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quade

DB Cooper

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As far as Braden goes, sounds interesting. I made a blind wager here on DZ back in August that I'm bound by, so if someone decides to put up a friendly wager ($5-$1000) I'll be bound to my prior blind agreement that the FBI will not put any past, present, or future suspects on the plane if tested against current evidence.



So...are you saying that because of eye color the FBI will not consider a suspect with a different eye color...???

hangdiver



Wasn't that their main reason for not bothering to look at Christiansen?
Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

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As far as Braden goes, sounds interesting. I made a blind wager here on DZ back in August that I'm bound by, so if someone decides to put up a friendly wager ($5-$1000) I'll be bound to my prior blind agreement that the FBI will not put any past, present, or future suspects on the plane if tested against current evidence.



So...are you saying that because of eye color the FBI will not consider a suspect with a different eye color...???

hangdiver



Wasn't that their main reason for not bothering to look at Christiansen?



I'll go out on a limb here...and say...the FBI is using the wrong criteria to look for Cooper...

hangdiver

"Mans got to know his limitations"
Harry Callahan

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As far as Braden goes, sounds interesting. I made a blind wager here on DZ back in August that I'm bound by, so if someone decides to put up a friendly wager ($5-$1000) I'll be bound to my prior blind agreement that the FBI will not put any past, present, or future suspects on the plane if tested against current evidence.



So...are you saying that because of eye color the FBI will not consider a suspect with a different eye color...???

hangdiver



Wasn't that their main reason for not bothering to look at Christiansen?



Would it go to say the height *edit(5' 8") and hairline (bald on top) may have had something to do with the lack of interest in Christiansen?
Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

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From the ever helpful Snowmman:

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the links to the 3 higher res. They are obviously pictures of pictures. But you can zoom in on detail in these better.they all respond to photo enhancement programs for dealing with the washed out color Just noticed you can see the cloudy skies in the background of the first. Remember this was Jan. 1972 in WA.You can even see 3 lights on at the top of the stairs in the first one.

http://huntfordbcooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/aftstairswithweights1.jpg

http://huntfordbcooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/testflightairstairs.jpg

http://huntfordbcooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/agentsandplane.jpg



377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Two things I've thought strange about the flight test description. One, nothing about altitude. Two, why 150KIAS when other places have said the actual jump would have been at a bit higher. Could different altitude and temperature have resulted in a TAS that duplicated conditions at jump time? Would think that they would have tried to replicate conditions.



Can someone enhance the bottom instrument image?

http://huntfordbcooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/testflightairstairs.jpg

I kinda looks like the altimeter is reading between 8000 and 9000 ft, but that's a guess. Georger, can you do it? I think you can PM even if you are banned from posting.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Safe wrote:

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And I really feel for Quade. The guy has to moderate perhaps the worst cesspool of characters on the net...



Worst on the net????!!!????

Safe, you really need to get out more. ;)

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Two things I've thought strange about the flight test description. One, nothing about altitude. Two, why 150KIAS when other places have said the actual jump would have been at a bit higher. Could different altitude and temperature have resulted in a TAS that duplicated conditions at jump time? Would think that they would have tried to replicate conditions.



Can someone enhance the bottom instrument image?

http://huntfordbcooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/testflightairstairs.jpg

I kinda looks like the altimeter is reading between 8000 and 9000 ft, but that's a guess. Georger, can you do it? I think you can PM even if you are banned from posting.

377



377, Here is my guess on the instruments. The top one is an altimeter (note the knob at the 7:00 position for setting the barometric pressure). The middle one is a rate of climb indicator. Both of these instruments are exposed only to the static pressure in the stairway area (that is, they have not been plugged into the aircraft's static pressure system).

The bottom one is a clock. Note the "12" at the top of the dial. Going counter-clockwise from the "12", you can see two two-digit numbers at what would be the "11" and "10" o'clock positions.

These three instruments were a jury-rigged "test instrument panel" and were probably being photographed by an additional camera (other than the one that took this picture). Such information as airspeed and actual aircraft altitude would have to come from the cockpit instruments.

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Hangdiver,

If you were the FBI SAC on the case, what criteria would you use? I am not being sarcastic, I'd really like to know?

377



After reading the Ramparts article I have reinforced some of my insights...

I already posted that if I had the "mad skills" to do that job I would for sure not dress anything like I knew what I was doing...actually I'd dress the opposite...like Cooper...all business...

