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If I understand the Himmelsbach theory it's:

1) It's impossible for Cooper to have jumped into the Columbia by I-5

2) It's more likely that the flight path is wrong and the money went down some tributary to the Columbia.

3) The plane somehow veered off course 20 miles but there was no mention of it in the transcript. Modify the off course distance by whatever distance you like.

If you make it smaller, then you're saying Cooper deployed and got wind drift to travel N miles in some direction (say which).

4) If the plane veered off course, it somehow got close enough to Portland for Rat to see lights, and be nonplussed about coming up on them from an unexpected angle. And these turns didn't show up in the flight recorder or radar or however they did the flight path. Or the post-hijack interview.

They were just cowboying it. VFR in the storm. Yahoo!

Is that the Himmelsbach theory? What am I missing?
I'm guessing because no one wants to lay it out for me.

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Snowmman: Let me see if I get this right."You" can't understand or" you" can't imagine. Either way, is what your saying this. If you haven't been in a situation don't comment on it. Go figure



Hi Jerry. I know you're new here, but you have to be a lot better at your digs, if you want them to make an impact on me.

Picture being in a knife fight with me. Take a better shot. You can do it!

On another note, I was just looking at the flight path again. Someone mentioned being comfortable with 20:15 as the jump time again recently. At 20:16 remember, with the one minute correction, they are essentially at the Columbia.

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This is what your missing.the cloud cover was extremly dense. It was at night.All aircraft involved with the cooper chase were flying by there Instruments only".Fact "May not be in any record. Some times it helps to read between the lines.



Hi Jerry,
Thanks,
So you don't think Rataczak saw any lights at Portland?

If they were on IFR, how come the tower didn't complain if they were off of V-23?

Can pilots here comment? If you're more than 3 miles off of a vector airway, within a couple of miles of PDX, would the ATC comment to you? or would IFR somehow just get worked out without an exchange between Pilot and tower.

It was controlled airspace around PDX. In the flight path we have, you can see them curve around the boundaries of the controlled airspace right? Sluggo has these pics, or we could post again.

Sounds like Jerry has some new info for us here.

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We have this info from Larry Carr (Ckret) (you can search for posts from him here..be good to learn how to do that)

"The weather: Ceiling of 5,000 feet, broken clouds at 3,500, scattered clouds at 1,500. Winds of 12 to 14 knots, light rain showers."

We've looked up wind and temp for 11/24/71 at PDX also from historical databases.

We're a little light on surface winds and winds aloft at PDX that night. Do you have anything there? (direction especially. We have historical info, but good data from that night is fuzzy. Larry has posted some data, but unclear of source or exact location measured)


Does the cloud cover above agree with what you know about the clouds that night?

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posting a quick pic for Jerry, so he can give us feedback on where 305 might have been around PDX. (Jerry, if you click on the "pdx plus flight.jpg below, you should get a picture.

(edit) Depending on your browser, if you see a plus sign where the cursor should be on the picture, then click on the picture again to get the full size picture in your browser. You'll want to do that if the picture looks low resolution)

the attached pic has details we've debated ad nauseum.

Overlaying a lot of stuff
1) Google Earth around PDX
2) transparent overlay of the 1971 sectional from Ckret
(so the yellow areas of Vancouver and Portland show the size of the cities then, roughly)

3) The blue line is the line from Sluggo, with his placement of the tics that are supposedly radar placements of 305 at 1 minute intervals. Note that the times are not adjusted for the missing minute Sluggo found.

We had a little debate around the exact placement of the tics right before and after? (I think) the Columbia, but Sluggo's are close enough. (georger had some good color layer decomposition..I agree with georger's tic placements as a result)

4) V-23, the airway, is marked in green (straight line there)

5) you can see the black pencil/marker that was used to hand draw a flight path on the map from Ckret.

6) money find location is top left.

7) remember I-205 wasn't there in 1971. Other roads indicated.

I've been to the Portland zoo. At least twice but I forget exactly how often.

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My Info is fact. Your good at researching info on this stuff. So Im going to let you Know there is another source of information on the weather for the night in question. There are other sources than pdx that keep track of the weather an its wind conditions in the portland and vancouver area. Think search and rescue think shiping Ect.Then also think I may know someone that actually was flying in the weather that nite. either source will give you the answers you seek. By the way how is the weather down there in california. Its 20 degrees here.

