UNSOLVED: Discovering the Truth Behind the Disappearance of DB Cooper

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[@decodingtheunknown2373]

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[@marcbeebee6969]

Didnt you just do the db cooper Video?

[@georgeleos8219]

Yeah but “some new evidence has been brought 2 light.” (El Dudearino) Duh. This guy was either American. From the south. Like. Texas or Cali. Or possibly English military with Spanish ties. Or. Just stupid for being a white boy with a parachute and money jumping into Mexico. 🤔🤔🤔. Just saying. I mean I would. If I had a plan. The amateur ability 2 know the system and be 3 moves ahead is easy if one is motivated 2 know the game 5 moves and mate!!!

[@georgeleos8219]

#RandalStevens Only innocent man in #Shawshank

[@georgeleos8219]

18:38 in 2 establish motive for commentary. Also damn it Simon. Bruh if u ever want 2 do a duo podcast. We would have a time. I got ??? And don’t promote myself or podcast myself due 2 my own devices. However. I do do the dew. So ball is in your court. I am not hard 2 find if u look. I am like a #Happymeal. Treat toy 😒😒😒🤔🤔🤷‍♂️. Fills the belly. But are u ready for the aftermath??

[@georgeleos8219]

I just came up with a great quote. “It is what it is. And what is; is.” (George Leos). All rights and usage of newly forth mention word 🎉🎉🎉. Is mine and mine alone. Subject to lawsuits or slapping in the face. Depending on circumstance. And forth mentioned usage and earnings from my gangsta word play.

[@dickdeoreo]

I love how Simon hosts soooo many channels that for half of them he just reads a script in his hands and we all still tune in delighted

[@TheBaldMiddleAgedMetalHead]

A good story teller is a good story teller

[@Loganbub]

Does he actually do any research into the stories or the debunking of some the ones that require it? Or is he just a narrator for the stories? I’m new to the channel and just curious

[@mlee6050]

@@Loganbub think some stuff he used to ask Siri but most time is it like last 3 years or so he first reads script as we watch it, he did used to have a paper script back in the day that the OGs of Business Blaze enjoyed him smacking about, I think today I found out was first then business blaze was second I followed, as not much business and he is big brain it is called brain blaze, I wish I had the money to of got the OG merch

[@motionless_horizon]

@@LoganbubHe has a team of script writers/researchers who make the script, then for the video, he reads it for the first time so we get to learn the info along with him

[@randyeverson8296]

He has good presentation skills.

[@rrbigbird2]

As someone from the upper Midwest, I could see someone from this area or Canada referring to Minnesota as “nice country.” Given the stress the flight attendant was under it would be completely plausible she misheard him.

[@brycealthoff8092]

I’m from the Midwest as well. We frequently say stuff like “it’s beautiful country up there”.

[@derekhiemforth]

100% agree. I think the Minnesota thing is a nothingburger. It seems very likely that he just said "that's nice country" rather than "that's *_A_* nice country"...

[@kingofthebums]

I was thinking this the whole time. Or maybe "that's uh... Nice country."

[@teresadavis1249]

That's what I was thinking!

[@teresadavis1249]

That's what I was thinking!

[@Itsthatoneguy371]

Americans, at least some of the ones I know in Ohio, will use a phrase “nice country” referring to the area the are talking about being beautiful or peaceful. e.g. “have you been to the upper New England states, nice country up there.” This could be how he was using the words.

[@Bethgael]

That was my thought, too; Australians tend to use "nice country" in the same way.

[@btetschner]

Ted Braden was from Ohio.

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

it's not unusual for British people to say the same, I'm not sure why Simon didn't know that.

[@maureenjacobs3697]

I will say this today and what I’ve said for quite some time, it was a retired rail worker from that area. His grudge was about the air industry making railroad travel obsolete.

[@robswystun2766]

People say this in a lot of places. That's almost certainly how he was using it. It's weird that it even stood out to anyone.

[@katdavis3792]

The most amazing thing about this video is that Simon was able to say “effortlessly” correctly on the fist try

[@trishapellis]

Came to the comments to say this. Progress should be rewarded 🙂

[@mlee6050]

He did it so effortlessly

[@rogueking9436]

Can we just get Simon doing a US geography test?

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Why?

[@--enyo--]

The real Decoding the Unknown.

[@adenkyramud5005]

​@@AnnaAnna-uc2ff because he's terrible at it and it would give us (and probably Simon as well) a good laugh. Plus an extra amount of tangents

[@nathanwardlow1342]

Ah failing with fact boy

[@leighpowell1062]

Does he want another chanel

[@christopherrayle6635]

Simon you said "effortlessly" three times this episode without imploding, I am so proud of you!

[@thezodiackiller420]

He was sitting there practicing off camera for hours lol

[@mlee6050]

He did it so effortlessly

[@sophiebritton3280]

Came here to say this. Third time I've listened to this episode and only just noticed

[@thezodiackiller420]

@@sophiebritton3280 😂😂

[@anthonyperno1348]

I flew into New York in April 2001. Bought my first on-line ticket. Printed out my ticket, went to the main desk and was sent to the gate. At the gate a person asked my name and checked me off a list. Never looked at my ID, never looked at my printed ticket. I got fogged in three days later. I had to stay over another day, but my suitcase went out without me. Next day I returned to Miami and found my suitcase sitting on the floor in front of the luggage return bin. It sat there for over 24 hours untouched, unnoticed.

[@bo7341]

In the pre- Sam Brinton era....

