Tom posted the NOAA data on here. Go look at page 117 of the Flight Path thread. He posted images there. It clearly shows a consistent southerly wind. It does not support your claim that the wind was blowing directly from the southeast to the northeast.

It’s also important to note that this data was collected in Salem, OR and Quillayute Airport in Forks, WA which is a distance of over 200 miles. The DZ would fall somewhere in this large swath of space. The wind speed and direction would be mere extrapolations and not exact representations of the winds aloft near the DZ.

Moreover, in the recent FBI Vault release, there was a segment on weather data provided to the FBI by the US Weather Bureau. This weather data included multiple reporting stations along the West Coast. The data provided was from 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm on the date of the hijacking. The closest reporting stations to any reasonable DZ would be Portland International, Troutdale Airport, and Toledo, WA.

Here is that wind data:

 Time.                         
7pm
Toledo.                160 degrees at 4 knots
PDX.                    130 degrees at 4 knots
Troutdale.            170 degrees at 3 knots

8pm
Toledo.                190 degrees at 5 knots
PDX.                   270 degrees at 10 knots
Troutdale.            220 degrees at 7 knots

9pm
Toledo.                190 degrees at 6 knots
PDX.                   190 degrees at 11 knots
Troutdale.            220 degrees at 1 knot

The outlier of course is PDX at 8pm. According to the data supplied by the US Weather Bureau, the wind shits from out of the SOUTHEAST at 130 degrees to out of the WEST at 270 degrees in one hour and then shifts again from out of the WEST at 270 degrees to out of the SOUTH-SOUTHWEST an hour after that.

Now, that is certainly possible for a dramatic shift in wind over an hour period, but it is unusual. Could it be that the 270 is actually a typographical error and the wind was blowing out of the SOUTH-SOUTHEAST at 170 degrees?

Either way, it would appear that the wind direction was shifting throughout the night, and that any wind speed or direction at the DZ - say between Ariel and the Columbia is merely an estimate based on weather reports from stations miles away.

Even the historical data from Weather Underground states that the wind from from the SE at 8pm at PDX.

I have more information obviously, but I want to make sure I have facts before I make any claims.

Chaucer, the wind information you list is for the ground winds.  The airliner was at 10,000 feet above sea level.  The winds aloft information that Tom Kaye has uncovered is for the winds at altitudes that are completely out of the atmospheric ground effect.

Chaucer, go to FAA.gov and download the free FAA publication "Aviation Weather".  Then give it a thorough study.  The weather information you have listed above is simply not a factor in the hijacking. 

I lived here in Portland area in 1971 and for most of my life.
I totally disagree with the wind direction you are alleging. That’s just not the wind direction I have ever witnessed in almost all of my years and definitely not the direction on Nov 24, 1971.

Based on your experience, what is the typical wind direction? And what was the wind direction that night?

Tom posted the NOAA data on here. Go look at page 117 of the Flight Path thread. He posted images there. It clearly shows a consistent southerly wind. It does not support your claim that the wind was blowing directly from the southeast to the northeast.

It’s also important to note that this data was collected in Salem, OR and Quillayute Airport in Forks, WA which is a distance of over 200 miles. The DZ would fall somewhere in this large swath of space. The wind speed and direction would be mere extrapolations and not exact representations of the winds aloft near the DZ.

Moreover, in the recent FBI Vault release, there was a segment on weather data provided to the FBI by the US Weather Bureau. This weather data included multiple reporting stations along the West Coast. The data provided was from 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm on the date of the hijacking. The closest reporting stations to any reasonable DZ would be Portland International, Troutdale Airport, and Toledo, WA.

Here is that wind data:

 Time.                         
7pm
Toledo.                160 degrees at 4 knots
PDX.                    130 degrees at 4 knots
Troutdale.            170 degrees at 3 knots

8pm
Toledo.                190 degrees at 5 knots
PDX.                   270 degrees at 10 knots
Troutdale.            220 degrees at 7 knots

9pm
Toledo.                190 degrees at 6 knots
PDX.                   190 degrees at 11 knots
Troutdale.            220 degrees at 1 knot

The outlier of course is PDX at 8pm. According to the data supplied by the US Weather Bureau, the wind shits from out of the SOUTHEAST at 130 degrees to out of the WEST at 270 degrees in one hour and then shifts again from out of the WEST at 270 degrees to out of the SOUTH-SOUTHWEST an hour after that.

Now, that is certainly possible for a dramatic shift in wind over an hour period, but it is unusual. Could it be that the 270 is actually a typographical error and the wind was blowing out of the SOUTH-SOUTHEAST at 170 degrees?

Either way, it would appear that the wind direction was shifting throughout the night, and that any wind speed or direction at the DZ - say between Ariel and the Columbia is merely an estimate based on weather reports from stations miles away.

Even the historical data from Weather Underground states that the wind from from the SE at 8pm at PDX.

I have more information obviously, but I want to make sure I have facts before I make any claims.

Well, I'm confused.

First, Weather Underground only has weather data from the Portland airport from the night of the hijacking. That data suggests that at 7pm the wind was blowing from the southeast at 5mph and shifted to blowing from the SSW at 12mph by 10pm. This would probably suggest that at the time Cooper bailed the wind was also blowing 5+mph from the SOUTH.

I can't find any weather or wind data between Portland airport and SeaTac. Nothing near where the placard was found. Nothing near Cinebar. Nothing near Ariel.

SeaTac's weather data also has the wind blowing from the south at 7pm but also shifting and blowing from the SOUTHEAST at 14mph.

My point is that I cannot find any substantial weather data for the route south between Seattle and Portland, and what data I did find suggests that the wind was blowing from the south or southeast and didn't shift to the SSW until after Cooper jumped.

That's why I am eager to find more weather data. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this as it has been taken for granted that the wind was blowing from the SSW at the time Cooper jumped.

I've been doing a deep dive into the weather data from that night. I received data from a source that the wind direction - both on the ground and aloft - was likely NOT blowing consistently from the southwest to the northeast. Rather, the winds between LaCenter and Portland were shifting - blowing from the SE to the SW and back again. Thus, they were generally blowing in a north to northwest direction. Clearly, this stands in contrast to the generally accepted idea that the winds were blowing toward the NE. This would have an obvious impact on where Cooper landed and the ensuing ground search. When I have all my ducks in a row, I will be sure to post what I have here for everyone to see.

What has happened to everyone ?
This forum is gone MIA….. Just like Cooper !

I know, it's been very few posts lately. BUT - At the lower left corner of the home page, there's that 'users online' count, where it shows 'users' and 'guests'. Have I got that right, that means how many people are looking at the site at the moment? Normally, the 'guests' have been somewhere around 100, but lately it's been saying 600, 700, even 800. Does that really mean that there are several hundred people looking at the site at a given time? If so, who the hell are all these people??