Tag: hijackings

Previously Unreleased Audio Recording from D.B. Cooper Skyjacking Case Revealed

An incredible previously unreleased audio recording from the infamous D.B. Cooper skyjacking case has been revealed, allowing listeners to eavesdrop on some critical moments during the legendary caper. Researchers Nicholas Broughton and Ryan Burns received the remarkable relic from a source, who has asked to remain anonymous. The audio is derived from badly degraded cassette tapes, which this individual had in their possession for several decades. The duo were provided with around forty minutes of total audio, but only twelve minutes were able to be restored to a listenable condition with the hope that more of the recording can be recovered in the future.

Northwest Airlines, which owned the plane Cooper skyjacked that fateful 1971 Thanksgiving Eve, created the audio by splicing together recordings of two separate radio frequencies used when the passenger jet stopped at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). It was during this period that the passengers and most of the flight crew were released from the plane, the requested $200,000 ransom and parachutes were delivered to Cooper, and the airliner was refueled in anticipation of continuing the flight to Mexico City. In the newly released audio, Captain William Scott, Co-Pilot Bill Rataczak, and Al Lee, Chief Pilot for Northwest Airlines and chosen courier for the skyjacking spoils, can be heard initially discussing a “contingency plan” wherein the remaining crew would make a run for it “if that opportunity avails itself.”

Later in the recording, the tension of the moment is palpable as problems with the refueling process caused a considerable delay on the ground and consternation from Cooper. “We do want the fuel truck to come up, dammit,” Rataczak sternly relays to the Sea-Tac tower as the mounting issues required multiple vehicles. “He’s getting awfully antsy,” the co-pilot reports of Cooper as they wait for the airliner to be ready for takeoff. During the delay, Scott notes specific gear settings that the skyjacker requested for the flight and muses, “he seems to know a little bit about an airplane.” Shortly thereafter, the Sea-Tac tower suggests the incident could be a copy of a similar skyjacking involving a parachute that occurred on an Air Canada flight earlier in the month.

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Gunmen Hijack 33 Tons of Gold, Silver Concentrate in Truck on Mexican Highway

Authorities in Mexico are remaining tightlipped about how a team of gunmen was able to hijack a truck carrying 33 tons of gold and silver concentrate. The high-stakes robbery comes as Mexico’s government continues to claim that public safety is improving and that the country is safe.

The robbery took place on Monday when a tractor-trailer carrying minerals was traveling from the Mexican state of Durango to the Port of Manzanillo in Colima State, where it was expected to be shipped out. However, while the truck was moving through the state of Jalisco, a group of gunmen in at least two vehicles intercepted the truck, overpowered the security detail, and kidnapped the driver.

According to information released by Grupo Bacis, the mining company that owned the precious metals, the gunmen held the security detail and driver for almost two hours while they stealing the cargo. After the gunmen released the victims, they made their way to a nearby tollbooth where they asked for help.  Mexican authorities were able to find the tractor-trailer soon after, but the cargo was gone. The company has not placed a value on the stolen cargo; however, it is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

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Gavin Newsom Awards Antiterrorism Grant to Mosque Linked to 9/11 Hijackers, Pro-Hamas Cleric

California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) recently awarded taxpayer funds under a state antiterrorism program to a San Diego mosque that has been linked to 9/11 hijackers and whose imam defended the Hamas attack on Israel.

Newsom, considered a top 2028 presidential contender, awarded nearly $200,000 to the Islamic Center of San Diego in March as part of a program to help religious institutions and nonprofits beef up security to protect against potential terrorist attacks, according to state records.

“Today more than ever, our state stands together to support our communities. Californians deserve the right to worship, love, and gather safely, without fear of violence,” said Newsom, whose administration has given another $500,000 to the San Diego mosque in previous years.

The Islamic Center of San Diego, led by Imam Taha Hassane, has condoned anti-Israel violence over the years. Hassane, who joined the center in 2004, defended Hamas’s slaughter of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, saying in a sermon weeks later that “resistance [against Israel] is justified,” the Washington Free Beacon previously reported.

“We cannot accuse somebody who is fighting for his life to be a terrorist. The terrorist is the one who started the occupation, not the one who is defending himself,” said Hassane, whose remarks prompted his removal from San Diego’s Human Relations Commission.

Hassane’s wife, Lallia Allali, resigned from her job with the San Diego school district after she posted a cartoon following the Oct. 7 attacks that showed a Star of David beheading five children. She currently teaches courses on “Islamophobia” at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

The Islamic Center of San Diego gained notoriety in the wake of 9/11 after revelations that two of the al Qaeda operatives who flew the plane that hit the Pentagon—Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar—prayed regularly at the mosque. An official at the mosque also allegedly helped the terrorists receive a $5,000 wire transfer from the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11. Other mosque leaders hosted a welcoming party for the hijackers when they arrived in San Diego in 2000, according to the 9/11 Commission report.

