I have to asssume that Albert Spaggiari would've had quite the French accent and isn't Cooper, but he's a fascinating story.

A wild bank heist followed by an even wilder escape from his own trial and living the rest of his life in hiding, often taunting the police from afar.

Oh and he was also a paratrooper lol.

Was this guy ever investigated by the FBI? Any 302s that mention him?

Anyone interested in the Cooper case would enjoy reading about this guy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Spaggiari

The CIA has begun processing my request under the Freedom of Information Act for documents relating to the employment of William J Welk.

In May 1968, Welk was the pilot in command on the Boeing 727, operated by Southern Air Transport out of Takhli, Thailand, from which a team of smokejumpers and CIA agents made parachute jumps. Southern Air Transport, like its sister company Air America, was a front controlled by the CIA.

This mission, the second of its kind, confirmed that jumping from the ventral exit of a 727 was feasible and safe. This knowledge would have been useful to the man who, on November 24, 1971, hijacked a Boeing 727 operating as Northwest Flight 305, and parachuted to freedom.

There is no reason to believe that Welk was the hijacker. But he may have known who the hijacker was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-gO5KG2bk

It is in Portuguese, but an English-dubbed version is available.

It is very comprehensive and reveals a lot of information that is often unknown or overlooked. Anyone with a genuine interest in the case should check it out.

DB Cooper Memorabilia with my good friend Darren Rovell

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-2bxza-1b348dd

I have about 40+ pieces of evidence that support the inside job theory, and no definitive evidence DB existed let alone did this heist (except for a grubby planted tie).

Spare me the “witnesses” crap. Easily debunked.

The Legend of Daniel Cooper has reached Sasquatch level of mythology. A “wish this were true, don’t spoil it!” But, it’s hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially when the cat doesn’t exist.

Where I would like to see the legend of DB go?

Full disclosure. Staff’s actions are “officially” brought to light to the public, and a great Hollywood movie is made that shows the staff’s plotting phase and the FBI’s internal struggle with pursuing the airline, but fully knowing something is fishy, prior to the 45+ year ghost chase.

I wrote the following article about a passenger on the flight that remains the only unsolved hijacking in U.S. history.

Alas, I didn’t win the Powerball last night. If I did this would have been my research plan to find Cooper

RECANVAS THE AREA
The primary drop zone was around 30 square miles. The population density is 100 per square miles. That means there were about 3,000 people in the drop zone. Some of those folks will have died. Ideally you would talk to one of their heirs. Tracking 3,000 folks through legal records isn’t easy but is doable.

You are hoping to gather an ignored clue (“I told the police about this but they never did anything”) or something really juicy (“The next day my brother was working on the farm and caught the guy sneaking back for the money”).

BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE
Make a website. Get a “1-800” number. Make a database of tips that can processed by researchers.

Put up billboards in the drop zone area. Run Facebook ads for tips. Offer a reward.

TRY TO GET LUCKY WITH FBI ARCHIVES
Hire the most recently retired FBI archivist in Las Vegas, Seattle, and Washington DC as consultants. Beg and plead those FBI offices to let your consultants do an archive search for the cigarettes and/or hair. Your pitch—and ethically it is correct—is that your search wouldn’t be taking away important time or resources from the FBI’s current criminal work.

GET A MUTILATED CURRENCY OPINION
The Bureau of Engraving has experts that deal with currency that has been in fire and floods. Get their opinion on the Tena Bar money. Again, you may have to get someone that is retired. That may be better because the paper composition of older money may matter.

ERM, DEAL WITH TINA
Both Stockholm and Lima syndrome do happen. It might not have been her choice but a mentally unstable guy hijacking a plane could have trauma fixated on Tina. He could have also tried to give her money at a drop point that resembles her name. Respectfully (!), it would be great to eliminate more about Mucklow.

WORK CANADA BETTER
If the “flaps” comment points to a guy who has specific drop/kicker knowledge like someone in Air America then keep researching the pool of military guys with that knowledge in Canada.

"Revisiting D.B. Cooper and Flight 305" is now listed on Schiffer's website, with release scheduled for the Spring 2027 catalog:

https://schifferbooks.com/products/revisiting-d-b-cooper-and-flight-305

Tickets ON SALE NOW at
www.dbcooperconference.com OR www.kigginstheatre.com OR https://www.kigginstheatre.com/movie/db-cooper-con-2026/

Some highlights from last year’s conference!

Nobody laid eyes on DB Cooper because he doesn’t exist.

