The episode follows events similar to the real life story of "D. B. Cooper", a pseudonym given to a notorious aircraft hijacker who, on November 24, 1971, after receiving a ransom payout of $200,000, jumped from the back of a Boeing 727 as it was flying over the Pacific Northwest somewhere over the Cascades, possibly over Woodland, Washington. He used a built-in, stairway door which lowers from the bottom rear of the fuselage. He was never caught, however on February 10, 1980, an 8-year-old boy digging in the sand along a Columbia River bank unearthed three bundles of deteriorating currency whose serial numbers matched the Cooper loot. Boeing also retrofitted the 727 design so that under no circumstances could the rear door be opened during flight.