I think he knew how to jump, too. As I said before, he could have made some jumps in the past and thought he knew enough to pull it off. I don’t think he had a lot of experience, and he certainly didn’t have any experience jumping out of a 727 going almost 200 mph.
I can answer a lot of the questions here about jumping from a 727, wind blast, opening, drift, landing etc. but I’m pretty busy at work right now and it’ll have to wait until I get home in a couple of hours.
This Cooper-aphilia site, seems to be a o.k. aggregator of documents relating to the hijack and investigation. From it, evidently Cooper specified a maximum altitude of 10,000 feet (not sure whether he meant MSL or AGL, I believe the pilots used MSL) for the flight, and the pilots then chose to use V-23 as their route for part of the flight from Seattle to Reno. Direct Seattle-Reno was out due to terrain higher than 10,000 feet along that route. The airplane was unpressurized for the trip.
The hard indication of Cooper leaving was a pressure change in the aircraft, along with pitch oscillations at around 20:11 PST. During later parachute sled tests done on another 727, identical pressure changes and pitch oscillations, like those the Cooper crew experienced, were obtained when the sled was released. It’s true the crew didn’t go back to check on him during the flight—they were ordered by Cooper not to leave the flight deck—and when the plane landed in Reno, police entered the plane in case Cooper was still there. Opening the airstair door happened earlier in the flight. An airstair operation placard matched to Cooper’s plane was found by deer hunters years later, near Toutle, WA. Toutle’s about 30 miles north of where Cooper was supposed to have jumped, so the door had to be opened by then, if not earlier. I’m not sure why there was such a delay between opening the door, lowering the stairs, and Cooper jumping. Maybe he was psyching himself up? Maybe he was looking for landmarks he could recognize? (Although see the interesting potential explanation below.) Evidently he was able to recognize things like McCann AFB from the air, as flight attendants claim he did on the flight into Seattle. This commenter at the above linked site goes into some detail as to the winds aloft and attempts to nail down the timetable. His claim is that the winds were around 30 knots at 10,000 feet and no greater than that as you got lower. The FBI chart and notes used to delineate the search area, along with some Google Earth plots of its data, may be found at near the bottom of this page. They indicate the winds aloft with lines. Evidently, the winds were blowing out of the SW.
One interesting theory, by the author of the linked site in my first paragraph, may be found atthis threadat dropzone.net. The gist of the theory is that, according to the author, Cooper’s demands for the flight pretty much mandated the use of V-23 for the Seattle-Portland segment of the route. With that in mind, there were two big course changes during that segment: a course change at the MALAY intersection, and a course change at the Battleground VORTAC. Using a compass, Cooper could have noted, even in the dark, the first course change. He then could have gone through his process of activating the airstair, etc… He then waits for the second course change, and jumps at some point in the turn. Looking out the airstair door, he might even have seen the horizon start to turn. At worse, he’s within a few miles of the VORTAC, in much more friendly terrain for parachuting than the mountainous stuff around Ariel. Still fantastically dangerous, mind you. If he had cached a car somewhere near there—evidently there was a grass airstrip nearby—it would provide him with a means to quickly leave the search area. He did start his journey by boarding the plane in Portland, about 20 miles from the VORTAC… Was anyone ever able to determine how he got to the airport in the first place?
He apparently had enough security in his skills to attempt a dangerous jump. I don’t think he was planning suicide. He knew what he was doing.
Check the net. There are lots of people doing the jump now. He took some risk, but he was planning on spending a pile of cash.
I don’t have to check the net. I’ve jumped from a 727 3 times.
Just because you are confident you have the skills to do something does not mean you actually have the skills. Some of my home repair projects are proof of that.
On the surface, quite likely but how does the money that turned up fit into that scenario?
I don’t understand the hypothermia claims. From what I’ve read, the ground temperature was about 45 degrees. (My apologies if my information is incorrect.) People don’t die of hypothermia in 45 degree weather.
On another note, I wonder if people speculating that he must have died in the fall are being confused between unacceptable risk and probable outcome.
If you are a skydiver contemplating a jump, and there is a 0.1% chance that you get killed in the fall, you would not find that acceptable, let alone if the risk is 1% or 10%. But if you are pondering what happened to someone who actually did it, the chances would still be very good that he survived it.
I think it’s hard to get around the fact that the money has never turned up, so it’s highly likely that he lost the money along the way. But that’s not to say that he died in the flight. Very possible that he lost the money in mid-flight and there was no way to find it once he landed.