I've video taped thousands of first time jumpers...having said that...there is no way someone wouldn't be nervous and scared shitless doing that jump...unless you had a death wish or had done it many times before...

Were you nervous before your jet jump???

Braden may not be the guy...but...I bet he knew him...

The FBI already missed the boat...who signs their paycheck...???

I'm going with a SOG profile...no load master...no none jumper...I am fairly certain Cooper had jump experience and the only place to get the experience to do that jump was where...???...the military or para-military...I think you already know that though...

just thinking about Braden right now...if he didn't do that job...don't you think he would have been pissed it wasn't him...???...

hangdiver

"Mans got to know his limitations"
Harry Callahan

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Hangdiver asked
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Were you nervous before your jet jump???



Yes, I was nervous. Conditions were ideal too, hot sunny day, Chanute AFB below with a zillion places to land safely, two chutes and a sweet girlfriend waiting for her jet jump superhero to alight.

I had heard that some jumpers tumbled wildly on exit and I didnt want to be one of them. I was nervous about looking bad.

BTW, there is a big difference between nervous and terrified. On my first ever jump in 1968 I was truly terrified.

Hangdiver wrote
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I'm going with a SOG profile...no load master...no none jumper...I am fairly certain Cooper had jump experience and the only place to get the experience to do that jump was where...???...the military or para-military...I think you already know that though...



Well, I am biased. I want Cooper to have been in SE Asia during the war and in the know about the Air America 727 jumps. A guy who will jump into the wilds at night sure fits an SOG profile, possibly smoke jumper too even though they just do day jumps as far as I know.

Hangdiver wrote
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The FBI already missed the boat...who signs their paycheck...???



I think the FBI wants to solve the case, even at this late date. If an SA solved it today, he'd be an FBI hero. I dont buy FBI coverup theories.

Hangdiver wrote:
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just thinking about Braden right now...if he didn't do that job...don't you think he would have been pissed it wasn't him...???...



Yes, especially when driving truck for a living. Especially after seeing McCoy do it and (for a short while) keeping all the loot.

I am very aware of my bias. Cooper could turn out to be a man with no jumps and no knowledge that a 727 could be jumped. I prefer to have him be far cooler than that and so do most others.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Jo wrote

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I sat down beside his bed and he said "I am Dan Cooper". I didn't know who Dan Cooper was and he tried to tell me about jumping out of a plane - he tried for about 15 minutes and realized it was futile



In 15 minutes of trying don't you Duane could have got his point across to you? Why was it futile? All he'd have to say is I hijacked an airliner, got $200,000 in ransom and parachuted out of the plane

Exactly what did he say about jumping out of a plane? 15 minutes of talking is a long time. Give us your best recollection of what was said.

377



Come on Jo, tell us about what Duane said for 15 minutes about jumping out of a plane. I think this is new stuff.

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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In parachute meets in Germany Ted would wear spit shinned cochran jump boots, and also the old french jump boot. He would wear starched black jump suit with his name on the right chest, and US Army on the left chest, and his PCA license number on his left sleeve. I have determined that it was in 73 when I saw Ted in the truck stop in Bowling Green. He was wearing slacks and a regular shirt. I do not remember the shoes. He did not appear happy or unhappy driving an 18 wheeler. Al

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Al,

Cooper requested that a knapsack be delivered with the cash, but the FBI did not deliver a knapsack.

Did SOG jumpers get a lot of training on securing external gear payloads? Circumstantial evidence says Cooper fashioned something to hold the money sack to his harness using suspension lines cut from a reserve chute that was left on the plane.

I am trying to reconcile Ted driving truck in 73 if he got a lot of Norjack loot in 71. If Ted were Cooper he must have lost a lot or all of the money during the jump. Otherwise why would he be driving truck so soon after the heist?

It must have been a thrill being one of the Golden Arrows. I love hearing about skydiving history from those who were part of it. If you have time and can tell us about the team's exploits I'd sure be appreciative.

How skilled was Ted compared to others on the team? Did he get along well with the others? Did he take unnecessary risks?

377
2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

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Everything we thought was true about the parachutes is bogus. Earl Cossey lied about everything.

I just spoke with the owner of the two back chutes, Norman George Hayden, and he thoroughly discredits Mr. Cossey. Here is my report:



Breaking News. Cossey has lied Big Time.

I just spoke with Norman Hayden, a very nice guy. He owned the two back chutes that DBC received. Cossey did not own the chutes, had never used them, and he did not give them to the FBI.

"Earl Cossey is pretty much full of beans," said Norman.

