This is Hidden Brain.
I'm Shankar Vedanta.
In November 1971, a man showed up at a flight counter for Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland.
He asked to buy a one-way ticket to Seattle.
The man provided his name when he bought the ticket, Dan Cooper.
He was carrying a black briefcase.
Once on board the aircraft and en route to Seattle, the man showed a flight attendant the contents of his briefcase.
It looked like a bomb.
In return for releasing passengers unharmed, he demanded $200,000 when the plane landed.
He also added an odd request.
He wanted four parachutes.
After the plane landed in Seattle, the ransom and parachutes were delivered.
Dan Cooper allowed the passengers to disembark, but kept the crew on board.
He demanded the plane be refueled and fly to Mexico City.
The plane took off a second time.
The hijacker ordered the crew to stay in the cockpit.
He also demanded the curtains between the coach cabin and first class be closed.
With no one watching him, he opened the rear exit on the plane and leaped with his parachute
and his money into a moonless night.
Dan Cooper was never caught.