A New Documentary on D.B. Cooper, Oregon’s Most Famous Criminal, Premieres on HBO This Week

“The Mystery of D.B. Cooper” examines Cooper's legend and investigates four potential culprits.

IMAGE: Courtesy of the FBI.
By Matthew Singer

Today marks the 49th anniversary of the most famous crime in Oregon history.

On Thanksgiving Eve 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded a Boeing 727 bound for Seattle at Portland International Airport. Not long after takeoff, he slipped a note to a flight attendant claiming he had a bomb in a briefcase. A few hours later, he leaped out of the plane with a parachute on his back and $200,000 in cash. He was never seen again.

D.B. Cooper, as he's come to be known, is up there with Sasquatch and the Exploding Whale in Pacific Northwest lore. Festivals, boat tours and themed baseball games have been held in his honor.

And now, he's the subject of an HBO documentary.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper, which premieres tomorrow night, "explores how the heist inspired copycat hijackings around the world and elevated Cooper to 'legend' status before his plane even touched back down on land," according to  ‌the network. It also includes an examination of four potential culprits. Will it entertain the theory that he is The Room auteur Tommy Wiseau? It better.

Collider describes the doc as "oddly reminiscent of David Fincher's 2007 film Zodiac," minus, y'know, all the murder. Sounds like the perfect movie to watch after polishing off a vat of mashed potatoes all by yourself.

Watch the trailer below:

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