So, in essence Earl Cossey has lied about everything associated with the parachutes.

Hayden is not a skydiver, and has never used the chutes. He still has the second one, and he invited me to inspect it with him this week, which I will do.

As far as Hayden knows, the parachutes had not been used when he gave them to the FBI - at least not in the recent past. On November 24, 1971, he was contacted by the NWO ops guy who had gotten the referral to Hayden from someone at SeaTac. Hayden didn't know they were going to Cooper, and just put them in a taxi and they went to Boeing Field. I'm not sure how they got to Sea-Tac from there.

I'm guessing the chutes may have been used in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam, but Hayden never used them. He's not even sure what kind of parachutes they are.

Hayden is a precision aerobatic pilot, not a skydiver, and he bought them because he didn't like the chutes that the aerobatic school issued him for his lessons the prior year.

Both chutes are identical as far as Hayden knows, and both are military rounds. None were rectangular, "stunt" parachutes. Also, neither chute had "D" rings. Hayden doesn't know the size of the parachutes, such as 28-foot or 26-foot or if they were in NB 8 containers, etc.

I'm going to see Hayden in a few days, and take pictures of the second chute, which he has in his shop in Kent, just about 30 miles away. He said he had to hire an attorney to get his second chute back from the FBI and it took years. Plus, the guy he dealt with in the Seattle FBI office was very rude. Plus, the chute was in Washington, DC for quite some time, which is why it took so long to get it back.

So, when I see Norman and the chutes, I'll know more.

The only involvement with Cossey is that he packed the chutes, and his rigging card in still in the second chute. Who owned them before Norman I do not know, but I will when I meet with him.

In addition, Norman said that the second chute was manufactured by a parachute company called "Pioneer," which is the name that Cossey had told me intitially and so many jumped up and down and said was a Paracommander. A whiff of truth in all the fiction....

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Cooper could turn out to be a man with no jumps and no knowledge that a 727 could be jumped.

377



377, Cooper confirmed with the ticket agent that the airliner about to land in Portland was a 727. It was important to Cooper that the aircraft be a 727. It is no stretch to say that Cooper knew that it could be jumped.

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Everything we thought was true about the parachutes is bogus. Earl Cossey lied about everything.

I just spoke with the owner of the two back chutes, Norman George Hayden, and he thoroughly discredits Mr. Cossey. Here is my report:



Breaking News. Cossey has lied Big Time.

I just spoke with Norman Hayden, a very nice guy. He owned the two back chutes that DBC received. Cossey did not own the chutes, had never used them, and he did not give them to the FBI.

"Earl Cossey is pretty much full of beans," said Norman.

So, in essence Earl Cossey has lied about everything associated with the parachutes.

Hayden is not a skydiver, and has never used the chutes. He still has the second one, and he invited me to inspect it with him this week, which I will do.

As far as Hayden knows, the parachutes had not been used when he gave them to the FBI - at least not in the recent past. On November 24, 1971, he was contacted by the NWO ops guy who had gotten the referral to Hayden from someone at SeaTac. Hayden didn't know they were going to Cooper, and just put them in a taxi and they went to Boeing Field. I'm not sure how they got to Sea-Tac from there.

I'm guessing the chutes may have been used in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam, but Hayden never used them. He's not even sure what kind of parachutes they are.

Hayden is a precision aerobatic pilot, not a skydiver, and he bought them because he didn't like the chutes that the aerobatic school issued him for his lessons the prior year.

Both chutes are identical as far as Hayden knows, and both are military rounds. None were rectangular, "stunt" parachutes. Also, neither chute had "D" rings. Hayden doesn't know the size of the parachutes, such as 28-foot or 26-foot or if they were in NB 8 containers, etc.

I'm going to see Hayden in a few days, and take pictures of the second chute, which he has in his shop in Kent, just about 30 miles away. He said he had to hire an attorney to get his second chute back from the FBI and it took years. Plus, the guy he dealt with in the Seattle FBI office was very rude. Plus, the chute was in Washington, DC for quite some time, which is why it took so long to get it back.

So, when I see Norman and the chutes, I'll know more.

The only involvement with Cossey is that he packed the chutes, and his rigging card in still in the second chute. Who owned them before Norman I do not know, but I will when I meet with him.

In addition, Norman said that the second chute was manufactured by a parachute company called "Pioneer," which is the name that Cossey had told me intitially and so many jumped up and down and said was a Paracommander. A whiff of truth in all the fiction....



