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First off this guy was actually a hunting buddy who was there when the placard was found. As I recall they were picking up litter and had simply put the placard in their pocket and had no reason to mark the exact spot where it was found. His memory could actually be far better then Carroll Hicks. I had a hunting partner who had a terrible sense of direction and never had any idea where he was. The placard find location is one of ONLY two items ever recovered from the hyjacking. If you or others think the placard find location is meaningless, so be it.
I happen to think it’s relevant to at least giving a clue as to where the aircraft was flying SHORTLY before Cooper bailed. Many people have combed over Tina Bar site ad Nauseum but to my knowledge very few have ever been to the placard location. I find it interesting and the area is awesome !

I agree that the placard is very important. Furthermore, it has been largely overlooked as a valid piece of evidence that could clarify a flight path. I believe the reason it has been ignored for all of these years is because the Tena Bar money find was shortly thereafter and that immediately took over the spotlight.

Shutter, I have obtained the necessary info from Weyerhaeuser to gain access to the placard find spot. My primary objective will be to get a feel for the lay of the land, take pictures and perhaps leave a piece of a similar item behind to study any migration patterns that may occur over the course of the year.

In post number 1751 on this thread, Tom Kaye presented radiosonde data for Salem, Oregon (which is about 45 Nautical Miles south of Portland International Airport) and a location that is northwest of Seattle (more than 120 Nautical Miles from Portland International Airport).  Unfortunately, some of this data appears to have been affected due to a malfunction of the radiosonde equipment.

Consequently, some judgment was needed in interpreting the radiosonde data.  But after all things were considered, the wind direction was essentially from 225 degrees from 4000 feet to 10,000 feet and the wind speed varied between 31 and 35 knots (Nautical Miles Per Hour) over that same range.  These supposedly accurate wind speeds are somewhat greater than the predicted winds aloft speeds for the Portland area for the same time frame that is of interest here.  However, the wind speed of 31 knots from 225 degrees at 10,000 feet agrees quite well with the 32 knots from 215 degrees that I had arrived at during the flight path analysis for that altitude.

For the present analysis, four altitude segments were used and the time for the placard to descend through each of those segments was calculated and used to determine the horizontal distance that the placard traveled during those times.  The horizontal distances were summed and totaled 6.8 Nautical Miles.  This places the separation point for the placard about 1.3 Nautical Miles WEST of a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.  Earlier calculations using estimate data placed the separation point about 1.0 nautical miles EAST of a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.

In the initial placard calculations in 2011, Tom Kaye suggested evaluating the influence that rain would have on the descent of the placard.  There is no information on any weather above the 5000 foot overcast.  But there were light rain showers in the Portland area.  Surprisingly, there is quite a bit of information on the internet about the influence of rain on falling objects.  At one end of the scale, large rain drops would increase the rate of descent.  At the other end of the scale, light or misty rainfall would slow the rate of descent.  Since the available weather information indicated only light rain below 5000 feet, the rainfall effects were ignored and were conservative in any event.

The end result of the placard analysis is that it separated at a point that was close to, either EAST or WEST of, a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.  And that straight line passes about 1000 feet to the WEST of the money find location at Tina Bar.   

While there was light rain and several cloud layers including a complete overcast at 5000 feet in the Portland area, the weather was reasonably good and improving as indicated by the sea level pressure being above standard and increasing at all points south of Seattle.  In addition, the air temperatures were below standard and the overall result was that the atmospheric density in the Portland area was about two percent above the standard density.
 

Basing a parachute is entirely different from a card weighing less than an ounce. then you base the card from controlled testing. cards, plates, different size objects will behave differently. I'm now questioning the thickness of the placard. the card is not easily found either. Hominid might be right that it was exclusive to NWO.

My other concern is the tears and cuts in the card itself and how that would react vs a perfect 6x6 or 5x5 card. will it tumble in the condition it was in. you can't say one way or the other without some sort of testing or seeing the actual card itself.

Late for work...will continue later today..

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In post number 1751 on this thread, Tom Kaye presented radiosonde data for Salem, Oregon (which is about 45 Nautical Miles south of Portland International Airport) and a location that is northwest of Seattle (more than 120 Nautical Miles from Portland International Airport).  Unfortunately, some of this data appears to have been affected due to a malfunction of the radiosonde equipment.

Consequently, some judgment was needed in interpreting the radiosonde data.  But after all things were considered, the wind direction was essentially from 225 degrees from 4000 feet to 10,000 feet and the wind speed varied between 31 and 35 knots (Nautical Miles Per Hour) over that same range.  These supposedly accurate wind speeds are somewhat greater than the predicted winds aloft speeds for the Portland area for the same time frame that is of interest here.  However, the wind speed of 31 knots from 225 degrees at 10,000 feet agrees quite well with the 32 knots from 215 degrees that I had arrived at during the flight path analysis for that altitude.

For the present analysis, four altitude segments were used and the time for the placard to descend through each of those segments was calculated and used to determine the horizontal distance that the placard traveled during those times.  The horizontal distances were summed and totaled 6.8 Nautical Miles.  This places the separation point for the placard about 1.3 Nautical Miles WEST of a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.  Earlier calculations using estimate data placed the separation point about 1.0 nautical miles EAST of a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.

In the initial placard calculations in 2011, Tom Kaye suggested evaluating the influence that rain would have on the descent of the placard.  There is no information on any weather above the 5000 foot overcast.  But there were light rain showers in the Portland area.  Surprisingly, there is quite a bit of information on the internet about the influence of rain on falling objects.  At one end of the scale, large rain drops would increase the rate of descent.  At the other end of the scale, light or misty rainfall would slow the rate of descent.  Since the available weather information indicated only light rain below 5000 feet, the rainfall effects were ignored and were conservative in any event.

The end result of the placard analysis is that it separated at a point that was close to, either EAST or WEST of, a straight line between the Malay and Canby Intersections.  And that straight line passes about 1000 feet to the WEST of the money find location at Tina Bar.   

While there was light rain and several cloud layers including a complete overcast at 5000 feet in the Portland area, the weather was reasonably good and improving as indicated by the sea level pressure being above standard and increasing at all points south of Seattle.  In addition, the air temperatures were below standard and the overall result was that the atmospheric density in the Portland area was about two percent above the standard density.
 

This is outstanding work.

I have argued that one need only look at the FBI and Boeing free-fall analysis conducted when they established a search area. It clearly showed that they expected a significant drift to the northeast.

This analysis provided by R99 is very problematic for the FBI's flight path. I do not know how it cannot be. The placard is an extremely important piece of evidence that should have been considered to a much greater degree than was actually the case. To be sure, there are other variables to factor, specifically, seven years of being on the ground. That said, if I had to hazard a guess, it would be that placard migration would be minimal on the forest floor, and to the east if anything given the general direction of airflow and the jetstream in that region.