The Highline Heritage Museum will host its D.B. Cooper Festival from Noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Burien, ahead of the 55th anniversary of the infamous hijacking that brought Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 to nearby Sea-Tac Airport.
The mystery began on Nov. 24, 1971, when a man who called himself “Dan Cooper” bought a ticket in Portland, Oregon, for a flight to Seattle. In the air, he handed a flight attendant a note saying he had a bomb and demanded $200,000 and four parachutes, according to the FBI.
When the plane landed at Sea-Tac Airport, Cooper released the 36 passengers in exchange for the money and parachutes. The plane took off again with several crew members still aboard. Cooper parachuted from the rear of the plane before it reached Reno, Nevada, and disappeared. The Port of Seattle says the name D.B. Cooper took hold after a reporter misunderstood the name during a briefing.
In 1980, a boy found $5,800 in bills along the Columbia River. The serial numbers matched the ransom money. The FBI redirected its investigative resources in 2016 after 45 years of pursuing the case without establishing Cooper’s identity.
For more information, call 206-402-4029 or visit the Highline Heritage Museum website.
