latch over here.

[@rickcastellon9090]

@@barryfowler954 "Check Essential !!!!"

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

The "Cooper vane?" Basically a lightly spring loaded wind vane next to the airstair that would blow straight in the slipstream and cover the door, jamb, preventing it from opening? I went to a mechanic school that had a retired Fed Ex 727. Second day of school, a teacher--I think the guy got his start working on Wright Model A's in his 40's--decides to take us out to the ramp to go look at the cooper vane--which wasn't installed. The two bolt holes were there though.

[@megaprojects9649]

@@LarryisControversial3000 truth

[@bradclifford295]

The case was just solved. Loki was DB Cooper. So glad that Disney cleared it up for me.

[@beeboo5433]

Trueee

[@silverXnoise]

Meh. It’s Jimmy James or it’s nobody.

[@imjk1786]

😂

[@eymdvz]

I think he is Charles Westmoreland in Prison Break

[@RycoonGalloy]

who buried the money?

[@Albinoafroman316]

We all know D.B. Cooper was Danny's grandfather and that is why Simon keeps him inprisoned.

[@V0idFace]

D.B. Cooper is *Danny. That is why he keeps making up stories about his youth and is kept imprisoned.

[@aceundead4750]

It would also explain how Simon can have a basement spanning several countries, and possibly the globe, without science fiction technology or black magic. Allegedly.

[@Warburtonbread]

Yeah but, what if Simon was D. B. Cooper? He seemed to recall that story with great enthusiasm and depth. Almost as if he was there...?

[@spiritofthetime]

@@Warburtonbread how old do you think SW is?! DB Cooper would be in his 90s in 2021.

[@archstanton6102]

@@spiritofthetime Whooosh

[@UmVtCg]

I just saw a video about this on an other channel: - D Cooper is a name from a Belgian Cartoon sold in Canada, but not the US. - Only this specific plane was able to fly this slow with the flaps at that angle, and had a button to open the back door which was not well known even among crews - The multiple parachutes suggested escape with hostages preventing tampering by authorities

[@jameson8682]

That trick with the parachutes was genius. Ask for enough parachutes for everyone on the plane that way if they give you a bad chute they risk killing an innocent victim. I don't think I would have thought of that if it were me.

[@ahsanashfaq4430]

Forty 2 eh?

[@larryhatcher8927]

Never heard that Cooper had a French or French Canadian accent but anything is possible

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

@@larryhatcher8927 I am french speaking canadian . When I speak english one cannot know I am francophone. . It is quite frequent with francophone canadians. The french accents are utterly different from those from Canada.

[@ophidahlia1464]

Good point about the chutes. So, asking for non-military parachutes would also support the impression he wanted simple chutes a civilian hostage could operate, and further obfuscate any military background he might have had.

[@billbaker3565]

I remember when this all occurred. Many, many shows have been made about it over the years. I have always remembered in one of them a smug FBI agent called “Cooper” a “loser”. Well that “loser” beat the whole FBI!

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

I like the Alcatraz escape story too. The guys likely died, but it was an almost perfect plan, and the FBI never caught/found them either.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

and the Director

[@bigwoody4704]

That smug agent was Ralph Himmelsbach from the Seattle or Portland FBI office.Ya he was popping off that the jumper didn't know squat and was dead - of course the ignorant knob didn't know 10,000 miles away the US Special Forces and CIA were jumping out nightly into Nam,Loas,Cambodia from that very model Jet during clandestine operations.50 yrs later,ya real loser

[@georgedawson235]

I watched that yesterday lol its a Nat geo one absolutely awful

[@michaelgmoore5708]

Yes that agent knew nothing and was jealous because he wasn't smart like D. B. Cooper was, outsmarting the entire FBI and CIA.

[@Debragamero]

My husband was a Green Beret. He made several jumps (and landings) in the middle of the night. He says that it is actually safer to jump at night. You are practically invisible. As far as landing is concerned, it can be safe or dangerous depending on what kind of terrain you hit. It is a matter of good or bad luck. His opinion is that if D.B Cooper had died in the jump, they would have found his body, his parachute or all of the money.

[@joshuagerhardt9235]

So I live in the area right where he supposedly landed if he did die any evidence would have disappeared after May 28 1980 when my St Helen’s blew up only a few miles away also the area is very isolated so that if a stranger was moving around the area the locals would know so he is either he is a local and lived or he died and evidence was wiped away with the eruption and I’m sure any family would be suspicious of a relative that disappeared that night

[@Doc_OLDGUY_Savage]

The assumption is that the flight crew heard the ruckus in the aft, loss of air pressure, etal., and that's how 'everyone' knows when and where 'DB Cooper' jumped. Try this thought experiment. You're 'DB Cooper' and you make A LOT OF NOISE and enough banging around to make everyone up front think you've jumped over inhospitable terrain. You don't jump and toss out small bags with some cash. You silently wait until the aircraft flies over somewhere more hospitable to jump. Then jump 'quietly.' Because you've pre-planned this, you have a ride and supplies in the landing zone. Nah. 'DB Cooper' jumped at the most life threatening time and place possible.

