Cooper Skyjacking Solved ?

On November 24, 1971 a man boarded a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 using the alias Dan Cooper. He was nicely dressed and carried an attache case in which he informed the stewardess he had a bomb. He demanded $200,000.00 in unmarked bills or he would blow up the plane. He tied the 22 lb. bag of ransom money to himself, donned a parachute, and jumped.

A thorough search of the drop zone located in the forest of the Cascade mountains yielded no clues. With no further information to guide them, the FBI presumed the jumper to be dead. Yet they had no body and no bag of money to verify this. The case went cold.

A new investigation has revealed what seems to be solid evidence against one man named Kenny Christianson. He had the training and the motive to pull of such a stunt.

Kenny Christianson was a paratrooper in the United States Army. He learned how to jump under all types of scenarios. He learned how to land in trees, how to handle bad weather conditions, and even how to jump with heavy equipment attached to him. He served for two years and then got a job with Northwest Airlines refueling airplanes.

The airline industry has a history of layoffs and strikes. Kenny was no exception to this and he became disgruntled. It is possible that Kenny masterminded the plan as a way to stabilize himself financially, but also as means to get back at the airlines for the years of job insecurity.

Kenny's own brother is convinced it was him. He told the FBI that Kenny had no money before the skyjacking, but was spending plenty after it. He also never again wore his toupee.

Then there is the photo. It shows Kenny with the right style coat, attache case, and bag (like a money bag) walking through a door way. His appearance resembles exactly what was described by witnesses.

In the attic of his house investigators found a cubby hole/trapdoor that looks as if it was intended to hide something...something about the size of a money bag. Years later a boy found a cache of money behind Christianson's house. The lucky kid got to keep half of it.
Even with all this new information, the FBI remains steadfast in their belief that the jumper died that day and are reluctant to consider Christianson as a prime suspect.

It has been dubbed the perfect crime and for now the case must officially remain an unsolved mystery.
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Several changes in airline industry came as a result of the 1971 Thanksgiving skyjacking. Modern airplanes have a lock on the cargo door so that it can not be opened from the inside. Metal detectors and other scanning equipment were introduced as a direct result of the event.

The question remains... could someone survive jumping out of an airplane at 10,000 ft. in the freezing rain with a 22lb weight attached to him? The answer is yes. Another skyjacker jumped from a plane 6,000 ft. higher and survived.

An experienced skydiver, with Christianson's same military training, verified that a successful jump can be made with a much  heavier weight attached and in practically any weather condition.
The jumper ordered the captain to stay below 10,000 feet and set the flaps at a 15 degree angle. It was clear that the jumper had a vast knowledge of airplanes and used that knowledge to his advantage.

Could Christianson's friend Bernie have been an accomplice? Bernie says no, but there are several holes in his story. Why was he late for Thanksgiving dinner and why won't he answer about the location of his camper? I think he knows more than he is saying.