DB Cooper

[FLYJACK 776]

7 hours ago, Kamkisky said:

The stairs thing comes back to expectations to me. Why wouldn't Cooper expect the stairs to fully deploy down? He had just walked up them. It's perfectly reasonable to assume the stairs are completely hydraulic. (Boeing basically cheaped-out on the design)

Sequence of events....Cooper uses the lever (it's a basic lever), the stairs don't go all the way down. He goes...WTF? He messes with the lever and calls the pilots (in some order?). They slow down the plane, level off and increase the flaps. Cooper meanwhile likely figures out the stairs are flapping in the breeze and are not hydraulic. 

How many steps down the stairs would he have to take to figure out his weight will lower the stairs against the airflow? 

Once Cooper has adjusted his expectations, and realized he can still get out by using his weight...everything is good. 

I'm missing the mystery here. Someone tell me what I have wrong. 

Expectations are part of it..

The stairs operated in two modes. gravity drop and hydraulic assist, you need to press the button for hydraulic.

The point is he tried to get the airstairs open immediately after takeoff, but was having trouble so he was delayed. 

The speed of the plane was not the issue.. it had resumed speed by the time Cooper jumped.

[FLYJACK 776]

8 hours ago, olemisscub said:

There is absolutely zero chance they'd have shown up with Canadian dollars during NORJAK if he had just said "I want $200,000 dollars by 5 p.m." I can't imagine Cooper was thinking like that. You're in America essentially committing a bank robbery. 100 times out of 100 the money is going to show up in American dollars. 

The fact that he asked for "negotiable currency" is even weirder than specifying U.S. or American. And that really does seem to be what he said. Flo wrote it in her notes. What kind of weirdo talks like that?

 

 

Flo's notes are from the interphone comms,, Tina was the intermediary on the interphone..

IMO, that was probably Tina conflating the terms,, circulated and negotiable..

because negotiable makes zero sense.

Edited 19 hours ago by FLYJACK

[olemisscub 552]

27 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

Alice's notes are from the interphone comms,, Tina was the intermediary on the interphone..

IMO, that was probably Tina conflating the terms,, circulated and negotiable..

because negotiable makes zero sense.

Alice?

I can’t roll with you on this one. 22 year old Tina Anne Mucklow from Philly is going to turn circulated into negotiable? Man, that’s hard to figure. Also, aside from her being unlikely to brain fart circulated into negotiable, she was sitting next to a guy with a bomb. I imagine she was being quite careful to communicate his demands verbatim. I mean, the guy was sitting right next to her.

IF there is an error in the game of telephone here, it’s more likely that Rat is the culprit than Tina. We do know for a fact that Rat said that over the radio, so the greater likelihood to me is that Flo was writing Rat’s brain fart, not Tina’s. 

I’ll stick with Cooper being weird and saying it for some weird reason. 

[olemisscub 552]

Jeez, aside from Cooper articles, that phrase appears a grand total of ONE time on its own on Newspapers. Some dude in 1927. 

[FLYJACK 776]

1 hour ago, olemisscub said:

Alice?

I can’t roll with you on this one. 22 year old Tina Anne Mucklow from Philly is going to turn circulated into negotiable? Man, that’s hard to figure. Also, aside from her being unlikely to brain fart circulated into negotiable, she was sitting next to a guy with a bomb. I imagine she was being quite careful to communicate his demands verbatim. I mean, the guy was sitting right next to her.

IF there is an error in the game of telephone here, it’s more likely that Rat is the culprit than Tina. We do know for a fact that Rat said that over the radio, so the greater likelihood to me is that Flo was writing Rat’s brain fart, not Tina’s. 

I’ll stick with Cooper being weird and saying it for some weird reason. 

I typed Alice by mistake,,, I corrected it before I saw your post.

Tina was young,, negotiable and circulated can be mixed up,,  but it may have been Rat... more likely Tina being young.

Regardless, it is more likely a product of telephone..  Flo didn't hear it from Cooper and "negotiable" makes no sense.

When things don't make sense there is usually another explanation.

Edited 18 hours ago by FLYJACK

[Kamkisky 16]

7 hours ago, georger said:

Is it just me? What he is doing would bother most people - most scared shitless!  The guy either has guts or experience . . . . ?