[@petermuller7687]

Ahh yes, because I'm totally going to use a password manger made by the same company that decided to hide that they got hacked and had potential data leaks for at least a year...

[@emmjea6913]

@@paaaatrika I store my passwords on a palmpilot.

[@micahphilson]

@@emmjea6913 Wait, those even exist still? That's probably about as secure as you can get, considering most people don't even realize they exist!

[@DixonLu]

@@emmjea6913 I miss the push button business card exchange. No texting, email, wifi, etc.

[@cpob2013]

@@emmjea6913 thats like securing nuke silos with floppy discs... uncrackable by obsolescence

[@davep5698]

@@cpob2013 Coincidentally I keep my nuclear silo key disk under my drink on my desk, they make very nice retro tech coasters

[@aggromando7323]

I’ve heard DB Coopers story 100 times. Simon manages to make it interesting again with his excellent story telling.

[@bradhobbs6196]

Several years ago, the ex-wife insisted we stop along the side of the road in rural PA for the very alluring "free kittens" hand painted sign. We encountered a selection of over a dozen, and she picked a black one, that the man offering them referred to as "Cooper". I selected an orange one, and when they asked me what I would name it, I immediately said "DB". As everyone knows, Orange Cats are cool, and DB turned out to be one of the best cats to ever make my acquaintance.

[@michaeltobias3110]

Interesting story

[@RaoulThomas007]

Did DB play with flares, brief cases and wire and create bomb like looking play toys?

[@nathanielriesterer9103]

@@RaoulThomas007 It's probably missing.

[@MattH-wg7ou]

Orange cats are indeed cool. RIP my big beautiful orange Maine Coon, Enzo.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:05 - Chapter 1 - The skyjacking 6:10 - Chapter 2 - Investigation begins 8:55 - Mid roll ads 10:15 - Chapter 3 - The evidence 11:20 - Chapter 4 - The wilderness years 15:40 - Chapter 5 - Who Dan cooper was ? 19:00 - Chapter 6 - The mystery goes on

[@robertkustos2931]

Chapter 7 - mystery solved .

[@QueenetBowie]

First time I heard of DB Cooper I was already on my late twenties and couldn’t understand how such an insane and incredible story and character wasn’t in pop culture the same way Butch Cassidy or Jack the Ripper are. Regardless of it he survived or not the story still sounds so surreal.

[@casteanpreswyn7528]

He is a local legend in Washington.

[@user6008]

His name was Richard Floyd McCoy and the man's real life was incredible. He was a Green Beret, special forces who served two tours in Vietnam. Won the DSC, purple heart, combat ribbons galore. But the part not recorded by history is the fact that McCoy hijacked two planes, because he lost most of the $200,000 in the first jump. Hijacked a second plane four months later, successfully jumped out with $500,000 only to be caught due to a very sloppy mistake. He left a hand written note with his finger prints on it during the 2nd hijacking, and since he had already been a suspect in the 1st hijacking the feds already had his finger prints. Raided the man's home and recovered the money. McCoy went to prison only to escape, and in 1974 he died in a hail of gunfire, killed by the FBI. but the really interesting part is his family kept McCoy's secret for fifty years, because their mother (McCoy's wife was an accomplice in both hijackings) died in 2021 and then their secret was revealed. She got away with her part in the crimes, sued after a book came out 1992 naming her as a suspect and she settled out of court for 125,000.

[@jimjungle1397]

@@user6008 I had read some years ago, that he was suspected in the first hijacking, due to some exact wording or phrase on both hand written notes and that phrase hadn't been revealed to the public after the first hijacking. I never did see what that phrase was. Do you know anything about what he said or wrote, that wasn't made public at the time? His wife said he wore a disguise with clothing bought at Goodwill in the second hijacking, but that she didn't think he did the first hijacking.(?) That could explain the titanium on the tie in the first hijacking, which had nothing to do with his job.

[@user6008]

@@jimjungle1397 Well the tie has been handled by so many people over the last five decades, it's virtually impossible to know who, where and how the microscopic particles got on the tie. The phrase used in the two skyjackings was *no funny stuff*

[@jimjungle1397]

@@user6008 No funny stuf. Thanks. I heard it long ago, but couldn't remember it. The titanium particles likely didn't come from just handling the tie. I worked with titanium dust in plasma sprayers, spraying stainless steel hip replacement joints and I cut and welded titanium bicycle frames. The wife of the hijacker that was shot after he escaped, said that he bought clothing for a disguise from Goodwill. The tie was likely a donation and had nothing to do with where he worked, but I doubt that titanium just got on the tie from being handled. I think the titanium was on the tie when it was donated to Goodwill.

