DFS346

Is the Facial Identification Catalog in the public domain? There is a website offering something with the same title, but only 1200 images: http://samanthasteinberg.com/new_facial_identification_catalog.html. Presumably the FBI's catalog has millions of images. If we had access to the KA-3-9 and KK-5-1 images, combined with Ms Mucklow's description which is in the public domain, an artistic member of this forum could construct a new sketch that might allow us to think afresh about the hijacker's physical appearance.

Many thanks. That quotation indeed occurs in Brian Rose's interview with Roy Rose on YouTube and vimeo. In that case, is there any way to know who was the author of the memo footnoted DB Cooper-1787?

The image footnoted DB Cooper-1787 is not on vault.fbi.gov. Is there a preceding page or pages which indicate whether Roy Rose was the author of this description, and if so, whether this was his interpretation of descriptions from witnesses? or whether this description was provided by another source?

Many thanks. This makes sense now. MSgt Wally Johnson, in his interview with the WSHS, positively identified Captain Thomas Spangler as the second person from the left in the crew photo, and added that the second and third persons from the left were "pilot and co-pilot" (he did not specify who had which role). Neither Wally Johnson nor Agent John Detlor, in their correspondence with the WSHS, could recall the name of the pilot in command, but Detlor recalled seeing the cockpit photo in which the third man from the left in the group photo (with the tan or yellow shirt) was in the left-hand seat. That person looks very much like Paul Soderlind (as in the attached image). Finally, the man standing on the right in the crew photo, next to the air stair, is surely Harold Anderson. So my reading of the flight crew on the sled test flight is as follows: Paul Soderlind: pilot in command (LHS) Captain Thomas Spangler: co-pilot or second officer (RHS) Harold Anderson: flight engineer or third officer. William Scott and William Rataczak do not appear in the crew photo and, as far as I can determine, were not on board the flight.

The Washington State Historical Society published a caption but could not identify the third person from the left. As far as I can determine, the photograph is no longer on the website of the WSHS.

Is that Mr Soderlind in the "sled test" photo from WSHS? Third from left, orange shirt?

This is the map that was attached to Northwest Airlines' memo dated 01.09.1972. Source: FBI, "DB Cooper Part 18 of 52.pdf", page 416, vault.fbi.gov. I presume that Mr Soderlind signed the memo on behalf of Northwest Airlines. The Captain (redacted) at McChord AFB, as far as I know, has never been identified.

Would it be a fair assumption that Mr Soderlind was the (redacted) author of the memo dated 01.09.1972 from Northwest Airlines to the FBI?

Confirmed by Interceptor Magazine, February 1972: Maj. Russell Weber broke his shoulder in an ejection in October 1971. Interceptor_1972_02 p12-16.pdf

With reference to Part 52 page 208: did anyone see Unsolved Mysteries, Season 14 Episode 23, first aired 10.28.2008, which was their second episode on D.B. Cooper?

The FBI has just released Part 52, in which pages 208, 209 (attached) have an interesting FBI memo dated 06.23.2005 on what they will and will not release (including in response to FOIA requests). They mention that they released "Archived film footage of an experiiment with the NW727 after the hijacking" to Unsolved Mysteries/History Channel (but they will not release it to FOIA requesters). This footage does not appear in Unsolved Mysteries S01E02 (their first episode on the case). Does anyone know if it appeared in any subsequent episode? And if so, whether it can be downloaded? D.B. Cooper Part 52-208-209.pdf

A retired USAF colonel and F-106 pilot from 318th FIS has shared his recollection that the lead pilot was Major Frank Loesch.

Is there any way to find out (a) who was the base commander at McChord AFB on 11.24.1971 (b) who was the author of the post at key.aero mentioning Randy Plumb and Harve Wallace?

Randall L Plumb was with the 354th TFS, flying F-105s, at Takhli in 1967. I have not found any reference to him in conjunction with the 318th or F-106s.

If this hasn't been covered before ... does anyone know the names of the F-106 pilots? Over at the F-106 facebook page, there's a post by Doug Barbier that one of the F-106 pilots was Roy Keyt of the 318th FIS out of McChord AFB (now deceased). At the F-106 forum, a post by Mike Trefethen (ex 456th FIS) mentions Russ Weber (or Webber) of the 84th FIS out of Hamilton AFB. As far as I know, the official narrative has never mentioned a chase plane from Hamilton.

Here's an improved version of the map, including the flight path south of Portland, as estimated by the FBI.

The fact that the FBI used wind data from Portland is puzzling because NOAA archives show no radiosonde (IGRA) data from Portland between June 1956 and October 1972. I contacted NOAA and they said that if data for Portland were missing, Salem was the replacement site. Data for Salem station are available for 11.24.1971 at 1600 PST and show winds at 10,492 feet AMSL from 200 degrees at 38.9 knots. Data for SEATAC station are available for 11.24.1971 at 0700 PST but show winds only up to 4000 feet AMSL, at which level the wind was from 210 degrees at 34.0 knots. 711124-25 72694 Salem weather.xlsx 71124 72793 SEATAC weather.xlsx

Attached are summaries of NOAA data on upper-level winds at Seattle, Gray AAF and Salem on or around 11.24.1971, plus data for Portland in November 1972 (no data available for November 1971). 72793 1971-11 weather aloft.xlsx 74207 1971-11 weather aloft.xlsx 72698 1972-11 weather aloft.xlsx 72694 711124 weather.xlsx

Data on upper level winds at Seattle, Gray AAF, Portland and Salem are available from NOAA.

Attached is a plot of airway V-23 and the FBI estimate of the flight path of NWA305, between Seattle and Portland, superimposed on the current FAA aeronautical charts of Washington state.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NWA305/

I'd like to share the following data from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/weather-balloon/integrated-global-radiosonde-archive: relating to wind speed and direction in the Seattle area in late November and early December 1971. SEATAC: wind on 11.24.1971 at 4000 feet: 210 degrees, 34.0 knots; no data for levels above 4000 feet; wind on 12.02.1971 at 9000 feet: 190 degrees, 47.0 knots. GRAY AAF, 47.13N -122.6W: wind on 11.23.1971 at 9000 feet: 230 degrees, 38.0 knots; no data for 11.24.1971; wind on 11.26.1971 at 9000 feet: 230 degrees, 28.0 knots. 711124 72793 weather aloft.xlsx 71123 74207 weather aloft.xlsx

Does anyone have independent documentation of the FBI statement that at 20:22 PST, NWA305 was 23 nm south of PDX? This does not appear anywhere in the crew or ATC transcripts.