Editing D. B. Cooper (section)

===Robert Rackstraw===
[[File:Rackstraw Cooper comparisson.png|thumb|FBI sketch of D. B. Cooper from 1972 compared to 1970 Army ID picture of Robert Rackstraw]]
Robert Wesley Rackstraw (1943–2019) was a retired pilot and ex-convict who served on an Army helicopter crew and other units during the Vietnam War. He came to the attention of the Cooper task force in February 1978, after he was arrested in Iran and [[deportation|deported]] to the U.S. to face explosives possession and [[check kiting]] charges. Several months later, while released on bail, Rackstraw attempted to fake his own death by radioing a false [[mayday]] call and telling controllers that he was bailing out of a rented airplane over [[Monterey Bay]].<ref>[http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/07/12/d-b-cooper-investigation-focuses-on-california-off-the-books-genius-robert-rackstraw/ D.B. Cooper investigation focuses on California 'off-the-books genius' Robert Rackstraw.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916025740/http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/07/12/d-b-cooper-investigation-focuses-on-california-off-the-books-genius-robert-rackstraw/ |date=September 16, 2016 }} San Jose ''Mercury News'' (July 12, 2016), retrieved September 8, 2016.</ref> Police later arrested him in [[Fullerton, California]], on an additional charge of [[forgery|forging]] federal pilot certificates; the airplane he claimed to have ditched was found, repainted, in a nearby hangar.<ref>Sharon, K. (October 7, 2017). [https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/07/california-man-accused-of-being-d-b-cooper-a-life-ruined-or-a-case-solved/ California man accused of being D.B. Cooper: A life ruined or a case solved?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130155123/https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/07/california-man-accused-of-being-d-b-cooper-a-life-ruined-or-a-case-solved/ |date=November 30, 2018 }} San Jose ''Mercury News'', retrieved November 29, 2018.</ref><ref>Fitzgerald, M. (July 12, 2016). [https://www.recordnet.com/news/20160712/fitzgerald-was-db-cooper-in-stockton Fitzgerald: Was D.B. Cooper in Stockton?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202042/https://www.recordnet.com/news/20160712/fitzgerald-was-db-cooper-in-stockton |date=November 30, 2018 }}. Recordnet, retrieved November 29, 2018.</ref> Cooper investigators noted his physical resemblance to Cooper composite sketches even though he was only 28 in 1971,<ref name ="Dodd" /> military parachute training, and criminal record but eliminated him as a suspect in 1979 after no direct evidence of his involvement could be found.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rackstraw Says He's Not Cooper Of Skyjack Fame|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rPJVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5250%2C1757839|website=Google|publisher=Eugene Register-Guard|date=February 7, 1979|access-date=July 16, 2016|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929143642/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rPJVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5250%2C1757839|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=In Search Of... D. B. Cooper | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_yvGpipjzE | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119090620/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_yvGpipjzE| archive-date=January 19, 2014 | url-status=dead| website=[[YouTube]] | publisher=In Search Of | date=December 6, 1979 | access-date=July 19, 2016}}</ref>

