BobKnoss

I risk my life putting on my pants in the morning. Doesn't mean a tornado is going to rip them off again later in the day. LIGHT RAIN does not a tornado make. Weather fronts can be minor mobile pressure or temperature zones as well as severe cyclonic storm conditions. Rain in the pasture does not necessarily mean rain at the homestead. Planned by a dislexic for EVERYTHING to be not what it really is. If it's light rain, say it was a freak global freeze brought on by a nuclear winter from a Russian hydrogen bomb test that morning. Get the FBI to change the weather records and find some witnesses to use the words, rotten, ominous, foreboding, horrendous, tsunami, tornado, life threatening, flood, drowning, horrible, freezing, high winds, etc. Incidentally, there were two kids fishing on the river in this storm from Hell. LIGHT RAIN, COOL and heavy propaganda. Big blow hard. If 'Janet' could see the plane, the stairs and the flares from two miles or whatever, don't you think the reverse would also be true? I KNOW Janet's story to be totally truthful, as confirmed by McCoy. McCoy was the one who called on Janet.

I will be the first to say that Ralph Hemmelsbach does not lie easily. However, I will state categorically, that Ralph can be recklessly leading with misinformation. I do not believe everything that originates with him, but believe he is basically an honest man. We ALL lie sometimes. When you know the truth, lies are very obvious, like a flashing red light.

I was there and heard the discussion on this topic. The trainer, "Bill" worked for Northwest. He suggested $100,000 because it would be easy for them to get in a hurry. Duane raised it to $200,000 and said, "That's $100,000 for each of us." Bill replied, "No, I don't want any, we need to give it back." Duane said, "I am not going to take the risk without getting paid." And so it was left at $200,000. And THAT ladies and gentlemen is the true fact of the matter on how the amount of the ransom was determined. Certified quotations. Copyright Bob Knoss, 12-27-11.

You all need to verify facts from an unbiased source. The bad storm was after the jump. Duane jumped in light rain which made for poor visibility at 175. Look it up someplace else. Robert 99 is right about the weather and the flight path. So there! End of story. Facts are facts. Done, signed, sealed and delivered. Amen. PPPffffttttt. I said.

It is just a damned good thing that 305 was not taxi-ing on the I-5 at 8:05. They could have been drowned alive by the flash flood and forgo Duane's skydive. "Afraid for our lives????" A little over the top, perhaps?? Did we poo our panties when the giant tsunami washed our car off the I-5 and out to sea with all the houses and other flotsom? Out with all those giant white sharks and snakes and ocean monsters??

[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&cp=8&gs_id=10&xhr=t&q=henry+selick&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=810&bih=492&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=BzP2TruRMcTwggeQ7biAAg] MERRY CHRISTMAS MAC! Thanks for the pictures.

While following the 727 in a helicopter, McCoy described the rain as a 'white-out' when they shot the flares that Janet saw. They COULD see without the flares, but not much. They never saw Duane's chute. Hey! Terry Thomas.... Who's this guy?? Look familiar? Not Frank... Dumb-de-dumb-dumb. The plot thickens. Holy Smokin' Gunns there, Guadalupe, it's the Little Dude hisself! Guess he didn't get shot, huh? And Henry Selick his stand-in.

Jo: Credentials don't mean a lot. Consistency in your presentation means a lot more. When you make up these "tests" and feed people fake stories to see their response, THAT is lying. When you conclude from your "investigations" that you have uncovered 'facts' that end up being untrue, THAT is a form of lying. It is prolificating an untruth. Denouncing the truth from others is just as bad. 'Janet' spoke the absolute truth as it was reported. Jerry is a little 'reckless' with the truth. It is like he has dislexia too, as he makes it all backwards, like Duane was not Cooper. Actually Weber WAS Dan Cooper, and Duane physically told me directly that he was using the name Dan Cooper and his real name was Duane Weber. "No 'W' and no 'Y', just plain Duane." Bill was the one who asked him to tell us, and we were all three together at the time. Duane happened to be on his knees clipping the grass in front of 9120 Lyndale Ave. So., in Bloomington, MN, summer of 1968. And THAT's the truth. Does THAT make Jerry a liar? I guess? Not here to make accusations, just sayin'.

