DB Cooper Mystery

Reading Brian Robb’s excellent article on the DB Cooper hijacking [ FT412:30-37], I began to wonder what had happened to the briefcase which contained a “bomb straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon”. It doesn’t appear to have been left on the plane, or the FBI would have reported on the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the supposed dynamite, and perhaps gleaned from it some useful forensic information about Cooper, e.g. where the case was purchased, his fingerprints etc. So, presumably, Cooper took a potentially unstable explosive device with him when he jumped, thereby making an extremely hazardous undertaking even more so. On reaching the ground, assuming he survived the fall, did he abandon the case or take it with him? The case was never found, so could it have detonated when Cooper hit the ground, which might explain his complete disappearance? Of course, this scenario doesn’t explain why a few bank notes survived (although the photograph you publish does suggest some charring) – or why no one reported Cooper missing (unless he really was the archetypal ‘loner’). A truly fascinating mystery.

Geoff Clifton Solihull, West Midlands

• Regarding the question of DB Cooper’s survival, after jumping out of a plane in late November in a business suit, there are steps he could have taken in anticipation of the cold. He could have had some protective clothing under his suit, or in his briefcase, or the paper bag he also had with him. The latter could well have contained gloves and a balaclava. However, the money bag might have been more of a problem than he had anticipated; he’d asked for a backpack, but had been deliberately given a large holdall and low denomination bills, to make it more of a burden. So who knows?

• Further to Richard George’s letter about the Clavicytherium [ FT412:73], a similar instrument has been employed by the difficult-to-classify Penguin Cafe Orchestra, in their 1984 album Broadcasting from Home. The track is ‘Music for a Found Harmonium’, featuring a harmonium found in a Kyoto alley.

Dave Miles By email