Cooper sends Tina to the front. Isolates the crew. Why? He knows they know he's going to jump. He knows they know he has the bag of money. Tina sees Cooper with the parachute cord around his waist. So what doesn't Cooper want the crew to see? There's only one way out. What's Cooper hiding? It's a vulnerable time for him. This one thing can end his plan and he's so close. There's four in the crew against him and his only threat is that bomb. Without the bomb Cooper is a passenger. Cooper sends Tina ahead and instructs no one to come back to see him dismantling the bomb. He needs to to put the money into the briefcase to use to escape and to fit in the sack (Bruce: Pauli exclusion principle.) He also needs the briefcase to be in the sack because of the wind blast. He also puts something else in the sack. An item from the plane. For later. He secures the bag to his waist/torso, puts on the overcoat over that to keep that money secure. It's what Mitchell can't put his finger on about Cooper. It's his appearance being odd. With other things, the overcoat is too big. Big enough to cover a "knapsack of money." Cooper puts the chute on and is ready to go. That's when he notices the tie he took off when it was swinging in front of him while he was cutting the chute cord, decides he can't go through that again because he needs to jump. He crosses his arms in front of the money, one hand on the pull cord so he's not fumbling like the FBI thinks he does. He jumps, lifts his knees up into a fetal position to secure that $200,000 baby. It's all about the money!!! and pulls the cord. Later, $5800, a portion of the briefcase money is found at Tina's Bar.
Are you writing a novelette too! Lot's of BIG assumptions you are making - here's some factoids. BTW, what does the Pauli exclusion principle have to do with any of this? Are you saying that Cooper was a boson or a fermion!?
5:45 – 6:00 305: chutes on plane, chute and money inspection by Cooper. Negotiations stairs down at take off, R advises not possible. Cooper accedes to R’s demand for the time being.
6:21 305: Girls are not off yet. Senior girl stationed on aft side of the cockpit in her seat remaining seated. 2nd girl in forward rear seat in C section told not to get up. 3rd girl (Mucklow) is intermediary and sitting with the individual.
6:21 305: Cooper restating his demand stair be down at take off. They agree aft door will be open and remain open but stairs will be lowered only after takeoff. Cooper compliant for the moment..
6:38 305: Have negotiated release of 2 girls leaving at any moment. 3rd girl Tina Mucklow) to stay with aircraft. He wants her to manipulate stairs for him after plane is airborne. Have tried to tell him unable to operate stairs to lower position after takeoff. Trying to get him to let us lower stairs partly before takeoff.
6:44pm 305: Stews leaving aircraft … Flo & Alice leave aircraft, Hancock comes back for her purse and reports Cooper putting on chute with Tina watching.
7:33 305 takes off.
7:40 305 advises leveling at 7000 ft . Cooper requesting again wants the stairs down (and plane slowed) and they are slowing to about 160. (Cooper not fully prepared to jump).
7:44 305 advises they will hold at 7000 ft – we have the back steps down now. – (7:44 is the earliest time he can bail but Cooper makes no attempt to bail. Pilots decide they must climb to lower fuel consumption and smooth out the flight configuration of the aircraft.)
7:51 305 advises they are climbing to 10,000 ft and are through 9,000 ft now. Cooper prepping money in bag and cutting shroud lines etc , tells Tina to go forward and close the curtain.
7:54 FLT 305 reports: Miss Mucklow said he apparently has the knapsack tied around him and thinks he will jump. (Cooper still waits, more to do including test of stairs consuming 10+ more minutes until he jumps..)
8:05-8:10 last comms. with Cooper. Apparently makes at least two more calls to front according to crew members, one at 8:05pm and then two more after 8:05 asking the plane be leveled and slowed for more stable conditions … then he bails and not before (pressure spike, exact time uncertain).
He did not force the issue of the stairs to bail asap out of SEA! He accepted Rat’s issues and waited and then he negotiated-demanded better conditions and waited further until those conditions were fulfilled. His goal seems to be getting out safely and any proximity to SEA is secondary to bailing under safer conditions. If Cooper was some hot-shot skydiver who wanted to bail near Seattle why not force the issue of the stairs and bail out at the first opportunity rather than waiting ?
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