[@TheNelly77]

I left from Newark airport bound for Atlanta back in May of 2000 - I'd arrived at the airport less than a half hour before boarding because of traffic. My bag made it on and I still had a ten minute wait. Those were the days 🙂

[@nmstranger]

911 changed EVERYTHING. When it comes to passenger travel in the US you have pre and post 911

[@kimberlykasupski6498]

Ah, pre- 9/11 travel

[@gandalf_thegrey]

And nowadays I, get looked at like a mass murderer on the run and get ask if I intend to do some casual terrorism or espionage.

[@that_canadian_hobbit4462]

For those who don't know there's also a coopercon where a bunch of D.B Cooper enthusiasts get together and discuss theories and stuff. It's pretty funny that they even referenced D.B Cooper in the Loki series, since there are a lot of outlandish theories.

[@incredibleflameboy]

Dan Cooper needs to be a motivational speaker at the next one.

[@Yo_Its_Matty_ice]

@@incredibleflameboy But just some random dude named Dan Cooper

[@incredibleflameboy]

@@Yo_Its_Matty_ice exactly.

[@shae113]

My friend & I came up with our own theory about DB. There's one conspiracy theory that DB became Tommy Wiseau (my friend had heard this one), but Tommy would need to be much older than we think he is (roughly born 1955, so he would have been like 16 when the hijacking happened). Basically, this idea was one way to explain Wiseau's seemingly massive wealth. However, we decided it's more likely that DB could be Tommy's father (DB was estimated between 30-50 years old, perfect age to have a teenage kid). DB could have found his way to Europe, gotten into Real Estate (which Tommy got into himself in the US, could have learned it from him), increased his fortune and left it to Tommy. Tommy kind of appeared around the time it wouldn't be unheard of for parents to pass and leave them an inheritance. We laughed about this idea as this was as plausible a theory as any, ha!

[@incredibleflameboy]

You're tearing me apart @@shae113!

[@karlwilliams9628]

In North Central rural areas we use the word country to describe areas. So if someone told me they were from Kentucky I would say something like "that's beautiful country there".

[@--enyo--]

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking as well. We’d say something similar in Australia (I know, different country, but still). Like meaning ‘the countryside’. ‘That’s some nice country out there.’

[@RHCole]

10:05 Perhaps Cooper simply said "Minnesota's some beautiful country" and she misheard him. Saying "[area] is beautiful country" is rural parlance for the terrain is gorgeous and worth taking in in an area 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@tamethetiggers08]

I came here to say this, but you beat me, so I will just corroborate your statement.

[@theeniebean]

Ditto, I popped in to say the same.

[@Baldevi]

Yes Simon, Money that came into a Bank back in the day was in fact scanned into Microfische in case any stolen or counterfeit money was being deposited or changed for real money, like handing in $20 to get $100's. I used to work and a long since defunct bank in the late 80's and we had to scan the till after counting them to open our station, then we had to scan the money at certain intervals, usually after I'd had a certain number of cash deposits, or is I had to have more cash moved into my drawer. Then at end of day we scanned again, and then deposited the money that was over our base till amount [for me was $250 since I was a sort of unofficial back upfor the Merchant Teller, and she needed to open her day with $750 even then to cover the needs of the merchants needing cash for their businesses.] So the FBI likely scanned to Microfische and also snapped photos of the money they had gathered too. Smart, offering non-sequential bills to put our Mystery Man at ease, while setting him up to be tracked when he spent or deposited that money.

[@MMAFightMagazine]

I'm not at all saying that isn't true, but assuming that it is - why would criminals ask for non-sequential bills and wouldn't they have found anytime that DB used any of those bills? I'm sure he used some of them? I'm inferring that 75% of the time at your job would have been spent scanning bills?

[@resileaf9501]

@@MMAFightMagazine Because criminals don't know the inner workings of banks and because this is the reason the FBI thinks DB Cooper failed his jump and died.

[@MMAFightMagazine]

Okay so I guess he didn't spend any of the money? Lol

[@2lefThumbs]

​@@MMAFightMagazine maybe because "sequential" bills would be crisp and unused?

[@MMAFightMagazine]

@@2lefThumbs Maybe, I suppose. But people get new bills all the time. The problem with sequential bills is that the fbi can say that "every bill ending in ***1200 - ***1900 went to so and so..." But I don't know how it works otherwise. Lol

[@StudioHappyboy]

I still can’t believe that after DB Cooper jumped out of the airplane, he fought Bigfoot in the wilderness. What a wonderful world we live in.

[@themartian4323]

omg I know that movie!!

[@corey57255]

I think the most shocking part of this video is that Simon is surprised an American flight would withhold alcohol service in 1971 for any reason.

[@hanisk2]

Any flight we vice in any country. In 71 there were hard in hospitals lmfao

[@dwojo21]

Growing up and still living in Vancouver, WA (I grew up about 8 miles from where the $5800 was found) I was so excited to see this covered. A lot of people think he probably died and ended up in the Lewis River or the Columbia River closer to PDX. Since the Columbia feeds into the Pacific Ocean, whatever evidence might have ended up in the river is most likely long gone. It's such a good mystery though.

[@Jamesadoodle]

This story is always fun to hear about because everyone seems to cover it a bit differently. For example I heard on another KZbin channel that one possible reason he might have asked for four parachutes is since he had they couldn't risk give him a dummy one. Or something along those lines. Basically, by asking for that many they had no idea if he was planning to jump and take someone with him or not.

[@xgtwb6473]

More shocking the government didn't give them four duds anyway

[@esmeecampbell7396]

Although he jumped using the one with the dud reserve chute, not something a trained parachutist would do. Or maybe they would under stress and insanity, though it doesn't bode well for surviving the jump.

[@Remuf]

A thing that i've heard is that it might not have been a sign of incompotance when cooper took the older and 'inferior' military parachute, bc if he had been in the military, say during the vietnam war, it might have been the one he was more familiar with and thus chose it instead of the civilian chutes. Cooper might also have used the dummy chute to secure the back of money.