[@iamnotpaulavery]

Maybe he never jumped. He might have been hiding in the cargo hold in a pre-determined container. He ditched the parachutes and threw out a wad of cash, the cash that was found years later. When the jet landed he might have had an accomplice that helped him escape from the cargo hold, paid him off and took off. If he had any experience in the military as they suggested, he would have known that jumping out of the jet at 10,000 ft. would have proven fatal. That's why he took the dummy parachute, even though it was clearly labeled as such, because he never planned on jumping. Who knows...but he planned this really well and got away with it... _if he indeed planned the jump._ I'm not pretending to be Sherlock Holmes - this happened when I was 2 years old!! I'm just curious and thinking. 🤔

[@LearnSciSnippets]

Having just watched the Netflix documentary, this is exactly the same conclusion I came to. An excellent case of misdirection.

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

Not that ive followed the DB cooper thing, but with all thi data showing what they did do, i must admit, it confined my thinking. not one time did i ponder the possibility of him not jumping because i assumed (though it wasnt stated) that the fbi did a full and thorough check of the plane and the stuff in the plane when it finally landed again. but having not heard anyone say such, and presented with this idea, i must say its a wonder this angle isnt covered more. and seemes to have not been investigated. thanks for the perspective!

[@iamnotpaulavery]

@@jamesleatherwood5125 You're welcome!

[@Hollylivengood]

Did you see the Dan Glyder video on this? He's a retired pilot who also does a bit of sky diving. He actually did a jump in the same conditions as D B Cooper, in a suit, with no helmet, and holding a bag weighted the same as the money bag that Cooper had. He had a go pro so you could see it. It all went fine, but he couldn't stabilize until he ditched the bag. By the way, Gryder looked at the weather report for that night, and there was no rain, it was clowdy, but no rain at the time of the jump.

[@drscopeify]

Back then people could book a flight anonymously so that is why they couldn't identify him. The forest undergrowth in WA/OR is very tall in some places 10+ feet high, so if he died and hit the ground it would hide him from air and ground search pretty easily. I doubt he had the ability to bury the parachute at night in a storm so the fact they never found the parachute says that he probably landed with it on and his body kept it weighted down. My guess is that he didn't live. WA each year has a few hiker deaths, Mt St Helens alone has had like 200 hiker deaths so it is an area that takes plenty of lives, jumping from an airplane at night, in a storm...

[@michaeltobias3110]

You bring up a lot of very good points

[@ophidahlia1464]

Yeah, there's a reason it's so common to never find people who go missing in the woods. How many animal corpses do you see when out casually walking in the woods, compared to live deer and other critters? In my neck of the woods as kids we'd go out to get ice cream cones and look at the deer, you're nearly guaranteed to see some after driving around the backroads for a few hours. But even tromping around off-path you'd only come across an identifiable carcass once in a blue moon, if ever. I remember reading some study that found that it only takes a few days at most for a *large* animal carcass to completely vanish, scavengers and carrion eaters start at it immediately and as soon as they can manage will carry away pieces to the safety of their lairs or nests and leave barely anything behind. If Cooper was wearing mostly natural fibers that doesn't leave very much that the elements can't break down and cover up.

[@joinjen3854]

Nor even justb1971. I flew on my CEOs tickets in the 1990s and was never asked for photo ID.

[@joinjen3854]

They found " a" chute.

[@joinjen3854]

Dan did not jump into the forest......he was closer to dandy beaches.

[@Apoxiosis]

i keep forgetting that "50 years ago" is the 70s.

[@captainaleouse]

yeah part of me still thinks of it being the 40s like when i was a kid

[@AtheistOrphan]

Tempus fugit.

[@dr2stroke611]

luckily the greatest decade (the 80's) was only just over 30 years ago

[@jennzifur]

@@dr2stroke611 You do know ‘80 and ‘81 and 40+ years ago lol. We early-80s kids know our “40-somethingness” haha

[@youwillneverguess]

Stop that.

[@MadCapMoto]

Hey Simon, you should make a Mega Project over the history of Cellular Networks (so 1G - 5G)

[@Jusuff]

5G makes me always think of Business Blaze

[@route2070]

It was briefly mentioned in the 5G Conspiracy BB video, but yeah a deep dive into that with the Blaze treatment or not would be good.

[@jmanj3917]

Unquestionably the most thoroughly researched, most informative source i have ever seen on what, exactly, happened that day (and since). Well done!

