The Mystery of D.B. Cooper, debuting Wednesday, November 25 on HBO, is an exhilarating dive into the confounding, unsolved case of the elusive “D.B. Cooper,” the unidentified man who in 1971 successfully hijacked and parachuted from a 727 jet with $200,000 – and disappeared without a trace.
Directed by Emmy®-nominated filmmaker John Dower (Thrilla in Manila, My Scientology Movie), The Mystery of D.B. Cooper brings to life the stories of four individuals fervently believed by their family and friends to be the mystery man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Portland, OR, traded the passengers’ lives for $200,000 and four parachutes, lept from 10,000 feet over some of Washington State’s roughest terrain, and was never heard from again. Almost 50 years later, the case continues to confound the FBI and inspire wild speculation as it remains the only unsolved airplane hijacking in United States history.
Drawing from a combination of recreated and archival footage, as well as exclusive interviews with those most connected to the infamous case and its likeliest culprits, this edge-of-your-seat documentary also explores how the heist inspired copycat hijackings and elevated Cooper to “legend” status. The Mystery of D.B. Cooper paints a dynamic portrait of a fabled fugitive whose unparalleled story became folklore.
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper is part of a collection of five enthralling crime-focused documentary films that premieres on Wednesdays, beginning November 18. Each title goes beyond the sensational headlines to explore the human toll on all sides of a crime and delves deep into the internal and external worlds of perpetrators, victims, and survivors. The anthology includes Academy Award® winner Alex Gibney’s profile of a pioneering forensic psychiatrist who has studied some of the most notorious serial killers in Crazy, Not Insane (Nov. 18); a shocking examination into Las Vegas fertility specialist, Dr. Quincy Fortier in Baby God(Dec. 2), the haunting tale of an attempted murder by a religious snake handler in Alabama Snake (Dec. 9), and the search for justice in the aftermath of a bishop and human rights activist’s murder in Guatemala in The Art of Political Murder (Dec. 16).