[@kingofhearts3185]

one youtuber, I think lemmino, said that it was not only the possibility of a hostage to stop them from sabotaging them, but the reason he took the useless reserve specifically was probably to use it as a money bag.

[@Plaprad]

Great video. I have one thing that I noticed was incorrect. The stairs on the 727 were never classified. They were a selling point that Boeing used the hell out of. One of the main selling points for the 727 was it would be a great plane for using in smaller, less developed airports. Having stairs on the aircraft means you don't need airstairs or an airbridge to get PAX on and off. One little cool thing, when I was still in aviation maintenance, I had a buddy I worked with who was a new mechanic working 727's when this happened. One of his first jobs in the industry was installing "Cooper locks" on the stairs so they couldn't open in flight. Pretty cool, simple mechanism.

[@btetschner]

Very interesting!

[@keefymckeefface8330]

the stairs were not classified- its the fact they could be opened in flight without pilot in loop is fact that was classified.

[@btetschner]

@@keefymckeefface8330 Very interesting!

[@Loralanthalas]

I'm always amazed that there's a little "thing" that can be installed to solve just about every issue. Engineering is amazing.

[@mikemcchesney2555]

People rely on that tie for every theory. If this guy was as smart as he is supposed to be, he would have bought his entire ensemble at a Goodwill/Swap Meet so that nothing could be traced to him. That tie was probably originally owned by a dead retired steelworker whose widow donated all his clothes to Goodwill.

[@meszarosmate4629]

Yeah, its kinda line the uni bomber. Both him and Cooper were just smart criminals who planned out what they did and lead the FBI by its nose. To me its kinda obvious that Cooper knew that the flight plan that he was asking for was impossible so the pilots would suggest a stop wich he would just be like "ohh really? I guess thats okay". Dude then drops out at nowhere when the agents are driving probably on a highway nowhere near where he jumped. As for the stacks of bills found, best guess is that it was a last middle finger to the FBI, he probably tied that down into a river when the rope snapped or was cut by some debree boom kid finds money. Its kinda funny to see how long it takes to the FBI to be like yeah, we got played.

[@mikemcchesney2555]

@@meszarosmate4629 But damn if they couldn't track down those 80 year old MAGA MeeMaws who walked between the ropes on Jan6th! LOL

[@Loralanthalas]

​@@meszarosmate4629 law enforcement NEVER likes to admit defeat. That's why they put innocent men in jail when they 'need a conviction', and will keep him there long after DNA evidence has proven it was someone else. Never mistake the legal system, or any man in it, for a justice system.

[@themartian4323]

@@mikemcchesney2555 you mean terrorist

[@kingofhearts3185]

I've never considered that, but it absolutely makes sense. Especially since it's the only thing he left behind. That tie definitely didn't belong to him for more than a week.

[@drmadjdsadjadi]

The fact that Cooper was so polite to the flight attendants clearly shows he must have been Canadian.

[@mbsnyderc]

No it doesn't.

[@drmadjdsadjadi]

@@mbsnyderc apparently you don’t get the joke.

[@mbsnyderc]

@@drmadjdsadjadiWhat joke you can't put sarcasm it text.

[@drmadjdsadjadi]

@@mbsnyderc sure you can. It is like this: “No it doesn’t (sarcasm)”

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

on the being kind even as a criminal - you can get away with bank robberies without hurting anyone either, Simon! Or at least, you could in the 80s when a relative of mine was involved in a series of armed robberies (they were caught eventually and he served about 20 yrs). It was his job to keep an eye on the staff and they'd usually lock them in an empty room or disused vault to make sure they were safe out of the way, or he'd zip tie their hands quite gently and ask if anyone had asthma or heart problems, anything that meant he needed to go get their medication from their desks. Some of these folks testified on his behalf later on and probably contributed to him not getting life like the others. Don't be doing armed robberies OBVIOUSLY (he was young and it was during an almost civil war so his country was a mess anyway, he's very regretful), but you can be kind even if you are uhhh... doing some criminal activity.

[@davidcanoy8579]

Parafoils (steering parachutes) were very special in the 70s, they really got their development through the 1980s. Most parachutes were the round military style which are great at slowing a fall, but not so much on pinpoint landing.

[@richardheinz]

I've seen so many videos on DB Cooper and never knew that he gave Tina a stack of money because she asked. And he didn't even think twice about it. That's amazing. I thought it was funny when you said an American can talk with a Canadian "aboot" anything and not hear an accent. I think that's how French Canadians say "about".

[@disgruntledmarmotcustomsan1530]

That's how most everyone in Canada I've met says about. But they have different dialects like everywhere. Americans speak differently depending where they're from. Further East and North they still sound vaguely British. In Washington state where I live every semblance of Kings English is definitely gone.

[@deaniej2766]

Some parts of Virginia say about that way, too. And have you actually heard an old line Boston accent?

[@TheLadyMaul]

Canadians around the Niagara Falls area definitely say "aboot". And "eh". Americans and our dialects... Look. I'm from Pittsburgh, PA. If you want to get a load of what *we* sound like, just go search up Pittsburgh Dad (pretty sure he has a channel on here). And my accent isn't as heavy as his, but I have one (we do not sound remotely British, though -- keep going east and north for that). If Cooper had been a Yinzer, we'd have identified him by now.

[@PacNorthOR]

Midwest in WI and MN often say it like that, also.

[@Ben_Gunner]

It's not like a sound recording of his speech has miraculously surfaced after 60 odd years to make a light bulb comment on his dialect...