Ok I'm confused. There were a total of 4 chutes. Two are missing from the plane after Cooper jumps. (One of these is presumably a training chute (inoperable for Cooper's purpose).
That leaves two left on the plane.
One is intact, the other one has the cords cut up.

Are you saying that the only parachute that the FBI has in its possession now is the cut up one?

Plus I'll have to go back and look, so I might be wrong - but for some reason I had the impression that Cossey was not credited (and did not claim) that he provided the chutes, just that he packed them. ??
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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Smokin 99 Cossey made 2 of the chutes 6 months prior to the hyjacking.However Levin Emrich from Sky Sports in Renton washington is the one that handed those paticular chutes over to the FBI, one was a dummy chute that Cooper took with him. This is Cosseys conection. Jerry



Right, but I think the two you are referring to are the chest packs. I think Bruce is referring to the back ones. And if I read correctly, Bruce is saying that Hayden says that Cossey packed those also.


I wonder if the two terms (packed vs provided) have been used so interchangeably that it is universally accepted that Cossey provided all the chutes. Bruce says Cossey lied. So I'm just asking - Did he ever actually say that he provided or was it just always inferred? For some reason I thought that I had read somewhere that Cossey did not actually "provide" the chutes - just packed them.... and maybe told them where to get them from. If I can find my source I'll post it.
But like I said - I could be remembering it wrong. Won't be the first time that's happened on this thread, huh? ;);):)
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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Ok I'm confused. There were a total of 4 chutes. Two are missing from the plane after Cooper jumps. (One of these is presumably a training chute (inoperable for Cooper's purpose).
That leaves two left on the plane.
One is intact, the other one has the cords cut up.

Are you saying that the only parachute that the FBI has in its possession now is the cut up one?

Plus I'll have to go back and look, so I might be wrong - but for some reason I had the impression that Cossey was not credited (and did not claim) that he provided the chutes, just that he packed them. ??



Quote


Here is what I know. (or think I know):

1. Two chutes were left on plane; one is the cut up reserve, the other is the main chute that apparently is in the possession of its owner, Norman George Hayden.

2. Cossey told me that the chute Cooper used was a 28-foot round stuffed into an NB 6 bag, and that it was Cossey's personal parachute for recreational jumping. Further, Cossey told me that he had modified the rip cord assembly so that it was a "hard pull."

3. Cossey never mentioned Norman Hayden to me.

4. Cossey identified the chute not used by Cooper as a "cotton canvas Paradise sport chute" and he characterized it as a "Cadillac" chute compared to the one Cooper used, a "sage green NB 8," which he called a "broken-down VW."

5. Cossey told me that he had provided them to the FBI.

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Smokin 99 I think your right. I do recall one story stating that the other 2 chutes belonged to a female skydiving enthusiast and they were chest packs.She was a member of the same club as Cossey.This I have not confirmed.So it could be just a story. This Info I read from Max Gunthers book . Jerry

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Ok I'm confused. There were a total of 4 chutes. Two are missing from the plane after Cooper jumps. (One of these is presumably a training chute (inoperable for Cooper's purpose).
That leaves two left on the plane.
One is intact, the other one has the cords cut up.

Are you saying that the only parachute that the FBI has in its possession now is the cut up one?

Plus I'll have to go back and look, so I might be wrong - but for some reason I had the impression that Cossey was not credited (and did not claim) that he provided the chutes, just that he packed them. ??



Quote


Here is what I know. (or think I know):

1. Two chutes were left on plane; one is the cut up reserve, the other is the main chute that apparently is in the possession of its owner, Norman George Hayden.

2. Cossey told me that the chute Cooper used was a 28-foot round stuffed into an NB 6 bag, and that it was Cossey's personal parachute for recreational jumping. Further, Cossey told me that he had modified the rip cord assembly so that it was a "hard pull."

3. Cossey never mentioned Norman Hayden to me.

4. Cossey identified the chute not used by Cooper as a "cotton canvas Paradise sport chute" and he characterized it as a "Cadillac" chute compared to the one Cooper used, a "sage green NB 8," which he called a "broken-down VW."

5. Cossey told me that he had provided them to the FBI.



Thanks Bruce. I forgot that you interviewed Cossey. I was thinking that you were just going on media reports and I had remembered reading somewhere that Cossey did pack them but was more of a contact, not an actual provider, on the actual night. That had always had me confused because most news reports listed Cossey as being the main guy and left out Emrich and Hayden

Mea culpa...Since you got it from the horse's mouth, I guess you're right - someone's fibbing.
but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

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