# Did D (B) Cooper make it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 26, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853 "2008-03-26T23:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/161 "2011-08-08T12:28:53Z")
The rig he used was very similar to [this one](http://military.aerostore.com/images/troopparachute.JPG), but without the yellow static line. He definitely took the dummy reserve chute, since it wasn’t in the plane when it landed and the good reserve chute was. It was only a backup, he would have tried to open the main parachute on his back first. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/162 "2011-08-08T15:24:38Z")
He had a partner. The landing spot was lit up and he landed in a comfy chair . Then he went to Bimini where he lived the rest of live as a beach bum. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/163 "2011-08-08T15:42:30Z")
I found [this rare footage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qslTTVNt4) which confirms **gonzomax’s** post. The last 15 seconds show how Cooper and his partner (the stewardess) survived the fall. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/164 "2011-08-08T16:48:45Z")
According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper), the speed of the place was about 120 MPH, not 200. (It was about 190 KPH.) If this is correct, then assessments of his ability to pull the cord etc. which were based on the higher speed need to be revised. > [@Bumbershoot](#): > > You’re right, he did put a lot of thought into his plan. But all that went out the window when it turned dark and the clouds rolled in. If he couldn’t see where he was when he jumped, the chances of him landing anywhere within several miles of his intended landing area were very slim. > > Maybe he had someone waiting on the ground with a walkie-talkie. The odds of him landing within its range were almost zero. Maybe he had a car parked somewhere. Again, the odds of landing anywhere near it were almost zero. Unless he had a compass and a flashlight, it would have been difficult to even know which direction to start walking. He couldn’t navigate by the stars, it was overcast. He was probably in a fairly remote area, it could have taken hours to even find a road, especially if he was injured. I don’t know about that. Again based on the Wiki link above, he jumped about 1/2 hour into the flight, and was flying at about 120 MPH. That would mean he traveled about 60 miles from the airport, at a maximum, and he knew the general direction he was going. If you travel 60 miles in a certain general direction, there’s not an enormous variance in where you can end up. I would say the chances of him being within a few miles of his intended target were actually pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/165 "2011-08-08T17:32:25Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper), the speed of the place was about 120 MPH, not 200. (It was about 190 KPH.) If this is correct, then assessments of his ability to pull the cord etc. which were based on the higher speed need to be revised. I don’t know about that. Again based on the Wiki link above, he jumped about 1/2 hour into the flight, and was flying at about 120 MPH. That would mean he traveled about 60 miles from the airport, at a maximum, and he knew the general direction he was going. > > If you travel 60 miles in a certain general direction, there’s not an enormous variance in where you can end up. I would say the chances of him being within a few miles of his intended target were actually pretty high. 120 mph was what Cooper requested, the plane was going 170-180 knots ([Cite](http://n467us.com/Data%20Files/dbcooper_transcripts.pdf), transcript of of Flight Crew Communications, about 2/3 of the way down- pdf). From your wiki link: > [@](#): > > even small differences in estimates of the aircraft’s speed, or the environmental conditions along the flight path (which varied significantly by location and altitude), changed Cooper’s projected landing point considerably ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/166 "2011-08-09T01:14:36Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Unless you know something I don’t, I’d say it was a 50% chance he wore the wrong one, not 100%. What I know that you don’t is the meaning of “diminished”. He wore 2 chutes, not 1, as **Bumbershoot** explained. They don’t always open; that’s why you have a backup. But Cooper essentially didn’t have a backup. That diminished his chances. If he only had a brief period of useful consciousness and ability to act, that diminishment would have been considerable. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/167 "2011-08-09T01:54:22Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] What I know that you don’t is the meaning of “diminished”. [/QUOTE] I don’t think he survived, but I think you are missing the point…or maybe I’m wrong in my assumption. I thought there were 2 good chutes and 2 ‘fake’ chutes (they were training chutes IIRC)…which means that Cooper could have taken the 2 good chutes and kicked out the ‘fake’ ones when he jumped. Or was there only 1 good chute and 1 ‘fake’ chute? -XT ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/168 "2011-08-09T01:55:54Z")
3 good chutes, 1 fake. He took 1 good chute and 1 fake, leaving 2 good chutes onboard. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/169 "2011-08-09T02:00:38Z")
Oh…my bad then. I thought there was some question as to which chutes he took. If it’s known for sure that he took one good chute and one bad one, then yeah…that rather cuts down on his already poor chances of survival. -XT ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/170 "2011-08-09T02:07:12Z")