[@loganstrong5426]

Something I don't think was talked about enough: he specifically requested civilian parachutes. My guess is that's because he wasn't a military parachutist at all, but had done civilian skydiving and so wanted specifically the ones he'd used before. Maybe even only did a handful of jumps before to prepare for this stunt and not really anytime else before.

[@ImWearingPantsNow]

Back in the early 00's (2004 or 5), I had a customer named Cooper Power (or Electric, I don't remember because I'm old now). The old guy in his 70's was Dan Bailey, and initialed all of the paperwork "DB". I thought it was amusing that I got my paperwork from DB at Cooper. He also walked with a limp from 'an accident in the 70's' that he wouldn't go in to details about. He was also a white guy... coincidences are funny like that, I suppose.

[@nicholashardesty2000]

Son of Sam Laws differ from state to state, but the term refers to groups of laws that are designed to stop criminals from monetizing their crimes.

[@michaeljmeyer3]

Well, Son of Sam laws are focused off of disallowing the monetization, by the criminal, off the "rights" to their stories. There were regular laws that are designed to stop criminals from monetizing off their crimes. They are just called laws. ...They do this with varying levels of success.

[@nickg2162]

Yeeeesss! One of my favorite heist mysteries. Looking forward to your take on it. Thank you for making my work commute less monotonous.

[@ShaneShellmore]

I was 18 in september 2001, Simon, at my first duty station, after the buildings dropped, we went to defcon bravo, and i spent the next 12 hours guarding a door. prior to that we were in the middle of a Nuclear exercise, with everything on the runway, and quickly being put right back. My first plane ride to San Antonio, was like that, smoking in the airport with zero security checks. Good times.

[@ginnyjollykidd]

"And where are you getting enough ping pong balls from?" From Captain Kangaroo of course!

[@Zenith118]

25:06 YOU DID IT SIMON, YOU FINALLY DID IT! PUT IT IN THE COMPILATION VIDEO!

[@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980]

The MythBusters tested the ping pong myth because it's one. Of those tall tales that sounds *WAY* too good to be true. Plus it was a really cool story, & they couldn't resist testing it.

[@SEAZNDragon]

I remember they did an experiment about soldiers jumping on grenades to save their buddies. I was annoyed at that one as there are multiple cases in the US alone of soldiers awarded for heroism for jumping on grenades to save their buddies, and most of those medals were awards posthumously. But actually seeing it played out, albeit with a ballistic gel dummy and cardboard cutouts, helps visualize the danger of such an action.

[@SkunkApe407]

I know an old Vietnam vet who did it and survived. He has these horrible scars and some wicked x-rays showing some crazy hardware that holds him together. He even has his Purple Heart and CMoH framed and hung above his mantle. Up until a few years ago, he was still hunting alligators with my uncle and I. He's a tough old sumbich.

[@wingerding]

There's also the recent medal of honour winner that survived it.

[@kristinasnowflake]

After years of videos, I'm proud of Simon's effortless pronunciation of "effortlessly" in this video lol

[@niklondon1989]

At least twice so no accident 🤣

[@alexandrabeach1185]

I'm one of Richard "Dick" Lepsy's grandkids. I promise my grandfather didn't do this. His disappearance was bizarre and we all have our theories, but he disappeared 2 years before the hijacking (also, minor detail to correct but, hid car was found at the Traverse City airport in Michigan, not sure where y'all got Portland?). If you ever want to do a video on mysterious disappearances, my gramps is a good candidate. I tend to believe he set things up to look like a disappearance but then went on to take his own life (he was in serious financial trouble and was very depressed). Also, he didn't take money from his workplace--he had caught an employee stealing, so some of my fam think he was murdered. Whether it's suicide, murder, or he really did leave of his own accord, it affects us to this day. No worries *from me* about this mention of him, however, some of my family members would be upset if they saw this video. Luckily, they're busier people than I am. :) Good job--I have always been curious about Dan Cooper, mainly because it's been a running joke between a few of us that he was my grandfather lol.

[@bravesirrobin5839]

the reason he asked for multiple parachutes is, from what i heard, a smart move by asking multiple it seems like he maybe wants to let some of the passengers jump aswell. this way the guys who provide the chutes, will not give him a "bad one" that doesnt work, because he might use it on innocent passangers

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

The hostess must have been frightened. Did he really say 'a nice country' or just 'nice country'?

[@btetschner]

That is what they were saying in a comment above, like he just said "nice country" instead of "that is A nice country."

[@generatoralignmentdevalue]

Came here to ask this. He could have just meant it's a scenic area.

[@Carriebloss]

I always assumed the “county” comment about Minnesota meant like, “that is beautiful country” like a beautiful part of the country or it’s very “country” like rural, but beautiful. Being from MN myself I’ve heard people tell me “that’s beautiful country” more than once

[@phranerphamily]

Kevin thank you so much for bringing to life one of my favorite stories! DB Cooper happened when I was about 7 And I live in the Pacific Northwest so I was fascinated by this as a child and have never really lost my love of the folklory story. Simon as always your small tangents are so much fun 🥰

[@JAF30]

Someone needs to make a sci fi movie where DB Cooper didn't really jump, because he was a time traveler and the money was either spent in the past or so far in the future no one thought to check it.

[@TheMetroidblade]

The Loki show did a good job with it

[@ViciousBabushka]

The novel "Bloodless" by Child & Preston has Cooper stealing a time machine that another passenger was carrying on the plane.

[@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980]

The Son of Sam law is an American English term for any law designed to keep. Criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, for instance by selling their stories to publishers.

[@georgeleos8219]

There are loop holes. Just ask O.J

[@georgeleos8219]

Just think Clinton foundation manipulation of money. Based on credit nostalgia and swagg 2 up the lesser population. Example. Trump as Prez. Tried 2 get him like Clinton. But Trump had his own posse. Gangsta. Just saying. If I get say 134 mill. I’m running for public office.

