If he landed in the water, he would be presented with a series of dangerous obstacles. He certainly COULD have survived, but the circumstances he would have faced would have made it extremely difficult.

For instance:
His age
The cold water of the Columbia
The current of the Columbia
The canopy landing on top of him
Getting tangled in the lines
The weight of the money
The awkwardness of the chute pack in the water
The darkness
The shock and disorientation
Panic

Unintentional water landings are dangerous and a frequent cause of fatalities. Doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee that Cooper couldn’t survive an accidental water landing at night, but I think it’s inaccurate to dismiss the danger and potential threat to his life.

Keep in mind, If Tom Kaye is correct with the diatoms it dismisses landing in the water that evening.

You should consider buying a drone for some really good footage...easy to learn.

Keep in mind, If Tom Kaye is correct with the diatoms it dismisses landing in the water that evening.

I don't know, nor do I have a theory on, where he landed. I was just throwing a few cents in on the IF theory.

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I'll repeat the question I posed on the other thread...  (As always I could be wrong, but) Didn't Kaye's research show that the money had not been on Tina Bar as long as since the time of the hijacking? Didn't he conclude that it had only been there a year or two?

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Keep in mind, If Tom Kaye is correct with the diatoms it dismisses landing in the water that evening.

I don't know, nor do I have a theory on, where he landed. I was just throwing a few cents in on the IF theory.

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I'll repeat the question I posed on the other thread...  (As always I could be wrong, but) Didn't Kaye's research show that the money had not been on Tina Bar as long as since the time of the hijacking? Didn't he conclude that it had only been there a year or two?

That is incorrect.

Tom's research showed that the money entered--or got wet from--the Columbia River only once during the month of June.

In fact, considering that the money had rotted--north of 75% of the bills were rotted away--indicates that the bills had likely been there the entire 8 years.

This is why I believe the money was buried at Tena Bar the night of the jump and retrieved (albeit three packets left behind) during a historic flood that just so happened to occur in June of 1972.

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If the money entered the Columbia River near Tomahawk or certainly Government Island, I can tell you that it's a long trip down to Tena Bar--I believe at least 10 miles. I've boated from Tomahawk to Tena a few times and it's a long slow journey.

Also, the Columbia is a river with a deep channel--about 40 feet--with relatively shallow shoulders closer to the beach. Meaning, if the money entered the Columbia near the center of the river it would sink to the bottom of the channel and eventually be covered under feet of sediment--after all, that's why they dredge regularly.

I simply think that such a scenario is impossible. I believe you could throw a 20 lb bag of cash in the water near Tomahawk a million times and zero times have three separate packets end up buried at Tena Bar for 8 years.

Again, I'm not suggesting the money entered the water and floated along the top by itself, or rolled along the bottom underwater. I'm suggesting it traveled downstream with some other mechanism such as a log, tree branch, or Cooper's body. Assuming an average current speed, that kind of flotsam would probably take 10 to 12 hours to travel from the area between I-5 bridge and the I-205 bridge to Tena Bar. Considering the flood conditions at the time, I don't think it's farfetched to have debris that has sat on the edge of the foliage all winter to be picked up and transported elsewhere downstream.

It's merely a hypothesis. I have no evidence yet to back it up, but I think it as reasonable and logical as others.

When I first began researching Cooper I had the idea that the Salmon Creek could have been a vehicle to bring the money to Tena Bar, but I have spoken with locals who have told me that it isn't big or strong enough to carry debris from the Battle Ground area to the Columbia, and it would take some really funky hydraulics to pull it off.

Good work exploring intelligent options.

Concerning Tom's diatom work, the species of diatoms found suggest exposure for one season (spring to summer). Perhaps into fall. But no particular year can be assigned. Tests that might suggest a time frame have never been done, so far. For example, several dates would be nice to know. (a) the date at which the bundles of money ceased to be exposed to the atmosphere, re- C13 exposure. (b) any breaks in the C13 chain! Cessation of exposure followed by a dead period followed by re-exposure! (c) date for the diatoms on the bills. (d) neutron testing see You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login  and (e) other tests.   

For example, in a recent post at DZ, FJ speculated that the Cooper bills arrived and settled on the beach during a June flood when the water level at the Ingram site was six feet over the bills resting on the sand sex feet below - and thence that is how the bills got exposed to diatoms. I had to chuckle reading that because, diatoms live in surface columns only, usually no deeper than 3 ft. Why? Diatoms require a rich supply of oxygen. Diatoms live the shallow surface column only. ..........  Its small details like that that can make or break people's theories!       

Regarding the diatoms, I just spoke with Tom and he verified that diatoms can live deep in the water not just near the surface. It is in sand where they can't live deep.

More on Tom's diatoms:

1. Tom examined three bills for Carr and found no obvious signs of diatoms. Tom then examined 377's Cooper bill and found diatoms. Tom has the serial numbers for the bills he examined. There is a list of Cooper bill/bundles serial numbers. Have the four bills Tom has examined come from the same bundle (or packet if you prefer) or different bundles?

2. Tom has identified 4-5 species of diatoms on the 377 bill. Are all of those species seasonally compatible on 377's bill?

3. Of the species Tom found on 377's bill, does anyone have water or sand samples from the Ingram find location (from any year) that document those same species are Present at the Ingram site?  Or someplace else in the TBar area?  Or someplace else in the region of say Hayden Island to the Lewis River?

4. Fanning out vs other deposition theories:  FJ at DZ is now speculating that the Cooper bills were exposed to diatoms when they 'fanned out in Columbia water', somewhere. Under that theory all bills that fanned were exposed to diatoms and should display diatoms. In equal proportions perhaps? All bills that fanned out in a single bundle should show diatoms in equal proportion. Bills in bundles that did not fan out could only be exposed to diatoms on their end bills. I guess FJ is saying today that the money arrived on TBar by water flow pressure? FJ has previously subscribed to a plant and termite theory! 

If bundles of bills were deposited on the beach after surviving a high pressure dredging pump tube, would bills in bundles ever fan out? The 'fanning out' option may not exist in a dredging scenario ?