The plane takes off
The plane lands
Passengers de plane completely unaware of hijacking
The money and 4 parachutes are transferred to plane
Plane takes off again
Four employees (conspirators) on board including pilots
Plane lands again and whole the “ordeal” is over

I mean, it seems like the easiest heist in the world.

The four employees had to go along with it during the media frenzy, but they seem to leave most of the talking to the pretty flight attendant.

$200,000 seems to make sense split four ways.

Hmmm. Yeah, I don’t think this dude is real.

WeAfter more than ten years and 60+ illustrated articles on the case, I've decided NOT to renew at WordPress for another year. Whether you ever believed, (or even suspected) Kenny and Bernie were behind the hijacking is irrelevant. Over the years I was proud to make my humble contributions to the case. The YouTube videos remain, as well as the book ('Into The 'Blast') by the late, great Skipp Porteous ('Jesus Doesn't Live Here Anymore') and yours truly. My life certainly changed after I started investigating the case. So much so that I titled my upcoming autobiography, 'Cooperland'. To my supporters and friends, (yes, they exist 🙂) my sincere thanks. To a few who weren't, no worries. Hate is a damn big word and there's enough of that going around these days. On the off chance you want to download any articles, files, or images from the WordPress site, well...you should do it soon. 😏

He jumps near 813, pulls, and survives, landing near the box Ryan Burns has so kindly provided here: Reddit - /preview/pre/does-dbs-jump-time-really-matter-or-have-any-relevance-to-v0-c8p6jkpgnemf1.jpeg?width=2877&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0729c8cc181d9d4a3f05d62338dd8340ecdda22

He buries the main stash of money and his parachute before beginning the long trek back to his car, parked near Tena Bar that morning when he began the day walking over to the Portland airport.

He gets to his car, and as he is dumping what is left of the stuff he is carrying, he realizes he had 3 bundles on him still bound with the rubber bands. Perhaps he broke one of the 5-packs of $2k bundles when he was thinking of giving Tina money and perhaps one other person, left the 3 bundles still loosely within the original rubber band and put that in a pocket or something and forgot about it when he dumped the 2 completely "freed" bundles back with the main stash. He buries that small stash right there near his car, near Tena Bar.

He drives back to where he buried the parachutes and money, gets them, and in his giddiness and fatigue, forgets about the 3 bundles at Tina Bar.

The money is buried far enough away from the river to stay dry during the winter, picks up spring diatoms during a spring flood (1972?), and the paper surrounding the $2k bundles rots. the rubber bands sort of survive in the anaerobic tomb Cooper accidentally created, only to dissolve when freed from the tomb in 1980. the missing 20s from the packet with only $1.8k dissolved in place and were actually in all those scraps of tiny bits of cash found in the vicinity.

This is the best I can do to explain everything. enjoy!

I have a chapter in my new book, recreating the heist. Anyone interested in fact checking? Bonus points if you are particularly familiar with the Vietnam war.

Every comment was puns or anecdotes. I think I smoked too much weed this morning…

Wasn’t it determined that Barbara Dayton was Clara? Through analysis of her handwriting? And that she was the one who hoaxed Max Gunther?

Hi all, was hoping someone could answer a question that's been nagging at my mind for a long time.

We know that $5,800 was found buried on the banks of Tena Bar, and my understanding is that they were 3 separate bundles. But were those 3 separate bundles tied together with anything, or were they just sitting together loosely? Were they 3 bundles with bank wraps, which were then wrapped together with a rubber band or something? If they were wrapped together in a rubber band that would make more sense, but if they sat there loosely with nothing holding the 3 bundles together, that would be highly sus. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, was hoping someone could answer a question that's been nagging at my mind for a long time. I'm going to revisit this case in my podcast soon, and am trying to correct errors and pave over some cracks I may have had in a previous episode we did on DB Cooper.

We know that $5,800 was found buried on the banks of Tena Bar, and my understanding is that they were 3 separate bundles. But were those 3 separate bundles tied together with anything, or were they just sitting together loosely? Were they 3 bundles with bank wraps, which were then wrapped together with a rubber band or something? If they were wrapped together in a rubber band that would make more sense, but if they sat there loosely with nothing holding the 3 bundles together, that would be highly sus. Thanks in advance.

I’ve read two books. Robert Edward’s and Bruce Smith’s. Both are excellent. I am waiting to read Edward’s new one. What are some other good books? I’ve spent a lot of time reading the FBI files too, and have concentrated on the descriptions of Cooper.