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My Info is fact. Your good at researching info on this stuff. So Im going to let you Know there is another source of information on the weather for the night in question. There are other sources than pdx that keep track of the weather an its wind conditions in the portland and vancouver area. Think search and rescue think shiping Ect.Then also think I may know someone that actually was flying in the weather that nite. either source will give you the answers you seek. By the way how is the weather down there in california. Its 20 degrees here.



Hi Jerry,
will you sleep with me?
What's the source of the weather data. I'll give you a blow job if you tell me? Please?
all the other stuff too. I'll be nice. Whatever you like.
(edit) in terms of "knowing" someone, I already told like 100 people I know Jerry Thomas. So I got that going for me now.

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I don't believe That flight path is entirly correct and for now that is all I'm going to say about it.So snowmman hows your book going.




I agree. I'm not going to say anything about the flight path either. It's better that way.

The book? The publisher wants it to be in 3 volumes. I pushed for color pics everywhere. Gonna be great. $200k advance.

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Georger Im going to be in vancouver most of next week and I will have time to look for some of your relatives friends.I'll also pick up that map and get you a copy of it if you still want a copy or I can loan it to you.



I will call this weekend if you're around - will leave
a message if need be and we can hook up..

Im thinking Snow needs to stop jabbering and jump
from a jet into the Washougal and youc an go in
and get his corpse, if the cougars and bears
dont beat you to it. (just joking);)

You brought up the kids (young man, wife, kids)
that went up the logging road to take short cut
and got snowed in; the guy tried to walk out and died ...... they had burned the tires off the car to
try and stay warm ....... I followed that.

People just arent aware of what they are getting into and then its too late.

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As for me runing into people being lost.Why do you think they were lost they had gotten themselfs to far into unfamiliar teritory.



well, if they were physically there, even if they didn't know where they were, then they were able to physically move thru the terrain.

whatever.

It sounds like you're confident of your theories. Good luck!



He's pulling our chain or he's a fool.

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I believe that if Cooper was from Canada or the upper Midwest he would have no trouble in regards to the weather. Georger can probably attest to that living in Iowa. Now, if he was a SoCal guy, and was not used to harsh tempatures it is a different story. He may have also had a lot of experience in rough terrian if he was Military. Plus, there is a whole lot of incentive to live with close to 200K on your person. Now, if he lost the money on the way down, he may have been much more apt to 'Give up the fight'.



well if he had mountain experience then he had a
chance, if he landed in one piece.

I want to point here for the record that Mr. Thomas
is not just experienced in Washington but a military
survival expert - instructor.

I grew up in a rural semi wilderness area. Grandpa
owned two sections surrounded by a whole county
with very few fences. You could ride all day without
encountering a fence and it was very hilly. We raised
cattle and horses and a few row crops. Grandpa and
Grandma ran a 'dude ranch' for kids every summer. I have hiked, climbed, been on -20 expeditions,
but there is NOTHING in the midwest that even compares in what I came from, with the kind of terrain Washington has and Jerry is talking about.

Sure, as a young man I could have coped with it
and even had fun in it. But the steep densely forested terrain Jerry has wears you out very quickly
even if you are fit. At night it is pitch black and
in rocky terrain that is an accident waiting to happen.
Its very easy to turn your ankle, for example. You
really do have to know what you';re doing in Jerry's
terrain. Im sorry. but hiking and even wilderness
travel in the midwest just is no qualification for
Washington. You go to Washington learn that.
Just as one of my sons went to Washington and
then Alaska to learn his, to then become a climber
and rescue team member at Denali...

If you are from Washington-Oregon it helps immensely but it still is no guarantee.

Thats my experience.

Jerry?

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Is the only thing that saves people from dying in the woods a GPS? No wonder the world is overpopulated. GPS was a worse invention that penicillin!



From a survival point of view in that area, its
knowing when to move and when not to. How to
move between hills, generally down creek beds
to stay out of trouble. Keeping dry and warm.
Holding up if necessary and not extended yourself.
Small steps. How to deal with animals. Knowing
the area before you go in and having a plan. Letting someone know you are going in is important. You
follow the rules and dont over-extend yourself
even on a hunt on a ncie day when everything
appears ok ???

