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 is the source of your claim that the wind was blowing in any direction other than from the southwest to the northeast at the time of the hijacking?
Tom Kaye has researched and posted on this site the predicted winds aloft for the Portland to Seattle area that the FAA used for flight planning purposes on the evening of the hijacking. Those winds were from the southwest to the northeast at 10,000 feet.
Also, Tom Kaye has obtained and posted the NOAA balloon data for the winds aloft at two different locations in Oregon and Washington, and two different times of the day, for the day of the hijacking. The winds at 10,000 feet were consistently from the southwest to the northeast.
The claim by Captain Bohan that he had an 80-knot headwind from the southeast in the Portland area that evening is nonsense. No such wind existed.
The winds aloft on the evening of the hijacking are known, accurate, and readily available. Any claims to the contrary are made by people who are just ignoring the facts because they do not fit into their pet theory.
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