[@georgeleos8219]

“I can get u a toe.” (Walter)

[@DeliveryMcGee]

On the extra fuel: the plane was probably going to pick up more passengers in Seattle and go on elsewhere, or maybe make multiple hops back and forth. Carrying extra fuel burns more fuel lifting it, but at a certain point it makes more sense to just fully fuel the thing before the first flight of the day so you don't have to refuel at every stop, and/or Jet A was probably cheaper in Portland than in Seattle. Edit: Only one American has actually been executed for desertion since the Civil War, Eddie Slovik in 1945. It's like any other crime, there's the maximum sentence as a threat, and then there's the much-reduced sentence you're actually likely to get if you're not a real asshole (which apparently Slovik was, he was offered two opportunities to rejoin his unit, then an offer to be transferred to another unit where nobody would know about his past, and have all charges dropped, but he refused). All the other deserters got a dishonourable discharge and maybe a bit of jail time.

[@sookendestroy1]

I just wanted to say "Minnesota country" doesnt always mean country, but that the rural areas of it are nice. It's a slang term used to denote rural areas typically in texas up through alberta. For example Alberta is known as Wildrose Country.

[@rrbigbird2]

I could definitely hear someone replying “Oh Minnesota, that’s nice country up there.”

[@adenkyramud5005]

So it's used like in the word countryside, right?

[@sookendestroy1]

@@adenkyramud5005 yeah like "Minnesota? That's good country" it's less a nation/state thing and more the culture and environment of an area

[@JimmyS.25]

It's not an uncommon phrase in Britain. We've got the black country and the west country for example. I'm not sure, but sometimes Simon and his writers concentrate on weird ideas 😅

[@kjsalomonsen9299]

I grew up in Minnesota and I often heard people say something like..."Oh, ya, up by Two Harbors, that's good country up there, real good deer hunting."

[@InternetSlavicMan]

The "Your Airlines" bit at around 11:00 might be referring to the stewardess worked for that airline and nothing more.

[@molybdomancer195]

But for a native English speaker that would be “your airline” despite the name of the airline having the plural in its name.

[@InternetSlavicMan]

@@molybdomancer195 Good point. Sometimes native English speakers do mix things like that up in general conversations, though. I could see it meaning either one.

[@alissapyrich1891]

Pre-Sept 2001 was a whole different world when it came to airports. I remember being able to go meet people at gates, no "get there in time to go thru security", no checking IDs and barely checking tickets

[@WhyMeghan]

Wanted to comment that my driving instructor was actually a part of the military squad that searched the forests for him. He even showed me on a map where they looked, it was very interesting!! (The driving school I went to is run by first responders/military)

[@BlueScreenCorp]

Lemmino covered the reserve shute thing, according to Tina he had tried to remove the functional reserve shute first to try and wrap the money in it. A training shute is way easier to remove than a real one, making it easier to use as a bag which would be attached securely to his person.

[@shelso1300]

That was exceptionally well done. Never have run into a better one IMHO

[@99EKjohn]

Simon, most military parachutes can't really be steered well, even now a days. Round chutes just don't steer. This also happened when stuff like civilian skydiving was in it's infancy. Also, there are these things the secret service call super bills, they believe they come from NK or China, that are practically completely indistinguishable from a real bill. They find them with serial number references too.

[@ghz24]

Steerable parachutes weren't even invented until 1986.

[@99EKjohn]

@@ghz24 That's nice to know, thank you. So I was right for a bit of the wrong reasons, though even current normal military chutes don't really steer worth a crap. You have anything to add about the super bills? I'm sure I'm missing a bit of information there too.

[@PaulO-qt6sq]

A US geography state test for Simon would be hilarious if he doesnt cheat or study beforehand. Killer material!

[@wingerding]

That doesn't sound fun at all...

[@mschaefer4656]

My father was an Air Force pilot, who rarely ever spoke about what he did in Vietnam (in the late 50's-early 60's before we were officially in Vietnam ...). I sometimes wonder if he just made up the stories he did tell (aka - the plane crash that messed up his back was when he was "joy-riding" with a buddy, and boy were his superiors mad! LOL!") The other story he would tell was when he was flying a cargo plane full of ping-pong balls to China - "it was the perfect opportunity to ditch a plane - because it would float! LOL!" It always seemed too silly to be real, but maybe that one was true? The one he never spoke about - we just found him mentioned in a newspaper clipping after he passed away - was flying Christmas dinner up to an Alaska base that was snowed in. Maybe cargo pilots weren't thought of as heroic, so he didn't feel like there was much to tell. Anyway, he was a kind man and a great Dad. The ping-pong tangent just brought up that memory. Thank you.

[@mschaefer4656]

Just to clarify, he did not ditch the plane carrying ping-pong balls, if that cargo even existed. It was just pilots having fun with an idea. And despite surviving a plane crash, he still had the pilot's opinion of sky-divers - "Why in hell would you jump out of a perfectly serviceable airplane?"

[@jendubay3782]

I think you could get a copy of his military record through the FOI act, and see if the joy ride story was true at least.

[@Loralanthalas]

It's a good person who does good things without bragging.

[@CanuckMonkey13]

Talking to my sister-in-law about Smallville, I inadvertently helped her understand a Matchbox Twenty lyric: "I get this funky high on a yellow sun". She had never known that this was a Superman reference, and I was filling her in on Superman lore as we rewatched the first season of Smallville. That was a fun little moment! Not quite on the level of letting someone know for the first time that Smallville was about Superman, but still!

[@verifiedbadvibe8124]

this is probably the most comprehensive and well told telling of the DB Cooper story ive seen. lots of details that ive never heard in any other channels recounting

[@shelso1300]

Have you tried Lemmino?