[@FahqAll]

I always thought that he never jumped but hit on the plane somewhere, he seem to be very knowledgeable about skydiving and airplanes in general it's not far-fetched to believe he hid out in the plane and just walked away in the commotion

[@YeeSoest]

That's the Hollywood ending to this story. Camera shoots the feet of all the people at the airport, zooms out and pans up, there's DB in a disguise of some sort, fade to black, roll credits. I like it ^^

[@SAOrules]

@@YeeSoest very Jason Bourne esque ending

[@bhgtree]

The recreation they done that also caused the same shake in the tail section almost guarantees that he must have jumped.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@bhgtree That and the idea that the cops wouldn't thoroughly search the aircraft and keep it impounded for a good time seems unlikely. 727's aren't that big; there aren't too many places for a human to hide for long.

[@casinodelonge]

@@RCAvhstape you'd think so, wouldnt you? Like they would hold onto the ciggy butts....

[@aaroneaton4849]

I live in the PNW and this story has always enthralled a lot of us. Thank you!

[@davidtucker3729]

an anti-hero we all can root for. Long may you live d.b. and continue inspiring movies and television shows alike.

[@angelatheriault8855]

He was dressed in a suit and dress shoes and carried a light jacket and had no outdoor supplies or gear. It was dark and he had absolutely no way of knowing where he was when he jumped. There was a blinding rainstorm so even if he survived the jump he would have landed in rugged terrain in wet clothes with no gear in late November. The odds of finding his way to civilization before dying of exposure would have been mighty slim.

[@georgedawson235]

Slim but not impossible! Lol I don't know what to think

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

Exactly. That certainly disproves the parachute jumper theory. I think, based on what I know about the access of information at the time about topics, he was involved in aeronautics. He certainly had a firm grasp of the parts of a plane, something that would have only been accessible to people who were trained as pilots, flight hosts and aeronautical engineers and designers at the time. Personally if I was investigating I would have looked at all aeronautics companies in existence at the time, find out if any of them either fired an employee fitting Cooper’s appearance or else we’re facing financial difficulty.

[@robertkustos2931]

D B Cooper name was Richard Floyd McCoy.

[@robertkustos2931]

There would have lights from Portland to guid him .

[@RonaldReaganRocks1]

@@robertkustos2931 You're right.

[@CaptHollister]

When I was a child in the 1960s and 70s, I would go to my neighborhood library (yeah, we had those) a borrow French-language comics from a Belgian author that featured the adventures of Dan Cooper a Canadian fighter pilot. I remain convinced that the hijacker was a French Canadian who was familiar with the comic strip.

[@ItsAsparageese]

We still have libraries lol. But yeah the idea that he's Canadian makes a lot of sense, with the things people have pointed out about the comics. Also suits the politeness

[@danmckeever7740]

Compelling evidence suggests you are correct.

[@DaniHMcV]

Because Dan Cooper is such a unique name. I worked with a Dan Cooper a few years ago. It’s a very common name and one that would be easily made up

[@lexithecat2957]

"Amost wanna root for the criminal" 1: I doubt the bomb was real. 2: I absolutely root for DB Cooper. He saw a way out of a corrupt system and took it. Man has balls of steel.

[@samuelistillo84]

They've spent more money searching for him that the amount he got from this hahaha

[@Mawgai]

^^THIS^^

[@walternerd3147]

That is so true lol

[@jacobstrutner8232]

Same with the demands costs

[@nucleargandhi101]

Well I believe it's less about money and more about pride. I mean how can someone (and just 1 guy!!) Make/buy a bomb, carry it in public place, highjack a jet, Take ransom money, Jump from jet midair, etc at the same time. That's like so many felonies together. That too, in world's most powerful economy/country. They might have wanted to catch him as a trophy. I know I would have. Just like Unabomber

[@JohnSmith-nm8jz]

After Dan the man's exploits, all 727s were fitted with an external locking device on the airstairs. When the aircraft was in flight, the air flowing over a wedge shaped doohickey on the outside of the fuselage locked the stairs door closed, making it impossible to drop them down until the air speed was well below the speed needed to keep the plane in the air. They called it the Cooper Vane after Danny boy.

[@bassett_green]

7:07 "neither pilot recalled seeing anyone eject from the plane". I like the implication here that they may have seen it but simply forgot

[@ALSmith-zz4yy]

Why does he keep saying "eject"? I think jump is a more accurate term.

[@silverXnoise]

@@ALSmith-zz4yy I prefer “hop” or “flamboyant falling”.

[@shrimpflea]

It was night and raining heavily and the military didn't have night vision tech back then.

[@imboofingit8684]

I thought skyjacking was what you do when you're in the bathroom of an airplane..........left hand free

[@Alliebaba7782]

Thats freaking funny

[@caseytodd7632]

DB Cooper was really an extradimensional version of Loki, god of mischief. Due to the recent release of the Loki series trailer, this is now common knowledge. Get it together, Simon.

[@twistedyogert]

Why would Loki need money or parachutes?

[@wills.e.e8014]

Loki is a mythological figure of Norse Mythology, a God of Mischief born a Half Giant. D.B Cooper is a real person, NOT a God.

[@caseytodd7632]

@@wills.e.e8014 I bet you're fun to hang out with.