Newsom awarded the grant as California faces a steep budget shortfall. State leaders acknowledged in a press release regarding the antiterrorism program that it comes amid “significant budget challenges” for the state.

The office that oversees the grant program—the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services—is the same one that oversees the state’s wildfire mitigation program. Newsom faced criticism following a Free Beacon report that he shut down a highly trained volunteer firefighting force called Team Blaze a year before the Los Angeles wildfires devastated the city in January.

Newsom has awarded grants to other mosques that preach anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hate, the Free Beacon previously reported.

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American Hijacks Plane In Belize, Demanded Fuel & New Flight Path Out Of Country

An American citizen identified as Akinyela Sawa Taylor hijacked a Cessna 208 Grand Caravan with 14 souls on board in Belize on Thursday. 

Taylor held the pilot at knifepoint and demanded a new flight path out of the country. He also demanded more fuel for the plane, according to ABC News, citing local law enforcement.

According to police, the crazed American was fatally shot in the chest by a passenger carrying a licensed firearm. 

The Cessna 208 had been circling near Belize City at the time of the incident and nearly ran out of fuel. 

Authorities said three passengers—all Belizean nationals—sustained knife wounds. There were two other Americans on board. 

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D.B. Cooper Researcher Casts Considerable Doubt on Parachute Discovery Claim

A dedicated D.B. Cooper researcher has cast considerable doubt on the alleged discovery of the legendary skyjacker’s parachute, pointing out several flaws surrounding the suspected evidence which suggest that it did not play a role in the crime. The remarkable claim made earlier this week spawned worldwide headlines with many wondering if the longstanding mystery surrounding the 1971 caper was on the cusp of finally being solved. However, many in the diverse D.B. Cooper research community expressed skepticism at the fantastic development with one in particular, Ryan Burns, releasing a detailed video (seen above) wherein he makes the case that “this is unquestionably not” the parachute used by the skyjacker.

Citing contemporaneous media accounts and the voluminous FBI files concerning the crime, he noted that the parachutes provided to Cooper were repeatedly said to have been missing two specific features: D-Rings and capewells. Alas, these two pieces are present on the recently unearthed rig. Additionally, he indicated that the parachute harness model provided to Cooper during the caper was from the Navy rather than the Air Force, which is the case with the newfound alleged evidence. These three factors, among other aspects of the account, led Burns to conclude that the headline-making parachute could not have come from the 1971 skyjacking.

As to the possibility that it was used in the caper and then significantly altered sometime later, Burns dismissed that scenario as implausible. For that to be the case, he explained, suspect Richard McCoy Jr would have had to both keep a damning piece of evidence and subsequently enlist “a master parachute rigger to have all these modifications done to it.” If Burns’ assessment is correct, one wonders why the FBI seized the item since their own files would appear to indicate that it is not a genuine piece of evidence. While the agency could answer that question, previous instances of the federal government getting involved in longstanding mysteries, such as the still-contentious Pennsylvania treasure hunt from a few years ago, suggest that they may less than forthcoming on the matter.

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Suspected D.B. Cooper Parachute Draws FBI Interest

A parachute found on the family property of a longstanding D.B. Cooper suspect has drawn interest from the FBI, which seized the intriguing item that some contend could be a breakthrough clue in the legendary cold case. As detailed in a lengthy piece by Cowboy State Daily, the remarkable discovery was made by researcher and YouTuber Dan Gryder, who believes that the skyjacker was a man named Richard McCoy II. Permitted to search the family’s property a few years ago, Gryder unearthed the parachute from a crate in a shed. Last week, he revealed that his videos about the discovery had caught the attention of federal authorities, who asked to speak with the researcher.

According to Gryder, he and McCoy’s son met with the FBI in September of last year wherein agents seized the curious canopy that could be connected to the Cooper caper. The following month, the agency conducted an extensive search of the property where the parachute had been found. Musing that “it’s a good sign that they’re taking this seriously,” McCoy’s son revealed that the FBI also collected a DNA sample from him with the suggestion that they may eventually have to exhume his father’s body should it prove necessary. To date, however, the agency has given no indication as to what their recent investigation has uncovered, though paperwork furnished by Gryder confirms that they did confiscate the parachute.

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Leftists Argue That Hijacking Planes is a Legitimate Form of Protest

Some leftists have now moved on to hysterically claim that hijacking planes is a legitimate form of protest.

No, this isn’t the Babylon Bee.

The controversy started when Mohammed El-Kurd, a pro-Palestine writer based in Jerusalem, posted on X.

