Author Topic: General Questions About The Case (Read 631559 times)

377 · « **Reply #1875 on:** May 21, 2018, 02:17:41 PM »

The FBI obviously didn't rule out skydivers. They probed the sport deeply. But I agree, certainly not the footwear that I'd choose. Other clothes don't matter so much.

377

RaoulDuke24 · « **Reply #1876 on:** May 21, 2018, 02:21:38 PM »

It's also another strike against Reca as a suspect. If he was in a skydiving club and performing stunts, he certainly would have been familiar with the more advanced parachute that he was given as an option during the hijacking and likely would have chosen that. Logic says that Cooper was familiar with and comfortable jumping with the military chute but not as familiar with or comfortable enough with option #2, which is why he went with the military chute.

377 · « **Reply #1877 on:** May 21, 2018, 02:39:54 PM »

Curtis Eng

From Linked In:
Impressive resume.
Engineer/CS. Worked at Boeing.
Smart dude.

Experience
Senior Investigator
Rampart Group LLC
March 2018 – Present (3 months)Greater Seattle Area
Civil litigation investigations and security consulting.

FBI
Special Agent
FBI
September 1997 – September 2017 (20 years 1 month) Greater Seattle Area
January, 2010-September, 2017: Seattle Division. Assigned to the Seattle Safe Streets Task Force, Child Exploitation Task Force, and Special Operations. Primary responsibilities are Organized Crime, Criminal Enterprise/Gangs, Child Exploitation/Child Pornography, Fugitive, Kidnapping, and Extortion/Threat investigations. Collateral duties are as a Certified Technically Trained Agent providing covert electronic surveillance for both criminal and national security investigations.

July, 2004-January, 2010: San Francisco Division, San Jose Resident Agency. Assigned to Criminal squad with emphasis on Asian Organized Crime. Collateral duty of covert electronic surveillance.

December, 1997-July, 2004: Chicago Division. Assigned to Cyber squad, Gang squad, and Special Operations (covert electronic surveillance) squad.

AT&T Wireless Services
Systems Engineer
AT&T Wireless Services
December 1995 – August 1997 (1 year 9 months)Kirkland, WA
Designed and implemented wireless data solutions for customers utilizing AT&T wireless network and hardware. Interacted with sales personnel and potential customers to gather requirements and develop solutions.

Motorola
Software Engineer
Motorola
May 1991 – November 1995 (4 years 7 months)Bothell, WA
Gathered requirements, designed, implemented, verified, and maintained application software and firmware for mobile data devices used primarily for public safety. Programmed primarily in C++ utilizing structured and object oriented techniques on Unix and Microsoft operating system platforms. Also programmed in C and Visual Basic.

Scitor Corporation
Technical Aide
Scitor Corporation
October 1988 – May 1991 (2 years 8 months)Kent, WA
Drafted detailed technical schematics for classified “black” project as a contractor for the Boeing Aerospace Company to support Systems Engineers utilizing Macintosh hardware. Developed software tools to extract and format data utilizing the C programming language.

Boeing
Technical Aide
Boeing
April 1986 – September 1988 (2 years 6 months)Kent, WA
Drafted detailed technical schematics for classified “black” project as a contractor for the Boeing Aerospace Company to support Systems Engineers utilizing Macintosh hardware. Developed software tools to extract and format data utilizing the C programming language.

United States Marine Corps
Corporal
United States Marine Corps
June 1983 – June 1987 (4 years 1 month)

Shutter · « **Reply #1878 on:** May 21, 2018, 03:05:46 PM »

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If Reca were going to come up with a credible Cooper story why on Earth did he pick such an unlikely landing area? I'm sure another "Cowboy" with foggy memories of a lost stranger could be found at some diner closer to the flight path.

Skydivers did want to be Cooper suspects. It was a badge of honor to have been interviewed by the FBI, and many were after the FBI pulled all the USPA membership data from their office, then located in Monterey CA. IMO, lots of skydivers lied about being interviewed. I was disappointed to have been passed over.

377

this story is out of strikes..remember, he cut up the main chute, so the reserve in evidence is a fake, and Hayden's chute must be a fake also...and since they knew who he was it's odd the money turned up 160 miles away from the LZ...

377 · « **Reply #1879 on:** May 21, 2018, 03:25:31 PM »

I just do not understand Reca's choice of landing area for his "I am Cooper" story. Maybe he was drunk when he came up with the "facts". Even a little bit of reading could have helped him craft a FAR more credible story. A little bit of reading could also have prevented his promoters from publishing an embarrassingly poorly vetted story.

If the interview of Cowboy had as many leading questions as the taped interview of Raca did, its no wonder that Cowboy's recollection matched their preconceived narrative about meeting Reca.