[@TheFarCobra]

Shhhhh ... they will all want one.

[@caseytodd7632]

@@wills.e.e8014 Now that Loki has premiered on Disney+, I highly recommend watching the first episode and re-visiting your comment. Might give you a little context. 😏

[@jamesjensen4938]

6:49: That's my cousin, Billy Jensen! If you all haven't seen him on TV, heard his podcast, or read his book "Chase Darkness With Me", you should, because you'll really enjoy it all.

[@LSSYLondon]

"Dan Cooper" is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a fictional Canadian military flying ace and rocketship pilot. The guy had to have been Canadian in order to even get that. The US would not. The first letter was obviously fake. The second references the Grey Cup Game 4 days after the heist (and Vancouver in 71). More likely.

[@guindle9291]

I'd love to see a video about the lifting of galveston texas after the 1900 hurricane. Or about the1900 hurricane

[@my3dprintedlife]

My grandfather claimed to be DB Cooper, and is listed as a suspect on Wikipedia.

[@julieortega4461]

This is quite possibly one of the coolest things I've read in a while 😎

[@goblazers6]

Wolfgang is a strong suspect.

[@stevenmiller7747]

At least 900 people have claimed to be D B Cooper. Very possible 900 of them are lying.

[@TheFrogInYourClosetWatchingYou]

He is lying because MY grandfather is DB Cooper.... He admitted to it on his death bed and had absolutely NO reason to lie so sorry bub. He was also a suspect but his name never went public because he was suspect #1 and they were afraid he would flee the country and get away before they could arrest him. But thankfully he was heavily connected and knew someone who could prevent his arrest so as long as he didn't step food outside of the town he ran. In the end nobody ever could touch my grandpa and he lived and died peacefully in that town.... a few tried but my grandpa's friend got a hold of them before they got anywhere near my grandpa and well they were never seen again... My grandpa was well respected in the community and loved by everyone he knew as well as being a very humble man that owned a modest shoe/shoe repair store that he ran 7 days a week no breaks until the day he died. He was going to go public with proof to prove it was him for once and all but sadly he passed away just days before that video was filmed and I never could find the secret documents that he had hidden somewhere on the property :(

[@TheFrogInYourClosetWatchingYou]

@@stevenmiller7747 Not my grandfather! He told me on his deathbed and had no reason to lie! My 3D printed life's grandfather was a blatant liar though!

[@michaelb.3982]

Speaking of unsolved mystery's ..I would like to see you react to the Anglin brothers, they escaped from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, and were never found...I truly believe they got away with it.. I think a boat picked them up..They sent pictures to the FBI many years later, when they were near death..It's them !! Would like to see Simon's opinion on it !

[@goblazers6]

There's a theory that Frank Morris is DB Cooper.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

they actually made it lucky dawgs

[@ItsAsparageese]

This would make a great Casual Criminalist episode

[@djph30n1x]

There is a good mythbusters episode on that escape

[@davidthommeny2510]

I don't think they did, The Anglins and Morris were career criminals and the Anglins especially were loud mouths, there is no way they could have just gone lived a normal life and never committed another crime or bragged about what they had done.

[@3rdFloorblog]

Congrats DB Cooper! You got away with it and absolutely no one got hurt. Brilliant.

[@ForeverNeverwhere1]

Not really, he was shot dead by the FBI in 1974 after escaping prison, twice.

[@RonaldReaganRocks1]

@@ForeverNeverwhere1 True.

[@c187rocks]

If any of you end up visiting the SW Washington area (or Portland, OR for that matter) and want to have a little fun at a DB Cooper theme brewhouse I recommend Victor 23 in Vancouver, WA. They have a wonderful IIPA called Jet Fuel, and an IPA call Skyjacker.

[@johnrodgers8457]

I think DB was a former spec ops guy. Most likely a veteran of Vietnam. He would have recieved all kinds of survival training and had the skills needed to survive.

[@Jamnol101]

Yeah but why take the bad parachute though, he specified he wanted parachutes with manual ripcords, but he still took the only dummy parachute intented for demontsration, even if it was clearly indicated. Maybe he tried to scramble his tracks, but it's still a very strange move to sufficiently decrease your chance of survival like that, FBI still invistigated many experienced parachuters.

[@joinjen3854]

@@Jamnol101 THE FBI lies. Dan took a military chuteband they are all steerable since 1941 and a front reserve chute.

[@Ancorarius_DeusExPodex]

Are you sure this is true? His flight took off on time, that's quite unrealistic :D

[@amaccama3267]

Oh I'm sorry I thought this was Mega Projects. I appear to have a cross with The Casual Criminalst

[@megaprojects9649]

Gotta get those cross promotions in ;)

[@amaccama3267]

@@megaprojects9649 😄😁😆😅🤣😂

[@sarahhomrighausen7349]

It is megaprojects.... right? I guess both "Cooper's" planning and the subsequent half century++ FBI investigation were BOTH megaprojects!