“You can’t protest peacefully. You can’t boycott. You can’t hunger strike. You can’t hijack planes. You can’t block traffic. You can’t throw Molotovs. You can’t self-immolate. You can’t heckle politicians. You can’t march. You can’t riot. You can’t dissent. You just can’t be.”

El-Kurd immediately got ‘community noted’ as it was explained to him that hijacking planes and throwing fire bombs is a from of terrorism, not protest.

However, despite being utterly roasted and potentially opening himself up to legal ramifications, El-Kurd didn’t delete the tweet.

His insistence that hijacking planes should be treated as a reasonable form of protest was the echoed by another leftist who describes himself as a “19 y/o white western Maoist”.

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Daughter of D.B. Cooper Suspect Calls on FBI to Release Necktie to Clear His Name

The daughter of a man suspected of being D.B. Cooper has called upon the FBI to provide access to the skyjacker’s necktie in the hopes that new DNA analysis of the evidence will clear her father’s name. The surprising development reportedly came about after researcher Eric Ulis made headlines earlier this month with his theory that microscopic metallic particles found on the object could help identify the mysterious individual behind the legendary cold case. He specifically pointed the finger at an individual named Vince Petersen, who worked as an engineer at the only facility that produced the alloy at the time of the skyjacking. As one might imagine, the man’s daughter was not too thrilled when she saw the news that her late father had somehow become a suspect in the Cooper case.

Explaining that she was surprised and dismayed by Ulis’ bold assertion, Julie Dunbar reached out to the researcher to express her considerable skepticism over his hypothesis. “I spoke to Eric about this clip-on tie,” she recalled, “as far as I know, my dad didn’t have one in his wardrobe.” While Dunbar conceded that “anything is possible” and that perhaps “it was something that he kept at work” that was subsequently borrowed by the skyjacker, she flatly dismissed the possibility that her father had anything to do with the 1971 caper. “As far as my dad being DB Cooper himself,” she declared, definitely not.”

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New evidence discovered in D. B. Cooper skyjacking case

A microscopic metal fragment found on the tie of infamous plane hijacker D. B. Cooper could help reveal his true identity. Private investigator and researcher Eric Ulis is ringing in the new year with new breadcrumbs to share.

“I would not be surprised at all if 2024 was the year we figure out who this guy was,” said Ulis.

This particle is part stainless steel, part titanium. Ulis believes the itsy-bitsy discovery can be traced to a sophisticated metal-fabric shop.

According to Ulis, after his legendary disappearance 52 years ago, the man known as D.B. Cooper left behind a critical clue: a clip-on tie. After the money and the man vanished without a trace, this possession was spotted on Cooper’s seat on the back row of the plane, 18-E to be exact. Ulis says the tie was purchased at a J.C. Penny around Christmas 1964 for $1.49.

The evidence is currently under federal lock and key, but scientists who examined it were able to pull more than 100,000 particles from it.

“He applied these sticky stubs, they’re like little carbon circles that he could apply to portions of the tie and then when you pull them off, you’re pulling off some of the particles from the tie,” explained Ulis. “You apply modern state-of-the-art technology to it, things they didn’t have back 1971 when this occurred, it tells a story.”

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Major claim missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could be found in ‘a matter of days’ finally bringing an end to the nine year mystery

The mystery of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 could be solved in a matter of ‘days’ if there was a new search, experts have revealed.

Flight MH370 disappeared about 38 minutes after leaving Kuala Lumpur airport in southern Malaysia en route to Beijing, China, on March 8, 2014.

Despite a frantic search by governments and private companies, the plane was never found and the fate of its 237 passengers remains unknown.

In September, aerospace expert Jean-Luc Marchand and pilot Patrick Blelly called for a new search based on revelations about the fate of the flight.

During a lecture before the Royal Aeronautical Society, the pair said the new search area could be canvassed in just 10 days in an open call for help.

‘We have done our homework. We have a proposal … the area is small and considering new capabilities it will take 10 days,’ Mr Marchand said.

‘It could be a quick thing. Until the wreck of MH370 is found, nobody knows (what happened). But, this is a plausible trajectory.’

The pair called on the Australian Transport Safety Authority, Malaysian government, and exploration company Ocean Infinity to begin a new search.

Last year, Ocean Infinity revealed it was interested in a restarting its search having canvassed swathes of Indian Ocean on a ‘no find, no fee’ basis.

Mr Marchand said the ‘swift’ search could be a good proving ground for the company’s new unmanned sub-nautical search technology.

Importantly, the pair told the RAS the new search area was based on the belief the plane was purposefully hijacked and downed in deep ocean.

Mr Marchad described it as an ‘atrocious one-way journey’, which he believed was likely carried out by an experienced aeroplane pilot.

‘We think, and the study that we’ve done has shown us, that the hijacking was probably performed by an experienced pilot,’ Mr Marchad said.

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