Reca sure was an accomplished parachutist, but he was not DBC. Too bad. I had some hope when the press conference was announced.

377

fcastle866 · « **Reply #1880 on:** May 21, 2018, 05:37:03 PM »

The consensus is DB Cooper asked for four parachutes, two front and two back.

1. Did he say two front and two back, or did he say two mains and two reserves? A skydiver would have just asked for a rig. A paratrooper would have known to ask for two, but he would have said a main and a reserve, not a front and back. Who would ask for a front and back, but not say main and reserve?

2. Didn't he in fact ask for two parachutes? Two complete setups, not four. Could he have not thought out the hostage piece, and was really just asking for two sets in case he thought he would be tricked and given a fake one? Or was he thinking ahead to the hostage part, and planned to only take one hostage? Maybe this was not planned out, and we've always just assumed he wanted people to think he was taking a hostage. What if he actually did not plan it that way? We've always talked in terms of four parachutes, but the reality is it was only two chutes. No one jumps just a reserve unless they have a death wish.

3. On jumping a single chute. A question for Martin Andrade as he did research into WWII pilots. Did pilots and aircrew have a main and a reserve, or did they just have a main? They certainly did not wear a bulky chute in front while flying, as it would interfere with the controls of the plane. How about bomber crews? They would not have flown wearing their chutes, but would they have a main and a reserve, or just a main?

So, a paratrooper would have asked for two mains and two reserves. A skydiver would have asked for two complete rigs. Who would have asked for two fronts and two backs? I'm probably overthinking this one, but I'm curious to hear from people.

377 · « **Reply #1881 on:** May 21, 2018, 05:52:17 PM »

All emergency rigs just have a main. Even modern jet ejection systems only have one main canopy, amazingly STILL a 28 ft ripstop C-9 model. Old, but proven reliability.

BASE jumpers don't normally carry reserves.

I have over 1000 jumps and twice have had to cut away from my malfunctioning main and go to my reserve. I obviously think reserves are nice to have.

377

Shutter · « **Reply #1882 on:** May 21, 2018, 07:04:16 PM »

Cooper asked for two front chutes, and two back chutes..many believe this was to make the FBI believe he was taking someone with him and could stop them from tampering with the chutes, or trying to kill him while trying to get away..

A reserve chute gets in the way of flying the plane so they are not part of the gear..

377 · « **Reply #1883 on:** May 21, 2018, 07:41:34 PM »

In modern skydiving rigs, both main and reserve canopies are carried in the back container, so theoretically today's emergency rigs could include reserves. The complexity and chances for double deployment screwups are thought to outweigh the benefits.

377

georger · « **Reply #1884 on:** May 22, 2018, 12:01:32 AM »

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Cooper asked for two front chutes, and two back chutes..many believe this was to make the FBI believe he was taking someone with him and could stop them from tampering with the chutes, or trying to kill him while trying to get away..

A reserve chute gets in the way of flying the plane so they are not part of the gear..

Once again the FBI may have been guessing out loud. He may have only wanted a number of chutes to select from and for contingency. And it served his purpose to ask for multiple chutes - they failed to deliver the back pack! At times it sounds like he's the only sane person there!

Bruce A. Smith · « **Reply #1885 on:** May 22, 2018, 12:27:59 AM »

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The consensus is DB Cooper asked for four parachutes, two front and two back.

1. Did he say two front and two back, or did he say two mains and two reserves? A skydiver would have just asked for a rig. A paratrooper would have known to ask for two, but he would have said a main and a reserve, not a front and back. Who would ask for a front and back, but not say main and reserve?

2. Didn't he in fact ask for two parachutes? Two complete setups, not four. Could he have not thought out the hostage piece, and was really just asking for two sets in case he thought he would be tricked and given a fake one? Or was he thinking ahead to the hostage part, and planned to only take one hostage? Maybe this was not planned out, and we've always just assumed he wanted people to think he was taking a hostage. What if he actually did not plan it that way? We've always talked in terms of four parachutes, but the reality is it was only two chutes. No one jumps just a reserve unless they have a death wish.

3. On jumping a single chute. A question for Martin Andrade as he did research into WWII pilots. Did pilots and aircrew have a main and a reserve, or did they just have a main? They certainly did not wear a bulky chute in front while flying, as it would interfere with the controls of the plane. How about bomber crews? They would not have flown wearing their chutes, but would they have a main and a reserve, or just a main?

So, a paratrooper would have asked for two mains and two reserves. A skydiver would have asked for two complete rigs. Who would have asked for two fronts and two backs? I'm probably overthinking this one, but I'm curious to hear from people.