They can if they’re wet. From a little later in the dropzone.net discussion I’d linked to earlier: a poster who I think was the FBI agent corresponding with the skydiving community about the case, mentioned the following about the weather that night,
I would think it entirely possible for a person suffering an (hypothesized) injury to the extremities, who was also wet, and wearing a business suit without shoes, to succumb to hypothermia. I don’t know if it was pouring rain that night, or just the usual annoying Pacific NW mist/fog, but I could see someone who might be slipping into shock anyways, continue into unconsciousness/death. Though, it’s hard for me to imagine someone on the ragged edge like that, having the energy to also bury their deployed parachute, or otherwise hide it sufficiently. Also hard to see how some of the money could have made it to Tena’s Bar that way.
Seems like the perfect cover. Nobody really named Cooper would use that last name, so we look for everyone BUT people named Cooper.
If his brother found him via radio as the latest claimant (who claims do be his niece) :rolleyes: describes, his chances of survival would improve.
Okay, I’m home and have time to answer some of the skydiving-related questions people have asked. For the record, I’m an experienced skydiver, I’ve made over 1000 jumps including 3 from a 727. I was a certified Jumpmaster for years and took a lot of people up for their first jump. I can go into greater detail about my “credentials” if anyone is interested.
I’ll start with the exit. I don’t believe Cooper had any idea where he was. He didn’t expect to jump at night. One of his demands was that the plane refuel and take off by 5 pm. It didn’t take off until after 7:30 pm. The plane was flying at 10,000 ft. when he jumped. The cloud ceiling was at 5,000 ft so he couldn’t see the ground. He jumped blind, into the night. I think this also rules out getting help from an accomplice or having a car hidden and waiting. Only pure luck could have put him anywhere near a pre-planned landing area.
The plane was going almost 200 mph. The wind blast would have sent Cooper tumbling head over heels. That’s what happened to me on my first 727 jump and the plane was only going about 150 mph. The temperature at 10,000 ft. was about 19F. Cooper did not have gloves or head cover. The shock of the cold air would have made him tense up. It’s very difficult to get stable for a safe opening when you’re tense and stiff. Also, sensory overload could have caused his mind to go blank, as Gray Ghost suggested.
The wind could easily have blown his ripcord handle out of its pocket, making it very difficult to find, especially with cold numb fingers. If his handle was dislodged, he could easily have hit the ground while trying to find it. Plenty of skydivers have died this way.
The wind could also have blown his container open, possibly shredding the canopy as someone suggested, more likely wrapping him up in the lines if he was still unstable. This would be a Bad Thing. The wind could also have blown his bundle of money away. If he did manage to find himself alive under an open canopy at 9-10,000 ft. a 30 knot wind could have blown him several miles. I know this from experience; I’ve opened high on a windy day and drifted at least 5 miles before landing.
If he managed to get stable, freefall through the clouds and open his canopy before impact, he still would have had to land in the dark on unfamiliar and probably uneven ground- an excellent way to sprain an ankle or worse. Or he might have crashed into a tree, another good way to break a bone or two.
On my night jumps, we always had the landing area well-lit and we could see it from the plane before exiting. Jumping into the dark unable to see the ground is a recipe for disaster. Again, I don’t think Cooper was expecting to face that situation.
So, I think it is possible but extremely unlikely that Cooper survived. I also think, as I said before, that he probably had some parachuting experience- just enough to make him think he could pull it off.
Didn’t dan bring a paper bag on the plane as well? Who knows what was in that.
Gray Ghost, I forgot to address your theory about Cooper carrying a compass and selecting an exit point based on the turns the plane made. He could have done that, but I don’t think he thought that far ahead. Like I said, I don’t think he ever expected to be jumping in the dark. He expected to use landmarks and other visual cues to decide when to jump. Also, I believe the FBI says that he exited somewhere between the two course changes, which agrees with the map/timetable (under Photo Evidence) on the site you linked in post #102. That would put him south of Ariel but north of Battle Ground. Plenty of unpopulated, hilly if not mountainous terrain in that area.
A sandwich, perhaps? Everyone knows how bad airline food is.
I see now that it wasn’t your theory. Sorry, Gray Ghost!
Probably an antigravity generator. That’s what people aren’t factoring into the equation here.
I have to admit, I hadn’t considered this possibility. He could have landed on the parking garage at the Portland Airport, walked to his car and driven home with a bag full of money- after dropping a few bundles of cash by the Columbia River to throw everyone off!
Question: Does ALL U.S. Currency make its way back to the Federal Reserve? What if I spent it in Europe? Would they mail it across the pond, or would they have some central clearing house to convert worn out dollars into Euros (or back then Francs or Marks)?
I honestly don’t know, but does the fact that none of the money has turned up (except for what that kid found) mean that definitely, 100% guaranteed, that it was never spent anywhere? Is there any way that it could have been used but not seen by the Feds?
Back then, it may not have been possible to canvas the whole country for the bills. I am sure local spending could have been noticed, but soending it on the other coast or abroad may have worked. They could have swapped it slowly in Canada.