Revisiting the Cooper world after learning about the New Eric Ulis suspect. Was surprised there wasn't much chatter here about it. And it seems Eric doesn't post here much anymore(?)

What are everyone's thoughts on Vince Petersen? My takeaways are as follows:

1. He is unique in the sense that he is really the first suspect to actually be connected to any physical evidence.

2. I'd like to see a photo of him taken closer to the time of the hijacking. I've seen 2 photos --- one taken 12 years before the hijacking and one taken 20+ years after. Not sure what the deal is with that.

3. History of smoking and drinking?

4. Did he have a criminal mind? Was he the type of guy that would do something like this?

5. Eric said the former supervisor named Vince and only Vince as the guy to look into among the 8 who worked in that department. Did Eric look into the other 7 guys as well?

6. I tried to find an obituary of this guy but had no luck. Anyone else?

For those of you who were at CooperCon, what was the general reaction/response to Eric's unveiling of this new suspect?

This is what I know about Vince Petersen.

1)   VP has a direct link to the TiSb alloy, which to the best of my knowledge could only be found at Rem-Cru Titanium/Crucible Steel.
2)   VP extensively researched and wrote about the corrosive effects of salt on titanium, which may be an explanation for the large amount of salt found upon DBC’s tie.
3)   VP was 6’ 1” tall and 52 y/o at the time of the heist, which is consistent with witness (Tina, Flo, Alice, Hal) testimony.
4)   VP was the only person who traveled to Boeing with the former supervisor—this according to the former supervisor. Moreover, VP was on the Boeing production floor.
5)   VP is the only person that his former supervisor pointed to as matching DBC’s description.
6)   DBC’s tie was manufactured between 1962 – 1964, and likely purchased between 1963 – 1965.
7)   The Rem-Cru/Crucible’s Robinson titanium research lab in the Pittsburgh area opened in 1964.
   VP and his family moved to the Pittsburgh area from Midland, PA in 1964.
9)   Boeing’s 727—for which there are a significant number of Rem-Cru/Crucible parts—first flew in 1963 and entered service in 1964.
10)   According to his son, VP was not a smoker—at least during the 60s and 70s. Interestingly, VP would purchase cigarettes for his then-underage son.
11)   VP was a light drinker of alcohol.
12)   VP was described by his longtime neighbor as aloof and as a person who kept to himself.
13)   VP regularly wore a tie, tie-bar, and cufflinks to work.
14)   VP and his wife were not spendthrifts. VP’s son described his childhood as one whereby he felt money was tight.
15)   According to his longtime neighbor, VP briefly grew a beard. I do not know when this happened, but they were neighbors from 1965 – 1987.
16)   VP was an avid hiker.
17)   VP’s son said that he cannot see his father having been DBC. Additionally, the son stated that he always knew his father to be an honest person.
18)   VP passed away in 2002.

Revisiting the Cooper world after learning about the New Eric Ulis suspect. Was surprised there wasn't much chatter here about it. And it seems Eric doesn't post here much anymore(?)

What are everyone's thoughts on Vince Petersen? My takeaways are as follows:

1. He is unique in the sense that he is really the first suspect to actually be connected to any physical evidence.

2. I'd like to see a photo of him taken closer to the time of the hijacking. I've seen 2 photos --- one taken 12 years before the hijacking and one taken 20+ years after. Not sure what the deal is with that.

3. History of smoking and drinking?

4. Did he have a criminal mind? Was he the type of guy that would do something like this?

5. Eric said the former supervisor named Vince and only Vince as the guy to look into among the 8 who worked in that department. Did Eric look into the other 7 guys as well?

6. I tried to find an obituary of this guy but had no luck. Anyone else?

For those of you who were at CooperCon, what was the general reaction/response to Eric's unveiling of this new suspect?

Im not sure why the titanium is only being linked to aircraft as its used very often in surgeries and in medical field.  The picture situation you mention is very important. Lets see what Tina Mucklow says about him?  Or Flo if anyone can find her. (without here slamming a door in ones face?).  The smoking and drinking may not be a big deal because whether the guy is  true smoker and drinker does not mean he could not have just done it during the crime?  Maybe to throw off the cops?  He would not have worried about DNA then and obviously the FBI did not either.  The cigarettes had at the very least, souvenir value then and later they would have been gold.  It would have either cleared or identified one of the known suspects and told us if it was truly one of them or certainly not one of them.  Now we have no idea.  I think its more likely Jack the Ripper is solved than Cooper right now. Unless one believes in Gryder's case.  It's not without merit.

 New blog post from Dr. Edwards:

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Good analysis as always. I don’t agree with all of Dr. Edwards conclusions here. I think he puts the drop zone too far south.

That said, I think a deep dive into the comms from the ~8:20 time frame is now critical to determining when exactly Cooper exited the aircraft.

I mean a transcription of all of the voice communications between the NWA ground personnel such as Al Lee and Paul Soderlind over the ARINC radio frequency until ~8:20 and the ARINC phone patch after ~8:20. We have the ARINC TTY up until 8:20 and nothing after. Obviously, the ARINC teletype was a very abbreviated summation of the actual comms. The full transcription of these comms exist (according the Larry Carr).

I think you'd agree that they would be invaluable.

All communications are valuable if you understand who are involved in them.  Take a look at the 17-page document labeled "FBI Notes".  Two airliners are listed as assisting communications with NWA 305.  Do you see transcripts related to those communications anywhere?  And they would have to be through the ARINC system. 

I have seen the WSHM’s analysis.

That said, this is the ARINC TTY which is distinct from the ATC transcripts.

Either way, this demonstrates that there were no nefarious redactions in the ARINC TTY.

I agree with you that the transcription of the ARINC TTY would be an important find.

In your last sentence above, you actually mean the transcripts of the voice communications over the ARINC radio patch, correct?  This would include all communications over the ARINC radio link with the airliner and would include the communications that the ARINC personnel then summarized in their teletype transcripts.