The case started out at Portland International Airport on November 24, 1971. A man carrying a black briefcase bought a one-way ticket to Seattle, using the name, Dan Cooper. There were no cameras, no credit card information, and no way to track it.
A man who professed to be Dan Cooper, hijacked a Boeing 727 plane in the air using a briefcase that he said held a bomb and he gathered up a large sum of money. Then, he attempted to jump out of the moving airplane.