For whatever reason, hundreds of people are convinced they know who D.B. Cooper was—or themselves admitted to being the most recognized hijacker in the world. Maybe it’s the extraordinary circumstantial evidence. Maybe it’s the desperate need for an answer. Maybe it’s a secret wish to make a difference in the world. But sometimes, no matter how hard we wish, no matter how hard we believe, we just can’t make something true. Today, the FBI has DNA from Cooper’s J.C. Penney clip-on tie that he left on the jet and partial fingerprints from the cocktail glasses he drank from while in flight. They can now quickly confirm or eliminate suspects.

A single man, an immense amount of cash, four parachutes and a jump from an airliner. Where does the largest manhunt in the United States lead when authorities don’t have a clue as to who the suspect might be?

Would you jump into a mountain forest for $1,052,000? In the dark? In the rain? In November?
In 1971, one man did. Unfortunately, the cash was stolen and the aircraft was hijacked Boeing 727 with fighter jets and FBI agents in a helicopter following it.
Was he an experienced skydiver or an ordinary criminal attempting an extraordinary theft? Did he survive and escape, or perish in a forest in Washington State? Thirty-nine years later, no one knows for sure.

How do I make a closing loop?  How do I know if mine needs replacing?

photo by Brian Buckland | D-19047

The world-record-setting, 108-way head-down formation flies over Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Illinois.

photo by Eric Holcomb | B-32493

Eric Wickfield (top) and Whitney Robinson exit over the coast at the Memorial Day Beach Boogie at Emerald coast Skydivers in Elberta, Alabama.

photo by Steve Sinski

Dan Cook of the U.S. Army Golden Knights kicks off Memorial Day weekend celebrations by flying a POW-MIA flag onto Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

photo by Jason Peters | D-23332

Matt Hill exits a balloon during an advertising photo shoot over Skydive Arizona in Eloy.

photo by Brett Newman | USPA #130487

Members of Team Off Track (from top), Roger Mulckey, Shea Convery and Cameron Jarrett, fly their canopies over the Richmond River in Ballina, New South Wales, Australia.

photo by Joe Abeln | D-28755

Jon Ewald photographs tandem instructor Mike Elliott of the U.S. Army Golden Knights taking Miss USA, Crystle Stewart, on a jump over Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, accompanied by teammates (clockwise from top right), Joe Jones, Dallas Berentis, Kurt Isenbarger, Jeff Schafer and Eric Heinsheimer.

photo by Ori Kuper | C-35707

At dawn, a cadet from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point lands on the tuffet during the classic accuracy event at the 2008 USPA National Collegiate Parachuting Championships.

Willy Boeykens captured this photograph of jumpers exiting the Ecuadorean Air Force's C-130 Hercules over Boogie Ecuador in Salinas.

Mike McGowan captured this photograph of Arizona Airspeed concentrating on winning gold in the 4-way open competition at the USPA Nationals.

Photographer Wendy Smith captured this shot of instructor Tom Noonan and student Scott Diesel high above the Himalayas during the groundbreaking Skydive Everest expedition this September.

Photographer J.C. Colclasure captured this shot of Jonathan Tagle of the PD Factory Team throwing the peace sign under canopy during Swoop Week at Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in Longmont, Colorado.

Photographer Craig O'Brien captured this shot of Lara Eisenberg throwing the peace sign during a formation skydiving load over Perris Valley Skydiving in California.

Photographer Wendy Smith captured this shot of a jumper descending under canopy at Body Fly University in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Photographer Norman Kent captured this shot of Team Fastrax members Travis Donely, John Hart, Brian Marzluf and Doug Park in freefall with a sophisticated pyrotechnics system attached to their legs during a demo training jump over Skydive Palatka in Florida.

Photographer Hal Moore captured this shot of Rob Wallace during a 2-way freefly dive above Xtreme Divers West in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.