Definitely wasn’t his first time in a depressurized plane. Tina was terrified of being sucked out and the crew offered to come tie her up, he knew he wouldn’t be. The whole skyjacking is based on being able to open the flying plane and still be capable of maneuvering around inside in order to jump effectively. So yes to experience, and it is a bank robbery at 10k feet and jumping at night so yes to guts too. 

[Kamkisky 16]

2 hours ago, FLYJACK said:

Gunther is s legit writer,, he contacted the FBI at end of August '82 about Clara he was also contacted by Clara afterward and told Himmelsbach,,

He also told the FBI,,, "chances are it's a hoax" but he has to look into it. So, he was skeptical and that was the foundation of his book.. 

I know he was a legit writer. But who signs in crayon? That’s weird. 

[FLYJACK 776]

15 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

I know he was a legit writer. But who signs in crayon? That’s weird. 

Not a crayon. looks like a coloured pencil.

[Kamkisky 16]

2 hours ago, FLYJACK said:

Expectations are part of it..

The stairs operated in two modes. gravity drop and hydraulic assist, you need to press the button for hydraulic.

The point is he tried to get the airstairs open immediately after takeoff, but was having trouble so he was delayed. 

The speed of the plane was not the issue.. it had resumed speed by the time Cooper jumped.

I don’t agree trying to get the stairs open right after take off means he was delayed in jumping. That’s a jump in logic. 

He has only one way out, securing that pathway is the top priority after take off. That doesn’t mean he wanted to jump instantly. It means he wanted to secure his escape route for when he was ready. Thinking he was ready and wanting to jump five minutes after take off is an assumption.  

I’ve also thought more about your theory on Cooper wanting to go to Mexico. I think he read or was told the max range which is about Mexico City. Cooper is not a 727 expert. He didn’t adjust for fuel consumption flying dirty, he was way off. But…he knew the plane could make it to the middle of Mexico flying normal. If his goal was truly to jump across the border he can just tell them to forget flying in the 15 degree, flaps down configuration and head to Mexico. Basically, there is a clear way to achieve that goal given his knowledge and capacities. He chose not to insist on Mexico. He chose flying dirty over distance. He knew he was going to jump way before Reno. That was his plan. 

Edited 17 hours ago by Kamkisky

[olemisscub 552]

2 hours ago, FLYJACK said:

I typed Alice by mistake,,, I corrected it before I saw your post.

Tina was young,, negotiable and circulated can be mixed up,,  but it may have been Rat... more likely Tina being young.

Regardless, it is more likely a product of telephone..  Flo didn't hear it from Cooper and "negotiable" makes no sense.

When things don't make sense there is usually another explanation.

I would think Cooper saying it would actually benefit your suspect. H was weird as shit. This guy asked for $500’s and $1,000’s. Cooper saying something like “negotiable American currency” works well for him. I’m being serious  

Edited 16 hours ago by olemisscub

[FLYJACK 776]

38 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

I don’t agree trying to get the stairs open right after take off means he was delayed in jumping. That’s a jump in logic. 

He has only one way out, securing that pathway is the top priority after take off. That doesn’t mean he wanted to jump instantly. It means he wanted to secure his escape route for when he was ready. Thinking he was ready and wanting to jump five minutes after take off is an assumption.  

I’ve also thought more about your theory on Cooper wanting to go to Mexico. I think he read or was told the max range which is about Mexico City. Cooper is not a 727 expert. He didn’t adjust for fuel consumption flying dirty, he was way off. But…he knew the plane could make it to the middle of Mexico flying normal. If his goal was truly to jump across the border he can just tell them to forget flying in the 15 degree, flaps down configuration and head to Mexico. Basically, there is a clear way to achieve that goal given his knowledge and capacities. He chose not to insist on Mexico. He chose flying dirty over distance. He knew he was going to jump way before Reno. That was his plan. 

You claimed he jumped when he wanted to... aka, he lowered the stairs when he wanted to jump and targeted a spot.

I presented the facts that challenge that conclusion.

He changed his demand to airstairs open on takeoff. 

He put on the parachute and money right away.

He tried to open the airstairs right away.

He failed to get the stairs open as he expected and was delayed in getting them open.

