Ckret

Yes we have the serial numbers and interviewd the rigger. One chute was returned to it's owner, two were never found and one is in evidence.

I don't think I ever asked for proof, I asked you and anyone else that has a theory to state what they based their belief on. What evidence did you use to come to your conclusions and how did you logically get there. To answer your question Bozo, I know this jump was survivable because many have done it, not under the conditions and equipment used by Cooper, but did it and walked away without a scratch. "Cooper walked out called a friend and lived off the money." what do you base that on? I don't need proof, but something more than a statement. My main goal for being here is not to debate theory on Cooper but to supply you information from the case files about the investigation and hopefully gain information back from you. When I ask a question about a persons theory it's not to debate or challenge but to gain insight as to how you arrived at your conclusion and see the case from another perspective. Like wise, if you have questions as to how I arrived at my conclusions ask away. The last go around about the chutes and money I learned several things from some of you that helped, especially about he the found money. It made me go back dig in the files and rethink my theory. Above all as we progress in this case, lets keep things constructive. Because I put something out about the case it does not mean it is set in stone. i am trying to get people back into it and come to the table with skill and science that may one day solve it. Had i not gone to the public or you folks there would be no chance of that happening.

I think your absolutly right labrys, Cooper didn't have the skill or know how to survive the jump, he thought he could and was willing to give it a try for $200,000.

Zing, what do you base your belief on that Cooper lived and walked out of the forest with $200,000 dollars?

yes I am kidding about the movie. Bozo, maybe you posted and I missed it in this very long thread, but what information can you provide that points to Cooper being a sport jumper or a paratrooper. The whole point in going public was to get information and a new perspective.

I saw "Point Break." I don't know the history of sport jumping, however, from the investigation in 1971 it was determined there would be few if any 45 to 50 year old's at a drop zone chasing the high. it is for this reason and many others that we came to the conclusion he is not one of you. I am sure it is much different today, I am sure the sport is full of the over 40 group.

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec07/dbcooper123107.html

You got it exactly right, Cooper told Tina that no one was to come out of the cockpit, so the complied with the demand. Within just a few minutes after takeoff, Cooper tried to lower the airstairs. We know this from an indication light in the cockpit. The problem was that the airstairs operate on gravity to lower. I guess Cooper thought when he started the operation the stairs would lower automatically. After several more minutes, Cooper called to the cockpit and advised the captain he could not get the stairs to drop. The captain leveled and slowed the plane, after a few minutes he called back to Cooper and asked if everything was ok, Cooper responded and thats the last we ever heard from Dan.

I think another reason to believe Cooper may have been poor is the fact that risked losing his life either by sudden stop syndrome or jail for $200,000.

*** Cooper was under the belief that the stairs were lowered from the cockpit. When he learned that his demand for the stairs to be down on take off could not be met he said, "thats alright the captain can do after we take off."

The tie was found on the seat. Can't lift prints from fabric, or should I say the vast majority of fabrics. In 1971 there really would be no reason to leave behind the tie to throw off investigators. There would have been far better choices than the tie. Having said that almost anything is possible, however, nothing I know of points in the direction that the tie was planted by Cooper.

Also, keep in mind that Cooper would not have known which flight path the NW crew would have taken out of SeaTac. Had they gone north to turn out over the coast, Cooper would have ended up in the Puget Sound. However, I do believe Cooper wanted to get out of the plane as soon as possible. He knew the airstairs could be lowered in flight, but he wanted them down on take off, which it can't do. If he knew they could be lowered in flight and he wanted to bail out later, why have them down at takeoff. Also, within minutes after takeoff he began trying to get the stairs down. All this points to bailing out sooner rather than later.

In reference to the tie, we only know Cooper was described as wearing a black tie with a clasp and a black tie with a clasp was found in the seat Cooper had been sitting in. In regards to the DNA, if it is Coopers tie (more likely his than not) then at least one of the donors would most likely be Cooper. Having said that and given the facts surrounding the tie and DNA, DNA in this case could not 100% rule anyone out or in as being DB Cooper. Even if a subject matched as being one of the donors, that would not absolutely make him DB Cooper.

Cooper never made the request that the chutes not come from McCord, his only demand was two back and two front chutes. In fact he assumed they were coming from McCord from a mistake the pilot made in relaying information to Tina. At 5:15 Tina called the cockpit to find out why they had not landed (Cooper wanted everything by 5 PM), the pilot told Tina they were still waiting for the front chutes from McCord. When Tina relayed this to Cooper his response was, "McCord is only 20 minutes from Tacoma, it doesn't take that long." Cooper was described as having narrow sideburns.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/119588193341980.xml&coll=7 This is the best piece to date on what I am trying to accomplish.

Jo, I can only provide information available to me from the reports in the case files. Those reports state Cossey packed all four chutes, in fact the recovered chutes have his seal on them. Since the reserves and back pack's were delivered from two different places and the recovered chutes had Cossey's seal and his statement says he packed them, I can only report to you that he packed all four. If you have documents that state otherwise please forward them to me.

The good reserve he tore apart was found on the aircraft along with another back pack. The dummy reserve was not found.

According to Cossey's interview he said the dummy contained a white canopy.

Thanks for clearing that up, and (according to the reports in the file) it was Emerich who gave out the chest chutes.

Cossey actually packed all four chutes, the two back pack chutes were sold or given to the individual who sent them in the cab to Boeing field. Cossey also packed the reserve chutes, but they were provided not by Cossey but the owner of Issaquah Sky Sports. Cossey discovered the mistake later on.

He tried to secure the money in the functioning reserve chute he took apart. If he knew what he was doing he would have tore open the dummy chute leaving the functioning reserve for it's intended purpose. I'll go over the file but I don't beleive either had D rings. Can anyone shed light on the model that was left on the plane that I posted earlier.

Cooper's plan was to have the money delivered in a knapsack. When he realized it did not come as requested he tried to secure the money in the reserve's container but could not make it fit. He then decided to use the cords to tie off the top of the money bag, then wrapped the cords several times top to bottom and fashioned some type of handel out of more cord. Tina stated the last time she saw Cooper he was tying cord around his waist. The money was approximately the size of an average toddler, a point of reference most can visualize.

Lots of great questions. The crew did it? for many reasons I say no but the main one is human nature. It would have been far too complex to pull it off with to many people involved. Not to mention if one person knows your secret, or ckret, and there is any incentive at all to tell, it will be told. Two jumpers? if there was, one of them jumped leaving his chute on the plane. Cooper left one reserve and one back pack on the plane. One pressure bump occurred at 8:10 to 8:11 PM caused when the stairs hit back up against the plane. Much like slamming the door of a tight German made car.

26' canopy, made by Steinthal, model 60-9707. Thanks for the clarification on the D rings.