[@zarasbazaar]

We were traveling via a small airlines from Fairbanks to Anchorage. They had us hand over our bags just before we walked on the plane and the bags went into the cargo hold without going through TSA. This was just a few years ago. During the flight we realized that one of our senators was on the flight. It was like flying back in the 70s.

[@rafaeltorre1643]

Amtrak doesn’t check anything. And have zero problems! They could kill way more people just from the crash if picking the right spot.

[@Aligartornator13]

I was flying form Yulara (near the Uluru/Eyers Rock) to Perth in 2017 and had about 4 liters of water in my backpack. I asked the security man if I should pour it out but he just waved us through the scanner without checking anything.

[@cynthiasimpson931]

In 1971 I was 13 years old and living at McChord Air Force Base, which is outside Tacoma, Washington. However, I vividly remember when this happened. Incidentally, I'm wondering why Cooper trusted the parachutes. I would never trust a parachute given to me by anyone whose plane I had just hijacked.

[@molybdomancer195]

Because Cooper asked for four parachutes it was possible he was going to make some or all of the remaining hostages to jump with him. They couldn’t take the risk of killing innocent people

[@billlansdell7225]

Simple. If you are the FBI and one hijacker asks for two sets of parachutes, you have to consider the idea that two people are going to make the jump. If so, that either means one of the air crew is an accomplice, or that his is going to make a hostage jump with him. In the case of the latter, tampering with the parachutes could mean you are killing the hostage. Cooper could then gamble, that the FBI wouldn't gamble on messing with the parachutes. Of course, if you follow this channel, or ever study corruption in the US, you would know that the midwittery of the FBI can always be counted on.

[@RonaldNolter-ih4ry]

That's why he asked for 4 ,it made a possibility that he might take a hostage,one parachute,was a dummy chute,they said.

[@Grizzdrop]

I love the DB Cooper mystery and even watched another channel with it the other day and wondered... Has Simon done this one yet? And now you have! Thanks :)

[@abrahamhwang1422]

Requesting clarification on being a friendly criminal: how does this apply to cannibal criminals? Like, is it more or less friendly to share your meal with your meal like DB Cooper shared his ransom with the flight attendant?

[@lillylunapotter8079]

I think that depends on the person and if they are receptive or if they are upset. If they wish then sharing some would be polite but if they are upset then it’s best not to leave them in such a state both for their sake and the quality of the meals since some people say you can taste stress in meat.

[@RealElongatedMuskrat]

this query reminds me of that German guy (think he was German?) who wanted to uh... be a cannibal, I guess, so he looked for a willing participant online and actually found someone willing to offer themselves up for a munch, and after the deed was done, there was a whole drama around whether or not he was guilty of certain crimes because the guy did provide consent, they even travelled to meet each other. If you search German cannibal, online contract or something like that you'll find em. So he was polite enough, in terms of cannibalism.

[@robswystun2766]

See the most recent episode of the Casual Criminalist for reference.

[@jendubay3782]

I think someone messed up the rule “don’t fuck up your kids” with you 🤣

[@Loralanthalas]

It's rude not to offer.

[@caseyburt4193]

My favorite theory is that he had a terminal illness and a goal, and that the hijacking was a suicide run he had no intention of surviving.

[@knoll7424]

Fun Fact: due to this and similar incidences, a device named the Cooper vane was installed on Boeing 727’s. A mechanical rotating latch moved by airspeed across it, to lock the rear airstairs from opening while in flight

[@AndrewGivens]

This is actually the single best coverage of the whole DB Cooper story that I've yet encountered. Up til now, I was always left thinking "why is this a thing?" but now the story feels more real, plausible and plain fascinating. Top notch work.

[@JustNormalGamers]

Casual Criminalist: Buy NORD VPN Decoding the unknown: Buy Surfshark VPN Capitalism I love it. 😂

[@kristinayoung8070]

WHOA, my grandpa looked just like that sketch (generic white man in the 70s), and a photo of him in a plane exists. I had no idea I was related to DB Cooper! Crazy!

[@rubycelica]

kevin, jen and simon, i absolutely enjoy your show(s) and appreciate your efforts so much. thank you a lot for your work!

[@jessejoyce1295]

Very good work Kevin. And Simon, at 25:06 and 52:16 you said the word ‘effortlessly’ completely, well, effortlessly. I’m proud of you, buddy.

[@RHCole]

[Doctor Evil meme] Our boys all grown up!

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Thanks! 💕

[@shelteredsparrow2736]

Really interesting! This is one of my favorite villains. The motive was so for the rest of time we would be dying of curiosity over this.. Who was it? Why? Did he survive? Did he have an accomplice? And on and on our questions go

[@Gubbins_McBumbersnoot]

Gotta say, out of all the guys who claimed to be DB Cooper, William Smith ACTUALLY looks exactly like the sketch. It’s honesty uncanny.

[@shelso1300]

Yes! And they just gloss over him because he lives in the east, at the same latitude btw, and don't mention he lost ALL of his pension in the worst bankruptcy ever at that time. After like 40 years of working....

[@btetschner]

A+ video! This channel is the only one to have the guts to say that none of the suspects are great. The analysis was very helpful for pointing out the holes in some of the other theories. I imagine that there would have to be some type of highly specific psychological profile and data points to be used to solve this case.

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Thanks! 💕

[@murciadoxial8056]

There are 3 possibilities. . . 1. His makeshift bag fell apart during the jump and he lost all the money (that would explain why the money was not spent and there was a wad of cash in the river) 2. He made it and threw one wad away expecting to throw people off. 3. He died and just fell in an area of the forest that was particularly thick.

