If the airliner had been tracking down the centerline of V-23 at the time Cooper jumped, all Rataczak would have to say to whoever he was talking to on the radio, "Cooper jumped, we are inbound on radial so-and-so of the so-and-so VORTAC, and so-many DME miles from the station."
Rataczak's "mark your maps" remark supports the belief that the airliner was on the WFP and didn't know its exact position when Cooper jumped.
That's an assumption of yours with no concrete evidence to support it.
ATC simply made certain other aircraft stayed out of the way and directed the F-106's as well as the T-33.
The F-106s were essentially remotely flown via computer. The pilots did little except takeoff and land.
"A datalink with NORAD's SAGE system meant that radio silence could be maintained throughout the intercept, while an autopilot allowed the ground controllers to "fly" the aircraft during the final approach to the target. A Tactical Situation Display (TSD) between the pilot's feet showed a moving map of the route across the ground during the intercept."
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Moreover, I'm dubious that a civilian ATC such as Ammerman would have the authority to order headings and altitude for a military aircraft. Certainly, civilian and military ATC would work together, but I'm not convinced a civilian like Ammerman could actually tell the military aircraft what to do. Could be wrong about that, but I'd like to see confirmation.
However, as is not uncommon, Scott doglegged the portion that went from Maylay to either Canby or Eugene (I'm not certain).
If you have evidence of this, I'd love to see it.
This had the benefit of offering a more direct path south that largely avoided the major population centers of downtown Vancouver and downtown Portland.
First, the 305 was never over concentrated population centers while Cooper was on board. Second, on the off chance Cooper left the bomb on board to detonate, 305 was never over Vancouver and routed along I-5 which obviously would not be populated. Any course change like the one you suggest is unnecessary.
Importantly, Ammerman told me that once the T-33 pulled in behind 305 ( which appears to be at a point near Ridgefield)
Wrong. The T-33 pilot says that he was directed toward Lake Oswego, then turned south three miles behind 305 which means the T-33 intercepted 305 near Lake Oswego and not Ridgefield. (Norjak: The Investigation of D.B. Cooper, Himmelsbach, p. 46-47)
Therefore, it suggests that 305 was not flying all over the place in and around Vancouver, PDX and Portland as depicted on the FBI Flight Path map.
See above.
You really need to learn how to communicate civilly.
I will not bother addressing every point because I don't feel like it. That said, much of what I asserted came from Ammerman himself. Whether you want to believe he was directing military aircraft or not is irrelevant. The fact is, he did.
Also, regardless of what Himmelsbach stated in his book, according to Ammerman the T-33 was directed north over Sauvie Island then in behind 305 as I stated northwest of PDX. Again, this is according to Ammerman.
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