This highly entertaining Storyville documentary sifts the evidence on the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history, to ask who the mysterious DB Cooper really was
Fans of modern American folklore may be familiar with the story of The Hijacker Who Vanished: The Mystery of DB Cooper (BBC Four), but even those who are not should relish this authoritative opportunity to pull up a seat and get out the popcorn. In November 1971, a passenger plane took off from Portland airport for a short flight to nearby Seattle. However, it was hijacked by a man who claimed to have a bomb in his suitcase. He quietly demanded $200,000 in ransom money. The plane landed, his unsuspecting fellow passengers disembarked, the cash was handed over, the flight took off again, and then DB Cooper parachuted out, at night and in bad weather, over difficult Oregon terrain. No trace of him was ever found. It remains the only unsolved case of air piracy in US history.
This wonderfully entertaining Storyville film goes some way towards finding a convincing account of who DB Cooper might have been. Writer/director John Dower talks to friends, family and acquaintances of different people who may have been the culprit. His interviewees claim to have known plans, heard confessions or seen documents that point the finger at the person they knew.
