Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (1971)
Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 (1971) and D B Cooper
One of the most bizarre, and misleading, theories about flight MH370 is the allegation that the Pilot-in-Command, Captain Zaharie Shah, diverted the Boeing 777 and after flying around the north-western tip of Sumatra, exited the aircraft with a parachute to be met at sea by a fishing boat so he could be united with a wealthy woman and live 'happily ever after'. The story, published by journalist Ean Higgins, is undoubtedly false and easily debunked.
But there is a precedent: in 1971 a Northwest Orient Airlines Flight was hijacked by a man known as D. B. Cooper (likely an alias) who claimed he had a bomb. The Boeing 727 was diverted to Seattle; the hijacker was provided with money and four parachutes; and the aircraft left Seattle bound for Mexico City. After about 30 minutes from departure the hijacker opened a rear door on the Boeing 727, lowered the stairs, and parachuted out, never to be seen again.
D B Cooper and MH370
One of the several articles in which journalists linked MH370 with D B Cooper is shown below:-
19 March 2014
D.B. Cooper pulled off a sky-high hijack on Northwest Orient Airlines plane and was never caught
AS THE search for flight MH370 continues, one possibility remains — that the plane was hijacked.
One man has pulled this off seamlessly in the past, albeit in totally different circumstances. This is the story of D.B. Cooper — one of the few people to hijack a plane and get away scot free.
IN NOVEMBER 1971, a man identifying himself as Dan Cooper approached a Northwest Orient Airlines booth at Portland International Airport.
He was carrying a black briefcase and bought a $20 one-way ticket on Flight 305 to Seattle, Washington. It was a 30 minute journey.
...
Source: D.B. Cooper pulled off a sky-high hijack on Northwest Orient Airlines plane and was never caught news.com.au via the Web Archive
The Wikipedia article on this true incident is embedded below.
Source: D. B. Cooper Wikipedia