He had no pre-knowledge of where the plane would be.

This supports the idea that he wanted to jump ASAP...  nothing supports a targeted jump.

 

So, my theory is that he didn't intend for the plane to fly dirty the entire way when he made his initial demand. His demand was conveyed via Tina to the crew, her 302 is a recall paraphrasing.. We don't know exactly what Cooper's initial demand was.

Why,, because it makes no sense for Cooper to make a demand that he knows is impossible and would be rejected.. So, he must have believed the plane could make it to Mexico when he made the demand. He did have aviation and fuelling procedure knowledge,, so it doesn't make sense that he could make such a simple error.

The only way this makes sense is that the crew misunderstood his initial demand,, he meant to fly dirty WHEN the airstairs were lowered inflight presumably on his request. Remember, his initial demand was airstairs lowered inflight. It changed when Reno was in play.

Obviously, I can't prove it but this theory resolves all the conflicts.

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

 

 

[FLYJACK 776]

15 minutes ago, olemisscub said:

I would think Cooper saying it would actually benefit your suspect. H was weird as shit. This guy asked for $500’s and $1,000’s. Cooper saying something like “negotiable American currency” works well for him. I’m being serious  

Don't see it... not for "negotiable"

American or US maybe.. but that fits lots of people who were outside the US recently..

Edited 16 hours ago by FLYJACK

[olemisscub 552]

24 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

.

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

 

 

My key issue with this theory has always been this: if he originally wanted to jump in Mexico, then why not hijack somewhere closer to Mexico? He was literally as far away as he could get from Mexico.

[FLYJACK 776]

2 minutes ago, olemisscub said:

My key issue with this theory has always been this: if he originally wanted to jump in Mexico, then why not hijack somewhere closer to Mexico? He was literally as far away as he could get from Mexico.

BTW,, H asked for unmarked and not new bills..

I will totally speculate here...

Cooper took a flight from the East heading West that he was going to hijack and divert South..

He bailed on that one for some reason.. flight eventually landed in Portland.

He found flight 305 used a 727 and took it.. he never left the airport.

[Kamkisky 16]

1 hour ago, FLYJACK said:

You claimed he jumped when he wanted to... aka, he lowered the stairs when he wanted to jump and targeted a spot.

I presented the facts that challenge that conclusion.

He changed his demand to airstairs open on takeoff. 

He put on the parachute and money right away.

He tried to open the airstairs right away.

He failed to get the stairs open as he expected and was delayed in getting them open.

He had no pre-knowledge of where the plane would be.

This supports the idea that he wanted to jump ASAP...  nothing supports a targeted jump.

 

So, my theory is that he didn't intend for the plane to fly dirty the entire way when he made his initial demand. His demand was conveyed via Tina to the crew, her 302 is a recall paraphrasing.. We don't know exactly what Cooper's initial demand was.

Why,, because it makes no sense for Cooper to make a demand that he knows is impossible and would be rejected.. So, he must have believed the plane could make it to Mexico when he made the demand. He did have aviation and fuelling procedure knowledge,, so it doesn't make sense that he could make such a simple error.

The only way this makes sense is that the crew misunderstood his initial demand,, he meant to fly dirty WHEN the airstairs were lowered inflight presumably on his request. Remember, his initial demand was airstairs lowered inflight. It changed when Reno was in play.

Obviously, I can't prove it but this theory resolves all the conflicts.

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

 

 

You claimed he jumped when he wanted to... aka, he lowered the stairs when he wanted to jump and targeted a spot.

This is not my claim. He opened the stairs to secure his only exit. He then waited for the right time. 

He changed his demand to airstairs open on takeoff. 

The pilots suggested it.

He put on the parachute and money right away.

Five minutes after take off Tina sees him still without the money tied to him in a jumpable way. Cooper was not ready to jump immediately after take off. I take that as an indication he didn’t plan to jump immediately after take off.

He tried to open the airstairs right away.

He failed to get the stairs open as he expected and was delayed in getting them open.

Ok. Delayed. But only in opening. Not in jumping. If I had only one way out of a cave, I’m damn sure making sure I open that path the second I can, regardless of if I’m ready to come out or not. Especially if I know I only have about 30 minutes of air in the cave.

He had no pre-knowledge of where the plane would be.

