I think a refresher is in order here.
As R99 and I have discussed the Western Flight Path we have focused on some facts that are troubling if one supports the FBI Flight Path:
1) Nothing has ever been found in the FBI search area or along the FBI Flight Path as one would expect after 48 years.
2) The placard was found WEST (upwind) of 305 according to the FBI Flight Path.
3) The money was found on Tena Bar which is no where near the FBI search area or flight path.
4) Captain Scott states the jet was 10 miles west of where the FBI was searching and he flew west of Portland.
5) The FBI Flight Path appears erratic and includes some questionable turns, for example, the very sharp turn around the west end of PDX.
Now R99 and I have been torched by a few for actually considering the above stated and not just blindly accepting the FBI Flight Path. Moreover, some have argued that all kinds of witnesses place the jet on the FBI Flight Path as noted below:
1) The F-106 pilots.
2) Portland Tower personnel.
3) ATC controller.
4) George Harrison.
Well if there is one thing I've learned in life it's that people are often full of s#!+, especially when debating a point. Therefore, I have deliberately attempted to get to the truth.
Lo and behold, I speak with Ammerman and it becomes abundantly clear that as the ATC controller he cannot vouch for the FBI Flight Path. Specifically, he said it may be correct, but that is because it falls within the miles-long range of possible points on his radar screen. Now for those who care to look, so too does a Western Flight Path.
So here we are. We have settled the question about what Ammerman saw that night and what that tells us about the flight path. Truth be told, it tells us little about whether the FBI Flight Path is correct, or the Western Flight Path is correct. How can it? After all, his radar display did not account for a level of precision that could identify a jet 500 feet, or 1000 feet, or even 10,000 feet one way or the other.
Now let's get back to the others who apparently can attest to the precise location of 305.
Where is testimony from the F-106 pilots or T-33 pilot claiming to know the precise location of 305? Here's the answer...there won't be.
How about the Portland Tower personnel who can attest to the precise location of 305? Well, apparently there is someone who thinks the jet was further east than the FBI thought. OK, so who is this person? What makes this person think the FBI f'd up in the other direction? Is it at all possible that this unnamed person is just flat out wrong?
Now let's talk about George Harrison. What information and data did he possess that enabled him to precisely identify where 305 was when DB Cooper jumped? How can we measure the veracity of this data if we haven't seen it? How much tolerance was built into this data and results?
How was the FBI Flight Path actually put together by the Air Force and by whom? What data was used? Is there some way to get our hands on this data? Simply coughing up an FBI document that references SAGE radar means little at this point. After all, how do we know that SAGE was involved at all? Who specifically from the Air Force explained to the FBI that SAGE was used? Has it not occurred to anyone that perhaps the comment in the FBI document about SAGE being utilized was incorrect? Have we not all read several FBI documents with similar errors?
In closing, one thing I can say with certainty is that the evidence doesn't lie. It cannot be wrong. The placard was found west of the FBI Flight Path, the money was found on Tena Bar, and nothing has been found in the FBI search area (or near it) after nearly 48 years.
