The FBI had to come up with some sort of proposed flight path and jump spot in order to figure out where to start their search . But, even so, there is a wide range of confidence they could have in it from "We're pretty sure this is where and when he jumped" to "We can't be sure, but this is our best guess at this time". What Georger notes above about Carr talking to Rataczak and sharing it on the DZ forum for comment, leads me to think it might be the second one.
Or, maybe they originally thought they had a good idea of where he jumped. But, after finding no body, parachute, spare chute, brief case or money in the area -- and money turning up a little over seven years later a good distance away -- may have given the FBI some doubt.
Robert99 has done far more studying than me and I admit I don't understand all of it. I don't know why he puts so much effort into trying to convince RobertMBlevins on the flight path. RobertMBlevins has already made up his mind, and nothing short of a body turning up is going to change it.
Where Cooper jumped and when he jumped varies according to the author, as noted in a Bruce Smith post below.
Where was 305? [In reply to]
Can't Post
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I see there is a lot of talk about chatting with Rataczak to clarify where 305 was when Cooper jumped.
That might be useful, but I also think it would be worthwhile to review what has already been revealed by the principals.
1. Rataczak told me he did know where 305 was when DBC jumped. Later in our 70-minute phone conversation he said that 305 was east of V-23 by a couple miles due to the wind.
2. Himmelsbach told me that Rataczak told him that 305 was over the Washougal.
3. Mrs. Cooper says that Rataczak told her that he could see the lights of Vancouver to the right. Not sure what that means. It sounds like perfect Jo Weber haze. But it could very well be V-23-ish, too.
4. Calame and Rhodes say that Scott told the folks at Himms' retirement party in 1980 that 305 was west of V-23 and over Woodland, WA.
5. Larry says V-23 All the Way to Red Bluff, CA!
6. Marianne Lincoln of Shady Acres Airport in Spanaway, WA says that the transmission from Seattle Center she heard were reporting east of V-23 to Gresham and then up the Columbia River Gorge.
7. Multiple eye witnesses allegedly report that they saw a burning object descend from a low-flying aircraft just west of the I-5 bridge over the Columbia, just about the time that 305 passed over the area.
( BruceSmith on Sep 21, 2014, 1:39 AM) Fact: nobody including SA Larry Carr seems to know who or what generated the socalled FBI FP Map which Larry presented via Sluggo in 2009. The origin of that map is a total mystery to me. In any event, we know the FBI was not in the business of generating 'flight path and drop zone maps' back in 1971 and that specifically included the Seattle and Portland offices of the FBI.
The first map called "FBI Search Map" was generated as a joint effort between engineers at NWA and computer techs at Ft. Lewis, Wa., according to SA Tom Manning. This map merely plots zones of probability according to the data available at the time, but proved empty when a massive searches were conducted on this basis. Pilot Wm Scott told officials he thought Cooper had bailed near Woodland, Wa., "about 25 miles north of Portland". Searches there were conducted on that basis.
With the statute of limitations ending in 1976, Ralph Himmelsbach at the Portland Office entered the picture to extend the case; he obtained a John Doe warrant and updated the press on the Cooper case. Himmelsbach now refers to a (new?) computer analysis and says, quote: "We are positive Cooper came down in a 24 square mile area 12 miles north of Portland". (In an independent analysis by Sluggo etal in 2009, Sluggo speculates Cooper may have bailed near Orchard, Wa.)
1980 arrives and the Ingram money is found. Himmelsbach specifically tells agents the money came down the Washougal based on hydrologist and other reports (Palmer etal). Himmelsbach now claims Cooper bailed near the Washougal River, and Rataczak suddenly chimes in saying: ' When Cooper bailed we were east of V23'. The Washougal Theory is thus born!
2009 arrives and SA Larry Carr surfaces with the previously unseen "FBI Map" in hand, but he isn't sure how valid the map is as a correct depiction of the flight path of 305, but if the map is an accurate depiction, when and where on this map did Cooper bail; that discussion is brought to Dropzone. The matter gets debated on Dropzone during 2009 with no firm conclusions during which time noted experts Robert99, Hominid, and Farflung all make significant contributions, the Washougal Theory is rejected, and several variants of the Carr FBI FP Map are suggested based on different people's analyses, and new interviews of ATC and 305 flight crew people who were involved at the time. The rendezvous of T33's with flight 305 below Portland near Lake Oswego is documented by R2, for the first time. Interviews of people who were personally involved with the flight reenactment commence over a period of months and are still ongoing!
I cant post whole newspaper articles here due to size... will have to post the others later ...