South. He was very clear. 

This supports the idea that he wanted to jump ASAP...  nothing supports a targeted jump.

He wasn’t ready to jump asap. You again use target jump. He isn’t jumping to a point. He is jumping to a region. To a terrain. Some terrain is better than others, he got it right. He jumped the lights of BG. Jumping lights is what others did too. 
 

Why,, because it makes no sense for Cooper to make a demand that he knows is impossible and would be rejected.. So, he must have believed the plane could make it to Mexico when he made the demand. He did have aviation and fuelling procedure knowledge,, so it doesn't make sense that he could make such a simple error.

He isn’t a 727 expert. He did like Mac, he read up on it and/or picked someone’s brain. The key part is he knew it could make it to Mexico…he chose to allow it to go to Reno. He did not have to make that choose. He told them to pick it up in the air…he could have easily said fly straight to Mexico, I know the plane can make it so no funny stuff.  But..he didn’t.  

Remember, his initial demand was airstairs lowered inflight. It changed when Reno was in play.

No. It changes when the pilots suggested to have the stairs down. 
 

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

Because it’s second hand knowledge. And once he was called out for it he just adjusted to Reno because he doesn’t care that much. Just fly south past Portland. That’s it. It’s all he needs. I’ve given the Central California analogy. From any Bay Area airport I could land in the farmlands. I don’t care what victor they take. Just fly east and it works.  

Edited 15 hours ago by Kamkisky

[FLYJACK 776]

You claimed he jumped when he wanted to... aka, he lowered the stairs when he wanted to jump and targeted a spot.

This is not my claim. He opened the stairs to secure his only exit. He then waited for the right time. 

You claimed he targeted a spot. 

He changed his demand to airstairs open on takeoff. 

The pilots suggested it.

So, he wanted airstairs open on takeoff after Reno was in play that indicates he was jumping sooner than later.. 

He put on the parachute and money right away.

Five minutes after take off Tina sees him still without the money tied to him in a jumpable way. Cooper was not ready to jump immediately after take off. I take that as an indication he didn’t plan to jump immediately after take off.

Less than 5 minutes and yes it does suggest he wanted to jump ASAP and not 25 minutes later.

He tried to open the airstairs right away.

He failed to get the stairs open as he expected and was delayed in getting them open.

Ok. Delayed. But only in opening. Not in jumping. If I had only one way out of a cave, I’m damn sure making sure I open that path the second I can, regardless of if I’m ready to come out or not. Especially if I know I only have about 30 minutes of air in the cave.

You assume he jumped where he had preplanned and reversed engineered a conclusion. There is no evidence for that.

He had no pre-knowledge of where the plane would be.

South. He was very clear. 

For the 100th time,, SOUTH IS NOT A PATH,,, it is 50% of a direction. You just have this wrong

This supports the idea that he wanted to jump ASAP...  nothing supports a targeted jump.

He wasn’t ready to jump asap. You again use target jump. He isn’t jumping to a point. He is jumping to a region. To a terrain. Some terrain is better than others, he got it right. He jumped the lights of BG. Jumping lights is what others did too. 

Yes he was... he couldn't see the terrain until he had the airstairs lowered.. you assume because he landed in a good area that he intended it.. post hoc ergo prompter hoc

Why,, because it makes no sense for Cooper to make a demand that he knows is impossible and would be rejected.. So, he must have believed the plane could make it to Mexico when he made the demand. He did have aviation and fuelling procedure knowledge,, so it doesn't make sense that he could make such a simple error.

He isn’t a 727 expert. He did like Mac, he read up on it and/or picked someone’s brain. The key part is he knew it could make it to Mexico…he chose to allow it to go to Reno. He did not have to make that choose. He told them to pick it up in the air…he could have easily said fly straight to Mexico, I know the plane can make it so no funny stuff.  But..he didn’t.  

You can't compare Cooper to Mac.. Cooper had some aviation knowledge and experience,, you can't know refuelling procedures and not realize flying dirty limits the range... You don't know if he only read up on it,, you are guessing poorly. We don't know why he decided to jump,, he didn't push back on the bailout rigs or the missing knapsack either.

Remember, his initial demand was airstairs lowered inflight. It changed when Reno was in play.