The position you suggest is the standard FBI agent 'official' opinion. Particularly all of the retired agents associated with this case. It is hoey from people who know what happened and are looking to end all conversation. They were all pilots, but I don't know if any were jumpers. This 727 jump was long debated after the introduction of the 727 and was reportedly executed in service application prior to Cooper. McCoy wouldn't risk it until Weber actually proved it. McCoy also wouldn't let Stallone tour Europe because he was afraid of the risk. McCoy wasn't ever in Nam, because like me, he didn't like the risk. If 'Cooper' had really cratered, McCoy NEVER would have jumped. It is all Government sponsored FABRICATION. And that's the truth fer sure. 'Terry' Thomas knows this. He REELY funny guy.

No, it is "Saw Say." and instructions with verification. Circumstancial evidence. Tina used to know... Witnesses only saw what he boarded with. Not necessarily relivent to what he jumped with.

So are you withdrawing your Cooper book(s) and admitting that your entire premise for that book(s) was dreamed up in an effort to make a couple of bucks? AND to draw interest away from the REAL story. YES! Fabricated by the suspect and the Cooper CREW. First hand information from the boss's mouth! Absolutely guaranteed to be the truth if you can get anyone to actually tell the truth.

I know that he wore two pair of thermal underwear and combat boots, and so do two others who trained him. Their word with mine is evidence. They ain't talking. Gloves? Dunno. Radio? Don't think so, never discussed. Nobody on the ground. No radio needed. Only radios used were for triangulation from the pump station.

If Norman's claim is true then his obtaining the chute back means he had to prove ownership. Evidence in the custody of the FBI isn't just given to whoever asks for it. I can't find any record of a federal court lawsuit over this chute. It was probably not an actual lawsuit but rather an administrative claim. Still, no big deal. We believe with reasonable certainty that Cooper jumped a surplus Navy bailout rig with a stock military round canopy. That's a good rig for the jump. It can take a high speed opening. We know he exited and we have a reasonable estimate of approximately where it occurred. After that, it's all speculation. 377 This sounds correct, but I believe Bill said his speed was down to 175 before he was aware of it..... and jump point was 15 miles west of the recorded location. Jerry knows better. He is just adopting the FBI position.

You realize this makes no sense; right? I posted a picture of the suit he wore. Blue, tight at the ankles, looked like a tight fitting one piece mechanics uniform with a little hump on the back at the shoulders. It was a custom made sport jumping suit. POst was a long time ago.

Shakopee, not Savage, my BOoBOo.. On the edge of a very tall river bank with tons of beautiful jumping area. Yeah, it is in Eden Prarrie now. Back in the day it was called the Shakopee airport. The highway turns west there and goes down into the river valley, across the river and into SHAKOPEE. The river used to flood every spring and cover the bridge by 20 feet or more. Savage is NE of Shakopee. I make that mistake often. Savage is the home of Dan Patch, who was Dan Cooper's brother, I think.

McCoy had a full suit with a small sport chute on the shoulders. He backed down the stairs and fell back like a scuba diver. NO PROBLEMO!

377 I think it was Quade said 'in a spin reserve is designed to open, backpack would not.' According to Cossey, Cooper had only a functional backpack. I told you guys he put the reserve on the back!!!! The "X" pack was packed by Bill and sewn shut to insure no tampering. BELIEVE IT! There apparently was a good reason.

Yes, we do but you refuse to accept it. Weber was trained by Richard Floyd McCoy, Jr. and Bill. One in the air and the other spotting. Training was by EXPERTS over a whole summer of weekend jumps. The guy who flew the plane was Lindstrom at Flying Cloud Airport in Savage, MN. He had a pilot's training school on the east edge of the airport on hwy 169 and offered jumps as a sideline. Everyone signed the logbook every time with their real names. They repacked the chutes on my lawn, and I often watched as we talked.

What we have here is a failure to remember. Or was it another Jo "TEST"? I don't buy it anyway because I think he jumped in a clear area 15 miles west of the reported jump site, based on confidential co-pilot information to Ralph. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive...." Nobody believes anything anymore, Jo. Too many fly traps, tests, and misdirections. Too many changes in your tales. Too much total rejection of basic truths. Like Mac "TOMMY GUNN" and Mike Barton in the Domination Nation video. (:#)^ Or Henry Selick as a stand-in for the newspaper picture. Or dinner with Denny Nichols family, or stealing of the rifle, washing dishes in New Orleans and missing Mac by one day. On and on. You have become almost irrelevant to your own story. Sad.

