DB Cooper Lived In Bonney Lake, WA
10-25-2007, 09:33 AM
#1
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DB Cooper Lived In Bonney Lake, WA
Hey, Bonney Lake is not too far from where I live. Maybe I'll go down there and check it out on behalf of everyone here on APC. 
From KOMO News:
A man who claims to be the brother of the hijacker D.B. Cooper said the legendary figure lived out the rest of his life in a small Western Washington town.
Cooper hijacked a commercial airplane 36 years ago, then jumped out with a parachute and $200,000 in ransom money. His body was never found.
The FBI has always maintained Cooper did not survive that fateful jump from a hijacked jet, but a Minnesota man says Cooper not only lived, but spent the rest of his life in Bonney Lake, Wash.
Drive down the old Buckley Highway and you'll see a sign shop. It's not much, but it's now in the national spotlight. The house is where many say Cooper lived out the rest of his life.
His legend inspired songs, poems and even movies. The identity of the infamous hijacker, has remained a mystery, until now.
A Minnesota man says he was channel-surfing when he found himself staring into the eyes of his older brother, Kenneth Christansen.
"I think he did it, there too many things that points to him," said Lyle Christansen.
Lyle, 77, told KOMO 4 News his brother, Kenny, was a trained Army paratrooper with the skills to survive a jump in harsh conditions.
The FBI has said Cooper knew the terrains of Western Washington. Kenny knew the area, too; he settled down in Bonney Lake.
Kenny's old house has been turned into a sign shop. Property records show he paid $1,400 for the house one year after Cooper's jump.
Lyle says it's a property his brother could not have afforded with his job at Northwest Airlines.
Years after the infamous hijacking, some of Cooper's money turned up. A boy found nearly $6,000 in decomposing $20 bills in the mountains. So the question remains -- where's the rest of it?
"That's the question! As far as I knew it's never been spent," said Rattenbury, who owns the sign shop. "There's a chance it could be buried around here somewhere. You never know."
And so the legend lives on. Lyle says "D.B. Cooper" took his greatest secret to the grave.
"He (Kenny) said on his deathbed, called me over and told me 'there's something you should know but I cannot tell you," Lyle said. "I didn't want to know anything bad about him so I said 'whatever it is, we still love you."'
Kenneth Christiansen died in 1994 from cancer.
Lyle Christansen is convinced, but there are still many skeptics. The mayor of Bonney Lake says if Lyle's story proves to be true, he'll have Kenny's house turned into a historical site.
http://www.komotv.com/news/10785611.html
From KOMO News:
A man who claims to be the brother of the hijacker D.B. Cooper said the legendary figure lived out the rest of his life in a small Western Washington town.
Cooper hijacked a commercial airplane 36 years ago, then jumped out with a parachute and $200,000 in ransom money. His body was never found.
The FBI has always maintained Cooper did not survive that fateful jump from a hijacked jet, but a Minnesota man says Cooper not only lived, but spent the rest of his life in Bonney Lake, Wash.
Drive down the old Buckley Highway and you'll see a sign shop. It's not much, but it's now in the national spotlight. The house is where many say Cooper lived out the rest of his life.
His legend inspired songs, poems and even movies. The identity of the infamous hijacker, has remained a mystery, until now.
A Minnesota man says he was channel-surfing when he found himself staring into the eyes of his older brother, Kenneth Christansen.
"I think he did it, there too many things that points to him," said Lyle Christansen.
Lyle, 77, told KOMO 4 News his brother, Kenny, was a trained Army paratrooper with the skills to survive a jump in harsh conditions.
The FBI has said Cooper knew the terrains of Western Washington. Kenny knew the area, too; he settled down in Bonney Lake.
Kenny's old house has been turned into a sign shop. Property records show he paid $1,400 for the house one year after Cooper's jump.
Lyle says it's a property his brother could not have afforded with his job at Northwest Airlines.
Years after the infamous hijacking, some of Cooper's money turned up. A boy found nearly $6,000 in decomposing $20 bills in the mountains. So the question remains -- where's the rest of it?
"That's the question! As far as I knew it's never been spent," said Rattenbury, who owns the sign shop. "There's a chance it could be buried around here somewhere. You never know."
And so the legend lives on. Lyle says "D.B. Cooper" took his greatest secret to the grave.
"He (Kenny) said on his deathbed, called me over and told me 'there's something you should know but I cannot tell you," Lyle said. "I didn't want to know anything bad about him so I said 'whatever it is, we still love you."'
Kenneth Christiansen died in 1994 from cancer.
Lyle Christansen is convinced, but there are still many skeptics. The mayor of Bonney Lake says if Lyle's story proves to be true, he'll have Kenny's house turned into a historical site.
http://www.komotv.com/news/10785611.html
10-25-2007, 06:47 PM
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He bailed out the aft airstairs of a 727. After that, they were modified with a latch to prevent the door from being opened in flight.
A number of people have survived skydiving accidents where their parachute didn't open or malfunctioned. There's always a chance.
A number of people have survived skydiving accidents where their parachute didn't open or malfunctioned. There's always a chance.
10-25-2007, 09:46 PM
#7
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Well, this is one reason I have always favored KING5 over KOMO. Looks like you may be correct, Cubdriver.
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stor...1a8797776.html
btw, I thought the thing is called the Cooper Vane?
http://www.king5.com/topstories/stor...1a8797776.html
btw, I thought the thing is called the Cooper Vane?
10-25-2007, 11:33 PM
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Originally Posted by ToiletDuck
Does anyone know how he got the name or the $200k on a 727?
En route to Seattle, Cooper handed a flight attendant a note saying that he had a bomb and that the plane was being hijacked. He ordered the pilots to arrange for four parachutes and $200k to be ready in Seattle upon their arrival. Once there, everybody but one flight attendant and two pilots exited the aircraft. The money and parachutes were loaded onto the plane, and Cooper commanded that it be flown towards Mexico, at 170 knots, gear down, flaps 15, and below 10,000'. He had the flight attendant lower the rear door, then move up to the cockpit. That was the last anybody saw of him.
Dan Cooper was the name he used to purchase the ticket in Portland. Authorities, after the hijacking, interrogated and released a "D.B. Cooper" who was never considered a significant suspect, but the media hung onto the name and it has stuck ever since.
10-26-2007, 02:20 AM
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He must have dropped the money when he hit the airstream. I doubt that 200 mph winds would have killed him, as skydivers routinely jump from moving passenger jets. A firm called Parris Valley has a DC9 they drop skydivers from in California. They jump out the back much like the 727. A skydiver outfit I used to fly for had members who claimed to have done this jump and had good stories of the experience.
Pictures here.
Pictures here.
Last edited by Cubdriver; 10-26-2007 at 02:08 PM.
10-31-2007, 01:22 AM
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Recent New York Magazine article that has a lot more detail on this theory:
http://nymag.com/news/features/39593/
http://nymag.com/news/features/39593/