[@kantemirovskaya1lightninga30]

Dude ... lol For us older folks that was the norm. I remember having a question and popping in to ask the CAPTAIN a question lol Those were the days

[@panqueque445]

Yeah I would not be so sure about the money never being spent. Like Simon said, you can go to pretty much any country and spend it. Countries where most people wouldn't even be aware of this and wouldn't even think to report serial numbers to the FBI.

[@kingofhearts3185]

even just a small shop, like a random independent convenience store would probably never check it. I'm sure there were a ton of cash only businesses in the 70s, especially in rural towns.

[@tomhenry897]

It’s the banks that would ckeck

[@abbie_joan]

I'm so used to robberies and jackings in the US being violent that this story is just weird and chill. I can only assume that D.B maybe owed someone money or this was some weird test for a future plan and that's why he was so chill about everything. Even if he wasn't past military or worked in engineering that he had a really obsessive hobby or interest that provided the information.

[@Loralanthalas]

They always spend a lot of time downplaying his questions, information, and requests. Law enforcement gets SUPER angry when they can't find anyone to prosecute.

[@Mayor_Of_Eureka17]

Gonna pop my feet up and crack open a fresh cool bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 Golden Pineapple and let this man ramble in my ear.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

Ain't nothing like a good D.B. Cooper video.

[@lazytommy0]

its entirely possible that he expected to get shot down, so he left backup parachutes for the on board flight crew as he was already going out of his way seemingly to not hurt anyone. and that he may have known the backup was a dummy so he opted to take it since he already had a working one leaving 2 on the plane for the crew just in case

[@niksandy7125]

Thanks Simon for getting me involved in a binge watching session extraordinaire, as I have watched many decoded's over the last couple of days! And once again, due to some strange and may I say misplaced prejudice you left the out the Aliens. What if DB was an alien, one with extensive sky diving experience and the ability to survive frigid temperatures? In all seriousness, due to the fact that the copycats survived I'd say the he survived too, and seeing as it was a bold and seemingly well thought out plan I'd say he landed safely and lived in anonymity somewhere warm.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@kittyythecat]

I think that he did live. The FBI just doesn't want to admit they never caught him

[@legionx4046]

A body was never found

[@shelso1300]

Agreed. Or...it is a Midnight Run situation?

[@PixxieHaxx]

Kevin has inadvertently inspired a Writers of the Whistlerverse Awards convo between my bf. I blurted out "Kevin is second only to Danny, extra points for the Game episodes!" He agreed 🥰 but bronze is another story - I vote Callum, & he's still considering 😆

[@lynnkay417]

How Did I miss this one?! This slipper through the cracks of my Notifications! This is an Awesome Unsolved Mystery, and it's so cool to see Factboi cover it!! 😎💙

[@jimmagnus1200]

My Dad was from northern California. He often referred to areas as countries. An example would be "people in this country work much harder than where I grew up". I once heard another man use the same terminology. I asked him where he was from and he was also from the Northwest. We live in Indiana and they were both older men. Does anyone else have any input on this?

[@christiangauthier727]

Thanks for this AMAZING Episode! It was so interesting, was very well researched and the mystery surrounding Cooper's real identity was very well explored. Sure, it's not perfect, as Simon immediately thought of a solid argument to counter the "The Money was never spent" belief, but since this Script is coming from a single person/Author, we can't be too harsh on him/her!

[@ThatWriterKevin]

Thanks! 💕 And also, even if the money was exchanged in another country, wouldn't at least a dollar of it eventually come back to an American bank?

[@Aligartornator13]

@@ThatWriterKevin Wow the legend himself, nice work man! About the money, that would be an interesting thing to research honestly. How long does a bill circulate befor it comes back to the bank? And how far will it move? For example, if I'd pay for my shopping only with 5€ bills (smalles Euro bill) I guess all of this bills will be used as change and given back to other people. So when one of my bills eventually reaches a bank it went through a lot of buissnesses and a lot of wallets. If I had used a 100€ bill it would probably go straight to the bank. So I think if you ask for ransom money ask for the smalles denomination... lol

[@Pennysfishkeeping]

Heckin fantastic! Cant wait to find out what "officially" happened to Cooper!

[@golferorb]

It was a hoax. It never happened.

[@--enyo--]

I bet he just died.

[@williammatthews693]

Watch the History Channel. They'll... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... tell you.

[@JohnRidley12]

​@@williammatthews693 was he an alien?

[@williammatthews693]

@@JohnRidley12 We may never know...

[@RareInTheHistory]

As far as Cooper saying "Minnesota that's a nice country," that could have been mishearing the word "a" before country. It's entirely possible he just said "Minnesota that's nice country" as in the countryside because there is a lot of really pretty nature out there. It's fairly common, at least around here in Wisconsin, to say things like "that's nice country" referring to just the landscape in rural areas.

[@--enyo--]

Sorry to be spamming this request again, but could we get a video of the death of Gloria Ramirez, often called ‘the toxic lady’ who apparently made people in the emergency department treating her unwell. I’d love to hear it covered on Decoding the Unknown. Also really psyched to hear this episode! Another classic getting the old Decoding the Unknown treatment. Thanks to Kevin for writing and Jen for your editing!

[@KendlickLama]

Wendigoon actually uploaded a video about this topic today🙌🏻

[@Itsthatoneguy371]

I think he did in one of his channels. Mr. Ballen did one too I think.

[@gangsterpenguin8709]

Here's Mr. Ballen's version of that exact story. Very well detailed imho kzbin.info/www/bejne/oomldHywoMahpNk

[@--enyo--]

Man, I thought I could finally stop putting the ‘I don’t care if other people or one of Simon’s thousands of other channels have done this before because I’m specifically asking for a Decoding the Unknown video one it’ note on these requests but I guess not. I don’t like being a jerk, but if I don’t it seems requests just attract comments like these. We are all capable of using the KZbin search function. We know other videos exist. Again, not trying to be mean but these comments are not really what is being asked for. But I guess more comments means this is more likely to be seen? 🤷‍♀️ Trying to look on the bright side.

