On November 24, 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper boarded Northwest Orient Flight 305, claimed to have a bomb, demanded $200,000 and four parachutes, and ultimately disappeared into the night after apparently jumping from the rear of a Boeing 727.

More than five decades later, his true identity remains one of America's greatest unsolved mysteries.

In this episode of Santana True Crime, Cameron Santana is joined by author Drew Beeson to examine one of the most intriguing D.B. Cooper suspects: Ted Braden.

Braden wasn't simply a man who resembled the famous Cooper sketch. He was an experienced parachutist, Special Forces soldier, MACV-SOG veteran, covert operator, and Congo mercenary whose remarkable background raises a fascinating question: Did Ted Braden have the skills—and the nerve—to pull off the D.B. Cooper hijacking?

Drew, author of Paratrooper of Fortune: The Story of Ted B. Braden, walks us through Braden's extraordinary life and explains the evidence he believes connects him to the Cooper mystery.

We also examine the other side of the theory: What actual evidence ties Braden to Flight 305? Can his whereabouts in 1971 be established? Does his extensive parachuting experience fit Cooper's actions? And how do we separate a compelling suspect from proof?

Was Ted Braden really D.B. Cooper—or simply a man who could have been?

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