Flyjack appears to have found several issue's I brought up several times in the past and were never addressed. he found different documents than I did.
To date, I'm not convinced they had more than 4 chutes. some documents suggest this.
Can a 24' canopy be found in a NB-6 or NB-8?
Is the model number in reference to the year?
This would be a good starting point..
It would not be unusual for the FBI to screw this up resulting in many contradicting 302's! Different accounts by different people, all of them "authoritative" ! Typical bureaucratic SNAFU.
Unless I am mistaken, Cossey always contended the chute Cooper jumped with was HIS chute. If true that would account for (a) Cossey's statements and behavior over the years, and (b) the Seattle office always going to Cossey as the central authority in the chute matter.
Is there a clean 302 that wipes out all ambiguity and says straight out: 'The chute used by Cooper came from Earl Cossey' ? Due to bureaucratic multiplicity and mendacity there may not be such a single document!
Sailshaw always focused on the fact of bureaucratic confusion in the Cooper hijacking, when he kept referring to something Peterson allegedly said:: the system that beat 'the system'. A Mantra used by millions of protesters in the 1970's.
This would all have been easier had the USAF supplied the chutes: one source vrs multiple sources. at least everyone would have known what chutes were supplied and what they were!