[@nickshane9314]

@@megaprojects9649 got a video ideal not sure where It'd go but a list of based on a true story movies that get everything wrong.

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@nickshane9314 Sounds like a good Business Blaze episode. "Least True Movies 'Based on A True Story'"

[@clayz1]

Ahh, going over the D. B. Cooper story yet again. Always worth a watch though. A never-gets-dull story.

[@DonBlackBird71]

He's been imprisoned on Asgard for a few years

[@chadbrown9551]

I remember seeing a special on tv a few years back about a man named Duane Webber. He was dying of a kidney disease and he told his wife that he was Dan Cooper, she had no idea what he was talking about at the time but she looked into it and also contacted the FBI. She talked about a dream he had one time where he was talking in his sleep,he said " I left my fingerprints on the aft stairs". It was a very interesting show.

[@bhgtree]

4:10 Am I the only one who always thought that this famous photofit of Cooper looks remarkably like a young Sean Connery (Dr No time)?

[@gangfire5932]

Ah HA!

[@diyeana]

Thanks for doing a video on this. I loved hearing the details.

[@lizmattucks2142]

He didn't jump until shortly before landing in Reno. Much better area with lower altitude as they descended. The bump felt over Oregon was probably him jumping on the stairs or something to give the impression he'd jumped out, then he went back up and chilled for the rest of the flight.

[@emerycottle3166]

This is absolutely incredible how well he covered himself up.

[@moepzilla7301]

Going from business blaze to this feels... strange

[@Treva]

Allegedly

[@brett4264]

I know. It's refreshing to NOT have him drone on and on for four minutes of an advertisement.

[@Treva]

@@brett4264 I'm strangely one of those people he rips on for being subscribed to 5 of his 8 channels, He's got a lot more serious stuff. Biographics is my favorite.

[@Deerhunterjs]

Business blaze is his best channel but they are all really good. It is weird though to come to biographies or geographics after seeing him animated and less professional.

[@isaackolman2861]

@@Deerhunterjs In some of his other channels you can see some of his business blaze mannerisms leaking through, and its great

[@Nobody-ld7mk]

Can't help but admire a guy that put on one of the greatest mysteries of the modern age. No doubt he single handedly perpetuated the need for a few newly developed modern investigation techniques over the years that are now staples in FBI investigation process.

[@1trschaefer78]

I'm convinced he died during the jump. As much as I'd like to sign-on to the mystery surrounding this case, I believe he never survived the fall.

[@bmw_fantopdrives5501]

Yeah most likely

[@danmckeever7740]

Most are in full agreement

[@ralphholiman7401]

I'm convinced he didn't. I'm betting he was someone who had jumped a 727 before.

[@TEverettReynolds]

I agree. I do not understand why the great debate. What are the odds of someone with a light jacket not freezing to death jumping out of an airplane, at 10,000 feet, moving at 175 mph, in a temperature zone of 15 degrees F. It is not a mystery. Science can tell us if someone's body could survive those extremes.

[@noahcarlton4625]

What about that buried money?

[@bongholio82]

Five days ago I searched the Whistlerverse for a DB Cooper video and found nothing. I go away for the weekend and come back to this...

[@thomasnelson5010]

plot twist!!! The flight crew over powered him, took the money, pushed him out, and chunked the parachutes. 😁😁

[@tyharris9994]

If the FBI were smart, they would have just given him defective parachutes. Problem solved.

[@thomasnelson5010]

😂😂😂 yes thats definitely what happened. I would never trust parachutes given to me in that situation.

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@tyharris9994 He probably asked for multiple parachutes to imply that he'd be having some of the crew jump with him as hostages, so that it wouldn't be ethical to sabotage any of them.

[@tyharris9994]

@@ItsAsparageese Ah... I see. That DB was a bold and crafty fellow. I hadn't considered that. Based on the fact that that kid pulled some of his money out of a river bank, I think it likely that the gentleman met his demise. Or maybe not. Statistically he would have been unlikely to land actually in a river. I wonder what actually happened to him.

[@Sgt_SealCluber]

The TV show "Leverage" had a great episode about DB Cooper.

[@LSSYLondon]

Not only was that show brilliant but it had probably the most talented actress in modern history Gina Bellman who can out act Meryl Streep, and a brilliant singer/songwriter Christian Kane.

[@Sgt_SealCluber]

@@LSSYLondon I was partial to Beth Riesgraf myself, loved the character of Parker.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

They need to bring that show back.

[@roflstompkillr]

Being from Washington the way he says Cle elum bothers me soooo much and I love his content xD

[@briarapplebury4305]

Same, I was listening while working and when he said like that I don't know why it wigged me out to hear.