I still think I’d have thrown a stew out to see if the parachutes were good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/171 "2011-08-09T02:09:11Z")
I think I’d have dropped the tail gate then hidden on the plane…though I suppose they probably searched it top to bottom to see if he was there. -XT ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/172 "2011-08-09T02:20:10Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I think I’d have dropped the tail gate then hidden on the plane…though I suppose they probably searched it top to bottom to see if he was there. > > -XT I mentioned that upthread. If he could ship a large crate that he knew would be on the plane, or throw out the contents of it or another. Could he get to the luggage storage area? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/173 "2011-08-09T02:24:56Z")
> [@Bumbershoot](#): > > I found [this rare footage](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qslTTVNt4) which confirms **gonzomax’s** post. The last 15 seconds show how Cooper and his partner (the stewardess) survived the fall. So you finally understand. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/174 "2011-08-09T03:19:08Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Could he get to the luggage storage area? [/QUOTE] I assume he could. I don’t know how easy it was to ship a large crate though, or how much they searched the plane after it landed. I assume they DID search it though, since to me that would be the most obvious ploy. Rather than the crazy stunt of jumping in the night over rough terrain, I’d have tried to make people THINK I was jumping, and then hidden somewhere on board and waited out the search. Since this isn’t Hollywood though, I assume I would have been caught. The up side, though, is I’d most probably have lived through the experience. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/175 "2011-08-09T05:07:31Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I’ve seen it being done, in a tour of a Federal Reserve Bank. > > It was entirely automated. > A big sorting machine (reminded me of old punched card sorters) that processed all the bills, sorted & counted them, while automatically dumping ones that were too worn, wrinkled, torn, stained, etc. into a special stack to be destroyed eventually. I took a Fed tour and recall this. > [@](#): > > Meanwhile a scanner in the machine was reading & recording the serial numbers. (I don’t remember if that was for all the bills processed, or only for the ones that went into the discard stack.) I don’t recall anything like this. I can’t find a cite for it, but perhaps I haven’t googled enough. I’m a little dubious about this happening in the 1970s: today the Fed [destroys 5 million bills per day](http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/fedpoint/fed11.html): that’s a lot of non-magnetic scanning to do. Did they even have such high speed OCR technology back then? Separately, if D.B. Cooper didn’t survive the jump, shouldn’t investigation of missing persons yield clues to his identity? Assuming that’s been done, wouldn’t that indicate that he indeed lived? This point was made by a now-banned poster in 2008 on p.1 of the thread, but I wasn’t satisfied with the response. Though there weren’t any pictures of hijacker, there was a police sketch and basic identifying information such as approximate age. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/176 "2011-08-09T11:50:41Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Separately, if D.B. Cooper didn’t survive the jump, shouldn’t investigation of missing persons yield clues to his identity? Assuming that’s been done, wouldn’t that indicate that he indeed lived? This point was made by a now-banned poster in 2008 on p.1 of the thread, but I wasn’t satisfied with the response. Though there weren’t any pictures of hijacker, there was a police sketch and basic identifying information such as approximate age. I think that’s a good point. If a relative or friend were suddenly missing, and at the same time a sketch that looked remotely like him appeared in the papers, it seems likely that someone would eventually connect the two. OTOH, the sketch did appear, yet no one connected it to anyone alive, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/177 "2011-08-09T13:23:07Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > So you finally understand. Well, it was hard to deny when I saw the video. In fact, I think I’ve uncovered a huge conspiracy! From the video, it is obvious that Cooper had it all pre-arranged with Hertz Rent-a-Car. The FBI agent in charge of the investigation is Agent Carr! Coincidence? I don’t think so. And, the famous sketch of Cooper looks a lot like Lee Harvey Oswald! It also looks an awful lot like Kevin Spacey, who was involved in an elaborate crime in “The Usual Suspects”. It seems clear to me that the FBI has been cloning Lee Harvey Oswald and using the clones for their mysterious purposes. I predict that within a year or two John Cusack is going to rob Fort Knox. ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/178 "2011-08-09T16:34:06Z")
I think the Hertz angle is important. [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf46hDT5SQQ) is another documentary video showing how it could be done without a functioning parachute. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853/179 "2011-08-12T04:13:55Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I still think I’d have thrown a stew out to see if the parachutes were good. 🙂 He did. Hers worked so well, that he… hh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-d-b-cooper-make-it/442853.md?page=8)