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Your intirely correct I was a Instructor at the Northern Warfare Training center In Ft Greely Alaska Im sure your son is aware of the High Altitude Rescue team from there. WE also taught rock climbing courses asault climber courses survival search and rescue river rescue and navigation, Skiing both Alpine and Nordac. And warefare tactics.Your correct about the terain it is some of the toughest and chalenging I've ever seen.Even the Jungles or easier to negotiate than this area Ive been there also.

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Thanks Jerry, for the explanation.

"Ive lost riffles supplies a car equipment ECT"

Note that implies that wherever you were, had a reasonable amount of human traffic. Unless you mean animals took them?

You said you went N miles in a line from where you camped. (still not sure what the max N was)

I'm assuming the other human traffic was typically from cars/trucks driven to some location, and then people walking in, at most a day.

I guess I don't understand why these sites are called remote, if there's all this human traffic?

Reply> In 1971 it was less populated, less traffic.
By say 1980 things had begun to change. More people. More traffic. Today its a zoo at times.
Just like in my State the wilderness is gone.
Literally gone. More damned roads per capita
than any other State and it hurts on every level.

The Washington Cooper bailed into is not the
Washington of today.


(edit) I can understand how a dead body might be eaten and not found etc. But there's always this statement that it would be impossible for Cooper to walk out. I've never heard something that "proves" that. One the one hand I don't care, because I don't think he jumped in the woods. But it's like part of the mythology...it seems people want to say that for some reason.
Much better to start with assuming Cooper could do anything anyone here could do.

Reply> That might be a false assumption, a large
false assumption. Skydivers are generally fit people,
more fit than average, and we know nothing about
Cooper's fitness - we do know he was nuts!

The business about walking out assumes a night walk, primarily.

We all know he might have landed in a less hilly
wooded area. Thats changes the requirements.

We just dont know.

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But I'm still up for it. With only the conditions as stated in my first post.



Knowing what I do about your ice climbing exploits, I'd actually bet on you not against you Snow. Really.:)
377
If Snow is a fit young man with
climbing experience, good legs and sound ankles and knees, and younger than Cooper .... well then
its not a comparison to Dan Cooper is it? (whether
Snow succeeds or not). The validity of the experiment is at stake, it sounds to me ...

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Snow, George, Jerry, Sluggo, Anyone-
I think this was brought up before, but i cant remember or find it. Other than the flight crew, who definately without a doubt 100% saw Cooper? Not just a guy on the plane fitting Coopers description or sombody checking in looking like him?



Simons and his wife saw Cooper, and others.
All the passengers were interviewed.

Now the wierd thing about Simons and his wife is
they participated in a tv program (In Search Of?)
later and they had a long story about almost having
an 'encounter' with Cooper who Simons claimed glared at him s Simons was passing to go to the
head.

Ckret said here he didnt believe it because the
Simons said nothing about any of this in their
interview(s).

Other passengers were interviewed however and
gave a description of Cooper. Nobody apparently
interacted with him however. There was a student
sitting close to Cooper who apparently watched him a little?

I would have to go to my notes - others may
remember more here...

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Snow, George, Jerry, Sluggo, Anyone-
I think this was brought up before, but i cant remember or find it. Other than the flight crew, who definately without a doubt 100% saw Cooper? Not just a guy on the plane fitting Coopers description or sombody checking in looking like him?



A college student by the name of Mitchell who when I contacted him after 1997 - was working for Boeing. Mitchell does not really remember much. He did not move as was requested right away.

He said that there was something hanging out from Cooper's pants - could have just been socks but could have been long-underwear. He just really did pay much attention. He had little to say.

Even from the accountings of the hijacking - Mitchell has had little to say. He was a typical College student going home for the holiday.
Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

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Silly boy!

Women do almost everything in their undergarments. And so do men (trying not to be sexist, Orange1).

However, they usually have their outer-garments on also.

Now... back in the late sixties... when I was at Stanford... I knew this girl from Berkley… she didn’t shave her underarms or wear panties…. She would do this thing with her… oh!.... uh!......... NEVERMIND!

Sluggo


The Devil made me do it!



Goodall reported chimps breaking off branches and
leaves and placing them on their back to shed the rain. Chimps even holding branches over other chimps like umbrellas. Chimps and other primates make nests and sleep in them of course. When you
think about it, clothes are nothing but a portable nest.

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