From Tom's site titled "Research Conclusion"
The FBI flight path map passes the test. Agents working on the flight path in 1971 had the radar and flight path data which is lost today. The SAGE radar used to track Cooper's plane was relied upon to identify, locate and track incoming Russian bombers and threats to the United States, so there is no reason to assume they would get it wrong. Analysis of various features of this case rule out the theories that require a different flight path than the one portrayed on the FBI map. Lastly, the text descriptions in the FBI 302 link the flight path to various towns. This research finds that the flight path and jump zone are reasonable and should be a cornerstone in the analysis of this case.
I've attached a two page PowerPoint with some screen shots on the flight path. When I first got into this case, I really took an interest in the flight path, more so to determine jump time (8:12-8:13 etc.) and landing spot (Ariel, more south, etc.). I did not spend much time thinking about the money find at that point. With that said, I don't desire to get into a back and forth, but rather maybe use this as an opportunity to engage in some good dialogue on some of the little details. The little details matter sometimes, sometimes they don't. In this discussion about the placard, I think the FBI flight path is generally correct. Whether the placard was found to the east or west of it is not a huge deal to me, in that it would only have been a little east or west, therefore confirming that at this point in the flight that the FBI flight path was accurate. However, the correct flight path further into the flight is still a question to many people.
So, if you look at the attachment, you'll see screen shots of where I place the placard, and where another person places the placard. Our spots are different, but they are close. I'll defer to his spot over mine given his background in the case. Now, the other shot on that page is from Citizen Sleuths. I can't place their picture on the map. The terrain features (sand) just don't match up with what I've seen. I'd be curious to see if anyone with more time can maybe mess around with the GPS coordinates and the lat/long method and see what they come up with. Those coordinates are on the attachment too. I believe they are accurate, but I can not be certain (I got those offline a year ago and don't have the notes handy).
If my spot and the other person's spot are accurate, then the FBI flight path puts the placard east of the flight path. If CS is accurate, then it puts the placard west of the path.
The second slide has a pic of the map I played with a year ago. You'll see a straight line in pencil from Toutle to Pigeon Springs that is west of the placard find. Regardless, these coordinates put the placard find generally on the FBI flight path, and I don't feel the need to split hairs over if it was a little west or a little east.
Of note. I always thought the placard was metal. History did a show way back (the one with interviews from a passenger named Simmons). Himmelsbach was young too. They interview the hunter, and he says he picked up the placard, and folded it. Metal does not usually fold easily. The re-enactment makes it look like it was paper. Wind will do different things to paper than it will metal, of course. So maybe a rate of descent with wind speed calculation should be done given the actual material.
My understanding is that the hunter was hunting on family land, so he had a pretty good idea of where he was.
Long post. My apologies. I'd be curious to see what people come up with, if they even care. Probably just another rabbit hole. PDF not PP. PP was too big.