[@roflstompkillr]

@@briarapplebury4305 I felt triggered and violated at the same time lol

[@briarapplebury4305]

@@roflstompkillr dude I feel the same way when people mess up areas like, Malaga, Tarpiscan and the biggest one that irked me was back when Oso had the big landslide, some high up government official gave a speach and called it "Ahso" and I couldn't believe they could screw up a 3 letter word that every one was talking about.

[@kevingreene1514]

I also like how the picture for "Ariel, Washington" is of Washington, DC...

[@jefffinkbonner9551]

@@kevingreene1514 Right? It says “Ariel, WA” and shows this enormous metropolis 😂😂

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

I have always said it was a guy with spec ops experience. The cigarette butts getting lost was probably the work of operatives. There is also likely a mission that occurred somewhere where an operator was inserted somewhere from a commercial jet, in similar clothing. Nice video. Take Care and be safe, John

[@alexanderkerensky5998]

Simon: The only successful hijacking in US history, 9/11: Am I a joke to you? Mega project or geographic/biographic topic 9/11/01

[@tatata1543]

He said the most successful skyjack, 9/11 was a hijack.

[@mlee6050]

I seen this case many times before but so nice to hear you do about it

[@dillydoor]

Conspiracy theory: Simon isn't bald. It's green screened in

[@TheBierp]

One of my Jr. High teachers was the guy who packed the chutes Cooper used. Earl Cossey, very cool guy. Taught math, but the class you really wanted was "air sports" where you'd build a model rocket and a balsa model airplane. Every year on field day he'd skydive on to the football field. The kids would all put their shoes out and if he landed closest to your shoe you got a free Coke. Super cool guy with a very interesting story to tell on the fringes of this mystery.

[@findingd.b.cooper3766]

Any idea on who killed him?

[@SEAZNDragon]

I’m surprised this isn’t on the Causal Criminalist.

[@path6641]

I can guarantee you that the stewardesses did NOT describe DB Cooper as "1.78 meters" lol

[@Apophis-en9pi]

We finally know who DB Cooper is. Loki.

[@d.castillo9495]

For all the effort I spend to not get into trouble, it's baffling to me how people confess to crimes they didn't commit.

[@robertespinoza5958]

Not gunna lie i went "when did binging with babish start hosting mega projects ' xD

[@mayoite160]

SUGGESTION: Ilyushin IL-2 - Amazing WWII ground-attack "flying tank" and spiritual predecessor to the A-10 Warthog - The single most produced military aircraft in aviation history - Some WWII-era Wehrmacht nicknames for it: "meat grinder", "butcher", "black death", "slaughterer", "concrete bird" - What Stalin had to say about it: "Our Red Army now needs IL-2 aircraft like the air it breathes, like the bread it eats."

[@jhamps4806]

I really hope that he survived… because this is amazing…!

[@robertkustos2931]

He did . He went on to commit another crime but got caught .

[@PeterCombs]

I always wondered why they gave him Functioning para Chutes and not just a mess of folded silk with ropes attached.

[@hookybrickshooky9529]

He demanded two pairs of parachutes which implied that he might forces a hostage to jump along with him.

[@demonprinces17]

How do we know they didn't

[@MinistryOfMagic_DoM]

Feels like this belongs on Casual Criminalist. Either way, thanks for doing it.

[@ItsAsparageese]

Yeah totally -- I imagine he's been doing a bit of crossover with topics like this on his more established channels lately on purpose, to attract the existing fans who specifically dig this sort of content and help make sure as many of them as possible hear about Casual Criminalist. There's definitely been an uptick in themes like this across his channel since the podcast really got going. So yeah I know you weren't complaining about it just tossing out my conjecture that it's a strategy

[@XYGamingRemedyG]

This is easily one of the most fascinating true stories. I'm glad I get to hear you tell it, Simon. Thanks!! (OGBB here)

[@kennethbreiner4610]

Megaproject: Symphony of the Seas cruise ship.

[@tomricklefs2237]

Buttery smooth transition to the Ad Read

[@LopezzT]

Hot take: the flight crew made it all up to keep the money for themselves. There never was a DB Cooper.

[@jimwenzell5145]

It's not a "hot take." Others have suggested this. There is ZERO evidence to support this.

[@shrimpflea]

Troll

[@youretheai7586]

It was probably just an inside job to create more laws in regards to air travel. I'm sure everyone involved with researching the case and then publishing articles, books, producing TV shows and movies adds up to far more money then DB Cooper could have taken. It could also be a way for the heads of the investigating departments to do internal research on their detectives and analysts.

[@michaellusk2856]

This case, more than any other, confirms what John Dillinger stated decades ago, "F.B.I., yeah, frigging, ballbusting imbeciles!" John did not use the word frigging. He was so right.