In 2016, Rackstraw was featured as a suspect by a [[History (American TV network)|History]] channel program,<ref>{{cite news|last=Baxter|first=Stephen|title=TV investigation links Santa Cruz County native to 1971 D.B. Cooper 'skyjacking' case|url=http://www.eastbaytimes.com/news/ci_30118971/tv-investigation-links-santa-cruz-county-native-1971?source=JPopUp|newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel|access-date=July 12, 2016|date=July 12, 2016|archive-date=August 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822141131/http://www.eastbaytimes.com/news/ci_30118971/tv-investigation-links-santa-cruz-county-native-1971?source=JPopUp|url-status=live}}</ref> along with a book.{{sfn|Colbert|Szollosi|2016|p=330}} On September 8, 2016, [[Thomas J. Colbert]], the author of the book, and attorney [[Mark Zaid]] filed a lawsuit to compel the FBI to release its Cooper case file by the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]].<ref name = "oregonian">[http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/09/lawsuit_filed_against_fbi_to_m.html Lawsuit filed against FBI to make D.B. Cooper investigation file public] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923115042/http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/09/lawsuit_filed_against_fbi_to_m.html |date=September 23, 2016 }}. ''The Oregonian'' (September 8, 2016), retrieved September 22, 2016.</ref> In 2017, Colbert and a group of volunteer investigators uncovered what they believed to be "a decades-old parachute strap" at an undisclosed location in the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chamberlain|first1=Samuel|title=DB Cooper mystery: 'Potential' physical evidence uncovered in search|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/db-cooper-mystery-potential-physical-evidence-uncovered-in-search|work=Fox News|access-date=August 11, 2017|date=August 9, 2017|archive-date=August 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811064044/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/10/db-cooper-mystery-potential-physical-evidence-uncovered-in-search.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This was followed later in 2017 with a piece of foam, which they suspected was part of Cooper's parachute backpack.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cerullo|first1=Megan|title=FBI accepts new evidence in D.B. Cooper hijacking cold case|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/new-potential-evidence-emerges-b-cooper-hijacking-case-article-1.3426633|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|access-date=August 21, 2017|archive-date=August 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824040218/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/new-potential-evidence-emerges-b-cooper-hijacking-case-article-1.3426633|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2018, Tom and Dawna Colbert reported that they had obtained a confession letter originally written in December 1971 containing codes that matched three units Rackstraw was a part of while in the Army.<ref>{{cite news |title=Investigators think letter confirms ID of D.B. Cooper |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/investigators-think-letter-confirms-id-of-d-b-cooper/ |newspaper=[[Seattle Times]] |date=January 5, 2018 |access-date=January 7, 2018 |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107012734/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/investigators-think-letter-confirms-id-of-d-b-cooper/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Perry |first=Douglas |date=June 28, 2018 |title=Skyjacker D.B. Cooper revealed real identity in 1972 letter to The Oregonian, code-breaker claims |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/06/cc9c62a1082655/the_real_db_cooper_provided_en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612131623/https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/06/cc9c62a1082655/the_real_db_cooper_provided_en.html |archive-date=June 12, 2023 |access-date=June 12, 2023 |work=The Oregonian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/the-search-for-db-cooper-investigators-say-theyve-confirmed-skyjackers-identity-by-decoding-long-lost-confession/ar-AAzi4Zb?ocid=ientp|title=The search for D.B. Cooper: Investigators say they've confirmed skyjacker's identity by decoding long-lost 'confession'|website=Msn.com|access-date=June 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628204919/http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/the-search-for-db-cooper-investigators-say-theyve-confirmed-skyjackers-identity-by-decoding-long-lost-confession/ar-AAzi4Zb?ocid=ientp|archive-date=June 28, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

One of the Flight 305 flight attendants reportedly "did not find any similarities" between photos of Rackstraw from the 1970s and her recollection of Cooper's appearance.<ref name="Dodd">Dodd, J. (July 12, 2016). [http://people.com/crime/db-cooper-robert-rackstraw-accused-in-history-channel-show-denies-accusation/ Man Identified in History Channel Show as Notorious Skyjacker D.B. Cooper Denies Accusation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220200828/http://people.com/crime/db-cooper-robert-rackstraw-accused-in-history-channel-show-denies-accusation/ |date=December 20, 2016 }}. People.com, retrieved December 13, 2016.</ref> Rackstraw's attorney termed the renewed allegations "the stupidest thing I've ever heard",<ref>[http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/07/13/fbi-closes-case-on-d-b-cooper-skyjacking-mystery/ FBI Closes Case On D.B. Cooper Skyjacking Mystery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917075430/http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/07/13/fbi-closes-case-on-d-b-cooper-skyjacking-mystery/ |date=September 17, 2016 }}. CBS Miami (July 13, 2016), retrieved September 8, 2016.</ref> and Rackstraw himself told ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, "It's a lot of [expletive], and they know it is".<ref name="Dodd" /> The FBI declined further comment.<ref name="oregonian" /> Rackstraw stated in a 2017 phone interview that he lost his job over the 2016 investigations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/07/california-man-accused-of-being-d-b-cooper-a-life-ruined-or-a-case-solved|title=California man accused of being D.B. Cooper: A…|date=October 7, 2017|work=MercuryNews|access-date=October 8, 2017|archive-date=October 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008114451/http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/07/california-man-accused-of-being-d-b-cooper-a-life-ruined-or-a-case-solved/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rackstraw said to Colbert, "I told everybody I was [the hijacker]",  before explaining the admission was a stunt. He died in 2019.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/story/2019-07-09/army-paratrooper-suspected-in-notorious-d-b-cooper-skyjacking-dies-in-bankers-hill-home|title=San Diegan featured in program about notorious D.B. Cooper skyjacking case dies in Bankers Hill home|date=July 10, 2019|newspaper=[[San Diego Union-Tribune]]|access-date=July 10, 2019|archive-date=July 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710090303/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/obituaries/story/2019-07-09/army-paratrooper-suspected-in-notorious-d-b-cooper-skyjacking-dies-in-bankers-hill-home|url-status=live}}</ref>