I remember him as limber, not muscular. Slender, but not skinny. Average build for the day. We were all about the same kind of build. McCoy and Bill were in better physical shape, though. "Compact"... good condition, athletic, tough. Not overweight, 'lean meat'.

Jerry~ The thing is...even IF Cooper had encountered a spin, pulling the ripcord stops it. It's the basic rule beginner skydivers are taught as they progress into longer & longer freefalls. If you can stop the spin on your own ~PULL! 'Odds are'... if Cooper was freefalling and spinning, if/when he pulled the canopy would open clean. Also, you can attach quite a bit of stuff in some crazy ways and still fall reasonably stable~ (I'm the incredibly handsome 'larger' specimen on the far right) http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=8902; http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=8903; That's a lotta weight & drag...80 some pounds total. I've done it a BUNCH...and I'm alive...(i think) http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=8904; So don't put too much into 'he probably didn't survive' the exit, if he got out he could easily get open...if he got open, he probably survived the landing. In what kind of 'condition' is debatable, but I've jumped the same kind of canopy he did @ almost 100lbs heavier and walked away every time. FWIW... He pulled on the count of 10 Mississippi. He had two pair of thermal underwear on and still froze his ass. Whapped his right leg on the stair railing rebounding, trying to jump off face first, but no serious landing injuries. Warmed up quickly with walking out the clear-cut to the tower where he buried his chute. Jo claimed he landed in tree branches. The rest was confirmed to me by McCoy. But Jerry knows all this, right, JER, old buddy?

I believe the following people know that Duane Weber was Dan Cooper: Bill Rataczak, et. al. family Richard McCoy, et. al. family Robert Knoss Dennis Nichols Nick OHara Ralph Hemmelsbach Jerry Thomas (;#)^ et. al. crew Jo Weber Pasternak Gray People who know what really happened are now in the hundreds and growing, many have also passed away. If you are going to cover this up, you'd better start getting more professional about it. This is more like a Shriner's Circus for the kiddies than any serious discussion of "FACTS". You really funny guy. Jo says the chute was buried where a tower used to be. Look for the GPS of the old tower. It is tied together with parachute line and a bunch of knots. Probably a buff colored larger chute. NOT a red and white sport chute like Jo "TESTS" you with. (:#)^

Meds are just fine. Heart is just fine, back is great, peeing normal. MEMORY is PERFECT!! Never had an imbalance of any drugs that I recall. You been smoking too much dope again. I don't do that stuff. Never have. Kills brain cells, Jerry. Methinks thee protesteth too much. I do not lie often, unlike others who NEVER seem to tell the truth, only sometimes. Like Spock would say in your StarTrek World, "Captain, I think you adequately grasp the situation." Bill's name is not 'Rat' and he does not like to be called that, you know. I am not his 'buddy', true, but I am on his short list with Gray and the FBI. No Christmas exchanges there! I do hold him in very high regard. (;#)^

Where are your brother and sister regarding this claim? . Overtones of Jamie Cooper seeping through the frozen tundra............... Can't believe we are going there again!! Give me a frickin' break!

JT: I never called Mac 'Little' so I don't know his response to that. He was 1-1/2" taller than me in his black army boots. I do know that he hated "DICK" or DICKY" with a passion. Didn't like his name at all because it was his father's name. not his. "Call me McCoy or just 'Mac' but never call me 'Dick' or 'Rich'." He would have used the name 'Peter Gunn', but 'Peter' was just as bad as 'Dick', and he thought 'Tommy' was really, really cool. I thought he was nuts. You could be Terry Thomas or Jerry Lewis, rather than Jerry Thomas. You funny guy! You got sgt. stripes on the underside of your arm? Oh, Mac called his son 'Guadalupe'. They call me 'Al'. They called Duane Weber 'Dan Cooper' or just 'Coop'. But you know all of that, 'cause you da man, Little Tommy.