If you would like more complete answers to your questions, and to read a comprehensive analysis of the parachutes and all the players participating in their procurement, I invite you to read my book, (DB Cooper and the FBI), or to save money go to the Mountain News and read the many articles I have written on the subject.

Robert99 · « **Reply #1886 on:** May 22, 2018, 12:43:51 AM »

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You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
The consensus is DB Cooper asked for four parachutes, two front and two back.

1. Did he say two front and two back, or did he say two mains and two reserves? A skydiver would have just asked for a rig. A paratrooper would have known to ask for two, but he would have said a main and a reserve, not a front and back. Who would ask for a front and back, but not say main and reserve?

2. Didn't he in fact ask for two parachutes? Two complete setups, not four. Could he have not thought out the hostage piece, and was really just asking for two sets in case he thought he would be tricked and given a fake one? Or was he thinking ahead to the hostage part, and planned to only take one hostage? Maybe this was not planned out, and we've always just assumed he wanted people to think he was taking a hostage. What if he actually did not plan it that way? We've always talked in terms of four parachutes, but the reality is it was only two chutes. No one jumps just a reserve unless they have a death wish.

3. On jumping a single chute. A question for Martin Andrade as he did research into WWII pilots. Did pilots and aircrew have a main and a reserve, or did they just have a main? They certainly did not wear a bulky chute in front while flying, as it would interfere with the controls of the plane. How about bomber crews? They would not have flown wearing their chutes, but would they have a main and a reserve, or just a main?

So, a paratrooper would have asked for two mains and two reserves. A skydiver would have asked for two complete rigs. Who would have asked for two fronts and two backs? I'm probably overthinking this one, but I'm curious to hear from people.

If you would like more complete answers to your questions, and to read a comprehensive analysis of the parachutes and all the players participating in their procurement, I invite you to read my book, (DB Cooper and the FBI), or to save money go to the Mountain News and read the many articles I have written on the subject.

Just to save time, you can read everything to be known about the parachute acquisitions and delivery on this site. And to save you even more time, Earl Cossey didn't have anything to do with the acquisition of any of the parachutes. And Cossey did not own any of them either despite his claims or Bruce Smith's claims to the contrary.

andrade1812 · « **Reply #1887 on:** May 22, 2018, 01:59:14 AM »

1. Did he say two front and two back, or did he say two mains and two reserves?

He definitely said "front" and "back". Cooper may have been "talking down" and using simpler nomenclature because he couldn't know what level of expertise he was dealing with on the other end. Regardless, it tells us very little about Cooper.

2. No one jumps just a reserve unless they have a death wish.

Robb Heady used a reserve for his hijacking

3. On jumping a single chute. A question for Martin Andrade as he did research into WWII pilots. Did pilots and aircrew have a main and a reserve, or did they just have a main? They certainly did not wear a bulky chute in front while flying, as it would interfere with the controls of the plane. How about bomber crews? They would not have flown wearing their chutes, but would they have a main and a reserve, or just a main?

Bomber crews used a single emergency parachute, which you can call a "main" though that is misleading. Same with fighter pilots. American crews [almost] always wore their parachutes, while RAF crews would often have to clip their parachutes onto their harnesses in an emergency. This resulted in several RAF airmen being forced to clip their emergency parachutes to their harnesses in freefall. At least one airmen I found was only able to clip his parachute to his harness on one ring, resulting in an asymmetric force across his harness during deployal (ouch). He survived, though badly injured. I intend to review all of these instances in greater depth than I did in my book in the coming months (on my personal website).

Shutter · « **Reply #1888 on:** May 22, 2018, 09:45:38 PM »

Quote

2. No one jumps just a reserve unless they have a death wish.

Robb Heady used a reserve for his hijacking

So did McNally....

haggarknew · « **Reply #1889 on:** August 04, 2018, 08:21:18 PM »

In response to Georger's reply #5186 on R.E. New Forum and News Updates thread :

As always, one question about this case brings up many more. At times he seems educated (book smart) without any practical experience. He knew how to operate stairs just not location of controls? puzzling.. I know he struggled to open the stairway but that was due to upforce of the wind wasn't it?
Also knew Tina didn't need tethered before opening door. How would he know this? From a book or practical experience? Where would he find this? puzzling..
Book smarts? Practical experience? Could someone have just told him this info ahead of time? I don't know, just puzzling.
I. don't know where I am going with this. It just feels like we are missing a chance to maybe discover a clue to his past.( my own opinion)

Author Topic: General Questions About The Case (Read 631559 times)

377

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RaoulDuke24

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377

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Shutter

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377

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fcastle866

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377

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Shutter

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377

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georger

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Bruce A. Smith

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Robert99

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andrade1812

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Shutter

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haggarknew

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