No. It changes when the pilots suggested to have the stairs down. 

It changed after Reno was in play, it isn't clear who initiated it but he wanted it and they had to talk him out of it.
 

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

Because it’s second hand knowledge. And once he was called out for it he just adjusted to Reno because he doesn’t care that much. Just fly south past Portland. That’s it. It’s all he needs. I’ve give the Central California analogy. From any Bay Area airport I could land in the farmlands. I don’t care what victor they take. Just fly east and it works.  

Second hand knowledge??  Where does that come from.. you make too many assumptions.. Your bias is that he targeted his jump, there is no evidence for that but your assumptions are wholly made up to support it. 

[georger 269]

1 hour ago, olemisscub said:

I would think Cooper saying it would actually benefit your suspect. H was weird as shit. This guy asked for $500’s and $1,000’s. Cooper saying something like “negotiable American currency” works well for him. I’m being serious  

Idea: is “negotiable American currency” like "get the show on the road" - a Chicago thing ?

IF THE STEW COPIED EXACTLY WHAT HE SAID . . .

Edited 15 hours ago by georger

[Kamkisky 16]

9 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

You claimed he jumped when he wanted to... aka, he lowered the stairs when he wanted to jump and targeted a spot.

This is not my claim. He opened the stairs to secure his only exit. He then waited for the right time. 

You claimed he targeted a spot. 

He changed his demand to airstairs open on takeoff. 

The pilots suggested it.

So, he wanted airstairs open on takeoff after Reno was in play that indicates he was jumping sooner than later.. 

He put on the parachute and money right away.

Five minutes after take off Tina sees him still without the money tied to him in a jumpable way. Cooper was not ready to jump immediately after take off. I take that as an indication he didn’t plan to jump immediately after take off.

Less than 5 minutes and yes it does suggest he wanted to jump ASAP and not 25 minutes later.

He tried to open the airstairs right away.

He failed to get the stairs open as he expected and was delayed in getting them open.

Ok. Delayed. But only in opening. Not in jumping. If I had only one way out of a cave, I’m damn sure making sure I open that path the second I can, regardless of if I’m ready to come out or not. Especially if I know I only have about 30 minutes of air in the cave.

You assume he jumped where he had preplanned and reversed engineered a conclusion. There is no evidence for that.

He had no pre-knowledge of where the plane would be.

South. He was very clear. 

For the 100th time,, SOUTH IS NOT A PATH,,, it is 50% of a direction. You just have this wrong

This supports the idea that he wanted to jump ASAP...  nothing supports a targeted jump.

He wasn’t ready to jump asap. You again use target jump. He isn’t jumping to a point. He is jumping to a region. To a terrain. Some terrain is better than others, he got it right. He jumped the lights of BG. Jumping lights is what others did too. 

Yes he was... he couldn't see the terrain until he had the airstairs lowered.. you assume because he landed in a good area that he intended it.. post hoc ergo prompter hoc

Why,, because it makes no sense for Cooper to make a demand that he knows is impossible and would be rejected.. So, he must have believed the plane could make it to Mexico when he made the demand. He did have aviation and fuelling procedure knowledge,, so it doesn't make sense that he could make such a simple error.

He isn’t a 727 expert. He did like Mac, he read up on it and/or picked someone’s brain. The key part is he knew it could make it to Mexico…he chose to allow it to go to Reno. He did not have to make that choose. He told them to pick it up in the air…he could have easily said fly straight to Mexico, I know the plane can make it so no funny stuff.  But..he didn’t.  

You can't compare Cooper to Mac.. Cooper had some aviation knowledge and experience,, you can't know refuelling procedures and not realize flying dirty limits the range... You don't know if he only read up on it,, you are guessing poorly. We don't know why he decided to jump,, he didn't push back on the bailout rigs or the missing knapsack either.

Remember, his initial demand was airstairs lowered inflight. It changed when Reno was in play.

No. It changes when the pilots suggested to have the stairs down. 

It changed after Reno was in play, it isn't clear who initiated it but he wanted it and they had to talk him out of it.
 

How does a guy with refuelling knowledge make that range error,, he didn't. They misunderstood his initial demand.

