WATCH: The FBI closes the case of DB Cooper after 45 years
LOS ANGELES, CA - The FBI closed the books on D.B. Cooper 45 years after the skyjacking mystery. The infamous hijacking that took place in 1971 became one of the bureau's "longest and most exhaustive investigations," The FBI said.
On November 24, 1971, a dark- haired man who called himself Dan Cooper approached the ticket counter of Northwest Orient Airlines in Portland, Oregon, and used cash to buy a one-way ticket to Seattle.
After the plane took off he handed a flight attendant a note saying he had a bomb in his briefcase, and opened it to show a mass of wires and red sticks, the FBI said.
When the flight landed in Seattle, the hijacker exchanged the flight's 36 passengers for $200,000 in cash and four parachutes, he kept several members of the crew on board. The flight took off again after he ordered it to fly to Mexico City.
At an altitude of around 1.9 miles, D.B. Cooper made his exit. He disappeared into the night after jumping out of the back of the airplane.
Whether or not Cooper survived the 10,000 foot plunge into the wilderness has never been confirmed, and his true identity has never been determined.
With the 45-year investigation coming to a close, It looks like DB Cooper really did outsmart the FBI and his legend will live on forever.