[@ryanbell773]

We now know that DB Cooper was really Loki

[@jasonhare8540]

Can't help but notice Simon bears a striking resemblance to the hijacker minus the beard .... You ever been to the Pacific Northwest Simon 🤔😂

[@terryenby2304]

Hi people re-watching (or watching for the first time!) after Loki 🤘

[@stevesloan7132]

Suggestion: You could do a video about the hunt for Patty Hearst and the SLA takedown by the FBI? It was the biggest man hunt in FBI history up to that time.

[@FahqAll]

No one seems to entertain the idea he might of stayed on the plane

[@goblazers6]

Because he didn't.

[@stevenmiller7747]

The FBI certainly entertained that thought which is why the plane was thoroughly searched with among other things specially trained dogs.

[@EMurph42]

LOVE NUMBER 1 BABY! Looking dapper as alway Simon. That beard oil is working well! Thank you for this, Dan Cooper is one of my favorite mysteries.

[@thatrealba]

This is an infinitely interesting subject to me. I miss listening to Art Bell cover the story.

[@goblazers6]

Try The Cooper Vortex podcast.

[@Aaron-ot1xs]

Eventually, no matter what I was watching, Autoplay will take me back to Simon Whistler.

[@axelgranberg7892]

Why is this a megaproject?

[@MaxFlorian1001]

It doesn't come quite out in the video, but this was one of the longest and most expensive FBI investigations in history, up to 2016 when the feds finally gave up.

[@fvckyoutubescensorshipandt2718]

8:55...and speaking of bellends bigger than Northwest Airlines, there's today's sponsor Nord Pass! I still have that fake segue from yesterday's Business Blaze stuck in my head and getting the occassional giggle.

[@1skyofrog]

I have been jumping since '88, got my A License back in '91. That is an easy jump.

[@aszhara2900]

Fun fact: There was only one instance in which a plane hijacking was stopped in-flight, by one of Austria's anti-terror forces EKO Cobra. Plane hijackings usually end in the plane crashing or are resolved on the ground after landing, never (except for that one instance) has anybody been able to take back the control of the plane from a hijacker while in the air.

[@TheScrubExpress]

Unfortunately, I'm fairly certain there were 3 other successful skyjackings in US history on one day over 19 years ago....

[@pieter-johangoussard9832]

Came to the comments section for this!

[@TheScrubExpress]

@@pieter-johangoussard9832 It's 4 if we count the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. (Though they didn't succeed in their goal, so maybe only 3.5)

[@Kiter02]

I think he mean't to say successful and unsolved

[@D3monicus]

Those FBI sketches look remarkably like clark gregg (phil coulson from the marvel movies)... time travel?🤣

[@Phatxual]

I meeeean.. I guess it could be considered a 'Mega-Project' but a great job was already done on Biographic's, no?

[@HuskyKMA]

7:00 I grew up in Castle Rock. That's not where Castle Rock is, it's about 65 miles NW of there, NW of Ariel.

[@skyvenrazgriz8226]

This channel has become as much about mega projects as buisness blaze is about buisness ;)

[@JC-ks3yk]

Has anyone ever considered that he stayed on the plane then melted away among the crowds meeting the plane in Reno? He obviously knew about planes but not so much about parachutes... or did he? He opened the stairs, ditched the crappy parachutes and a hand-full of cash (a red herring hard to see by trailing aircraft) then hid in the lower section of the plane, with the good parachutes ready to go just in case, then left them when the plane landed and he saw an opportunity to slip into the crowd, probably dressed in some sort of workman's overalls with the money easily concealed as middle-aged paunch. He slips out of Reno using his own money and only dipping into the ransom once well hidden away in Mexico.

[@shrimpflea]

Very doubtful as there were only a few people left on the plane when it landed in Reno. Plus the fact that that kid found some of the money in the relative area of the where he bailed out. He's dead. One day they will find his remains.

[@Kiter02]

You've seen too many movies. There were only about 6 people on board when the plane landed in Reno and they had all kinds of surveillance on it

[@YeeSoest]

Two word answers here please: I'll start: Sasquatch food

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

There's more than just them in da woods.

[@thoges5040]

The only successful skyjacking in US History. 9/11: Am i a joke to you

[@Gersti96]

Well wasn’t 9/11 technically a “successful skyjacking?”

[@cpob2013]

Well they didn't land. Any idiot can stab a pilot and crash a plane. Cooper got away with it.

[@g-low6365]

@@cpob2013 they also got away with it. landing was never an option. at least not in one piece. so, if they completed their mission, it has to be considered as succesful. well. 75%, cause united 93 never reached its destination.

[@JerryCrow]

Definitely the right channel Simon, definitely.

[@ZappaBlues]

The answer to this will be coming in May 2021. DB Cooper was actually Loki.

[@jeromegaces6184]

I just found out that D.B. Cooper was Loki, the god of mischief, all along

[@lungabiyela9081]

It was Loki all along...

[@michaelhowell2326]

Pretty damn clever making the D.B. Cooper case a Megaproject.