General Category > DB Cooper
General Questions About The Case
Robert99:
You are not allowed to view links.
Register or LoginThought this might be a fun thought exercise:
What would have the Cooper hijacking looked like had Cooper’s plan worked exactly as he had anticipated?
The money and parachutes would have arrived at precisely 5:00. Fueling would have proceeded without delay.
The plane would have taken off at approximately 5:30. Airstairs down on takeoff? Or lowered in flight? If airstairs down at takeoff, then Cooper likely would have jumped 15 minutes after takeoff at 5:45. If the airstairs were to be lowered in flight, he expected it to be easy to do. His inability to lower airstairs properly delayed him about 10 minutes. So, if the airstairs were to be lowered after takeoff, then he would have jumped closer to 6:00pm
Sunset on that date was at 4:33pm. Even at 6:00 pm there would be enough light to see, but once he hit the ground, it would darken. That was likely his plan. To be off the plane while still light enough to see, but with night quickly approaching so he could disappear in the darkness.
If he jumped at 5:45, he would have jumped in the vicinity of Spanaway on the outskirts of Seattle an and the dropzone would have been near South Hill also in the Seattle suburbs.
If he jumped closer to 6:00 pm, he would have jumped about 5 or 6 miles north of Etna, WA and the dropzone would be about 5 miles north or Ariel. That area is pretty rugged and remote.
This obviously uses very broad approximations and a lot of speculation, but I think it’s a thought-provoking exercise. Therefore, you can’t draw any decent conclusions from it, but it would seem that it would have been better for Cooper to have the stairs down on takeoff as it would have resulted in a landing closer to civilization.
Fact check me, my times might be wrong.
--- End quote ---
Here is an additional assumption. Assume that the airliner could climb to 10,000 feet as fast as it normally would and it would be at that altitude in 5 to 10 minutes after takeoff.
Another fact to consider. With sunset at 4:33 PM or so, with low cloud layers plus an overcast at about 5000 feet, and if it was raining on the airliner in the Seattle area at that time there would be more clouds above the airliner, then it would be essentially pitch black where the airliner was flying. The only illumination exterior to the airliner would be from the glow of the Seattle area lights through the clouds and overcast below the airliner. And as the airliner moved out of the Seattle area and over the mountains and forests, there would not be any illumination below the airliner.
Even if Cooper jumped at 5:30 PM, everything below him would be dark.
JAG:
You are not allowed to view links.
Register or LoginYou are not allowed to view links.
Register or LoginThought this might be a fun thought exercise:
What would have the Cooper hijacking looked like had Cooper’s plan worked exactly as he had anticipated?
The money and parachutes would have arrived at precisely 5:00. Fueling would have proceeded without delay.
The plane would have taken off at approximately 5:30. Airstairs down on takeoff? Or lowered in flight? If airstairs down at takeoff, then Cooper likely would have jumped 15 minutes after takeoff at 5:45. If the airstairs were to be lowered in flight, he expected it to be easy to do. His inability to lower airstairs properly delayed him about 10 minutes. So, if the airstairs were to be lowered after takeoff, then he would have jumped closer to 6:00pm
Sunset on that date was at 4:33pm. Even at 6:00 pm there would be enough light to see, but once he hit the ground, it would darken. That was likely his plan. To be off the plane while still light enough to see, but with night quickly approaching so he could disappear in the darkness.
If he jumped at 5:45, he would have jumped in the vicinity of Spanaway on the outskirts of Seattle an and the dropzone would have been near South Hill also in the Seattle suburbs.
If he jumped closer to 6:00 pm, he would have jumped about 5 or 6 miles north of Etna, WA and the dropzone would be about 5 miles north or Ariel. That area is pretty rugged and remote.
This obviously uses very broad approximations and a lot of speculation, but I think it’s a thought-provoking exercise. Therefore, you can’t draw any decent conclusions from it, but it would seem that it would have been better for Cooper to have the stairs down on takeoff as it would have resulted in a landing closer to civilization.
Fact check me, my times might be wrong.
--- End quote ---
Here is an additional assumption. Assume that the airliner could climb to 10,000 feet as fast as it normally would and it would be at that altitude in 5 to 10 minutes after takeoff.
Another fact to consider. With sunset at 4:33 PM or so, with low cloud layers plus an overcast at about 5000 feet, and if it was raining on the airliner in the Seattle area at that time there would be more clouds above the airliner, then it would be essentially pitch black where the airliner was flying. The only illumination exterior to the airliner would be from the glow of the Seattle area lights through the clouds and overcast below the airliner. And as the airliner moved out of the Seattle area and over the mountains and forests, there would not be any illumination below the airliner.
Even if Cooper jumped at 5:30 PM, everything below him would be dark.
--- End quote ---
It does not appear that jumping with any natural light was ever part of Cooper's plan. That says something, which of course is open to all of our objective and subjective speculations.
Chaucer:
Even when the sun sets, there is still some light remaining. It doesn't instantly get dark. Check the time for sunset in your area and see how long afterward it gets fully dark.
That said, R99 is correct that the clouds and rain would certainly block the light to a degree and make visibility more difficult.
haggarknew:
Not sure where to pose this question? Maybe the flight path thread? Has there been any discussion, in the past, concerning the Sage radar system? How much do we know about it? Could the elevation of flight 305 have possibly been a problem for the system? Any reference to resource material for the Sage system would be appreciated.
Jay Ritchie:
You are not allowed to view links.
Register or LoginThought this might be a fun thought exercise:
What would have the Cooper hijacking looked like had Cooper’s plan worked exactly as he had anticipated?
--- End quote ---
A fascinating thought process. Should we consider 'hoped for' as opposed to anticipated? He seemed reasonably comfortable with changes in the plan and may well have anticipated a number of possible changes to the plan as things progressed.
Would there have been any issues jumping out of an ascending aircraft? If the steps had been lowered prior to take off would they have been in a locked position?
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