[@TheDeplorableNeanderthal]

That’s easy… Heimdall used the rainbow bridge to pull Loki back to Asgard. DUh.

[@GrumpyGrobbyGamer]

Simon's got the perfect job. Read script someone else wrote, make about 1000 tangential statements per reading, and let someone else do an amazing job editing things together.

[@thelonggame9166]

57:43 I was typing this in the comment right before you said it. It's nice you took down all those serial numbers and transmitted them to a bunch of area banks. But: 1- DBC clearly had money on him because he was passing out $20s and saying "keep the change". He likely had about $500 of his own, "clean" money on him where he could have easily taken these duffle bags, hopped on a Greyhound, and finished the trip to Mexico, regardless of injuries. Additionally, $200K is worth a LOT more in Mexico, both then and now. He probably went down there, got married and lived an easy life the rest of the way.

[@whittar]

Simon uploading a DB Cooler video after I watched my club make a comeback to win the game? I love Friday evenings.

[@disorganizedorg]

I'm fairly certain that I've seen the rear stairs used in film for boarding at smaller airports lacking jet-ways rather than mobile stairs... no secret at all about them. though probably not used often in the US. If does seem like it would be a lot of extra weight and complexity though.

[@NoMoreBsPlease]

I remember pre 9/11 air travel. I was 17 around 9/11 and traved a bit around 10 or 11 and I remember being able to fly for free and by myself. Yes, children can fly unescorted as long as a family member is waiting at the destination. The flight attendant treated me like ker kid, we both of them did. I remember sleeping in Dallas Fort worth airport and it was pretty cool for a 12 yr old. We got into shenanigans like checking phone booths for quarters, returning abandoned carts for quarters and eventually realizing we could reach the candy and soda before the camera panned back.

[@megansfo]

I was 21 in 1971. A lot of strange things happened back then, and the era was one of cults, a high crime rate, and crazy people hijacking planes. At the time, this just seemed like another weird event, but since then has grown to mythical proportions. Interesting video!

[@Not-Great-at-Gaming]

Clark Kent is Superman? Thanks for the spoiler!

[@itwasagoodideaatthetime7980]

Ooh one of my favourite mysteries I'm looking forward to this one!

[@danielleboon1543]

For land line phone numbers, they’re listed automatically, you don’t choose to list it. You can have the phone company unlist it, but if you don’t actively ask for it then it stays listed. Spam calls don’t use the phone book, so listing or unlisted won’t affect how many spam calls you get. Often spam call centres buy lists from websites or apps

[@meghanline300]

His videos on most of his channels are what I listen to as I fall asleep. With the playlist of all of them, it’s bliss

[@DizzyedUpGirl]

One of my absolute favorite mysteries. I have a theory and it's nome of the leading theories.

[@robswystun2766]

Start writing that book.

[@bboops23]

What's your theory?

[@laurenelizabeth8948]

What happened with the map at 00:10:22? Minnesota got a whole lot bigger than I remember! lol

[@NicoBabyman1]

That was not the Minnesota State but the Minnesota Territory. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Territory#History

[@ghoffmann821]

The rear stair feature of 727s was well known. Anyone who visited an airport could see them loading crew and galley supplies regularly. What was relatively unknown, was that the rear controls and door could operate in-flight.

[@archangel5627]

So Simon is only 35 years old. Considering how well read you are and the nature of your content that you make on KZbin, I always thought you were older. Now I feel old. Anyways, great video and I look forward to seeing the next one! Cheers!

[@kaylathurmond955]

So my grandpa was both ex army airmen, a bowing employee, and the right height/age/build... We all think he was DB. I also have photos of him from his wedding to my grandma wearing a similar tie.

[@kaylathurmond955]

Extra bit My grandpa was from a farm on the KY/TN border and I could see him saying Minnesota was "nice country" not A nice country as in nice land

[@btetschner]

What made you think he was DB Cooper? I am just curious.

[@kaylathurmond955]

@btetschner Just what I said above. If I could post photos here, I would because he looked soooo much like DB.

[@btetschner]

@@kaylathurmond955 What was his personality like? I am pretty sure I have a fix on the personality profile of DB Cooper.

[@kaylathurmond955]

@btetschner he passed away when I was 10, but he was stoic, but kind, he married my grandma after knowing her for a week while he was on leave from the military so I'm assuming impulsive black then.

[@OrdinaryDude]

The last time the US executed someone for desertion was January 31, 1945. I believe it's still a legal option for punishing deserters in the UCMJ, (Uniform Code of Military Justice) but we don't really use it anymore.

[@Notimp0rtant523]

Fun fact: hijacking is not covered under standard insurance. You have to buy an endorsement for it.

[@gryphenghost3103]

I have been a follower of quite a few of your channels, this was another well penned episode, but I think Danny should have looked into more of the more current investigations on Dan Cooper specifically the one done in 2021 by Discovery Channels Expedition Unknown Season 4 Episode7 as they were able to actually get access to the complete FBI files, conduct interviews with one of the agents that had worked on the case for the FBI as well as access to his tie and had it tested with current methods and they were able to get a much better picture of all of the different elements that still remained on it for a much more informed picture of what kind of profession he may have had prior. As well as a new theory of how the jump could have been made, not only surviving but makes a lot more sense than the older theory that he jumped blindly into the freezing temps over the woods. Cheers!

[@Vordb666]

can your editors please master your videos at a consistent volume lol