Like so many unsolved mysteries, the case of D. B. Cooper' continues to be the subject of immense intrigue and no small degree of fascination. For those who are unaware, he was the passenger who, on 24 November 1971, hijacked a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727, was given a $200,000 ransom and four parachutes, released the passengers and, while being flown from Seattle to Mexico, jumped out of the 727's rear air-stair. 'Cooper' has never been found, nor his true identity ascertained.Now Edwards' new book re-examines the evidence. What it does not do is give its own view of who 'Cooper' might have been. A couple of past suspects are briefly examined, but the author passes on the task of detection. Instead, he offers an extremely detailed investigation, aspects of which may be beyond the more casual reader's knowledge. The chapter entitled 'Diatoms' is a case in point. It focuses on how a study of these tiny, single-cell algae allows "an educated inference" as to where a batch of $20 bills from the ransom money may have been before their discovery in Clark County, Washington during 1980. But it's not all so scientific. The sections on previous air-drops from 727s, and tests undertaken after the hijacking, are fascinating. And I didn't know US Air Force SR-71s were used - briefly - to take reconnaissance imagery for the investigation. An impressive feat of research.
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