Because it’s second hand knowledge. And once he was called out for it he just adjusted to Reno because he doesn’t care that much. Just fly south past Portland. That’s it. It’s all he needs. I’ve give the Central California analogy. From any Bay Area airport I could land in the farmlands. I don’t care what victor they take. Just fly east and it works.  

Second hand knowledge??  Where does that come from.. you make too many assumptions.. Your bias is that he targeted his jump, there is no evidence for that but your assumptions are wholly made up to support it. 

My assumption is he had a plan to keep it simple and go A to B and back to A. Jump the first metro lights south of darkness. 
 

Your assumption is he bailed on his first plan (east heading west), got on another plane and then changed up his second plan (Seattle to Mexico) when he didn’t have to and then panicked (because he agreed to Reno) and jumped at random. 
 

I think mine makes more sense. We don’t have to agree. 

[FLYJACK 776]

37 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

My assumption is he had a plan to keep it simple and go A to B and back to A. Jump the first metro lights south of darkness. 
 

Your assumption is he bailed on his first plan (east heading west), got on another plane and then changed up his second plan (Seattle to Mexico) when he didn’t have to and then panicked (because he agreed to Reno) and jumped at random. 
 

I think mine makes more sense. We don’t have to agree. 

No that isn't accurate,,,

My theory that he flew into Portland is pure speculation,, and has nothing to do with Cooper jumping early... 

The problem is you are using unfounded assumptions to reject my theory,, not facts.

Show me some facts..

My theory fits well within the evidence and rationalizes some inconstancies yours is mostly assumptions. Bad ones.

 

Cooper knew about aviation refuelling second hand,,, C'mon..

 

Edited 14 hours ago by FLYJACK

[Kamkisky 16]

9 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

 

My theory that he flew into Portland is pure speculation,, and has nothing to do with Cooper jumping early... 

 

 

 

It has everything to do with jumping early. In your speculation he changes plans several times. That ultimately determines where and when he jumped. They are completely interdependent. 

I’m rejecting your theory based on Occam's Razor. My explanation is simpler and totally viable. 

[FLYJACK 776]

3 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

It has everything to do with jumping early. In your speculation he changes plans several times. That ultimately determines where and when he jumped. They are completely interdependent. 

I’m rejecting your theory based on Occam's Razor. My explanation is simpler and totally viable. 

No, it has no impact whatsoever.. you are creating a straw-man.. very dishonest

Your explanation requires you to make up unbelievable stuff with zero evidence to support it.

Tell you what, you stick to your theory... they are a dime a a dozen in this case.

but if anybody has actual evidence to dispute my theory, let me know.

[Kamkisky 16]

26 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

No, it has no impact whatsoever.. you are creating a straw-man.. very dishonest

Your explanation requires you to make up unbelievable stuff with zero evidence to support it.

Tell you what, you stick to your theory... they are a dime a a dozen in this case.

but if anybody has actual evidence to dispute my theory, let me know.

He went A to B and back to A. 

He only agreed to southerly destinations  

He jumped at the first metro lights after the darkness. 

 

I’ve made up nothing.  

[FLYJACK 776]

10 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

He went A to B and back to A. 

He only agreed to southerly destinations  

He jumped at the first metro lights after the darkness. 

 

I’ve made up nothing.  

He did not go back to PDX,,

He agreed to south which is 50% of a direction, SOUTH IS NOT A PATH

His jump might have nothing to do with any lights. He couldn't see them, if he even did, until he went down the stairs. If he did see the lights you don't know that he knew that they were BG..

 

 

Edited 13 hours ago by FLYJACK

[Kamkisky 16]

12 minutes ago, FLYJACK said:

He did not go back to PDX,,

He agreed to south which is 50% of a direction, SOUTH IS NOT A PATH

His jump might have nothing to do with any lights. He couldn't see them, if he even did, until he went down the stairs. If he did see the lights you don't know that he knew that they were BG..

 

 

He didn’t jump at PDX, I think you get the point though.

What constitutes a “path?”

To me south is a clear direction. He didn’t need to specify more just like I wouldn’t need to in the Central California analogy. Just east is good enough. Whatever victor you like. I’m landing in the terrain I intended. Same for Cooper and south. 
 

The pilots could see the lights. So could Cooper. And any lights after darkness means it’s go time. 
 

[FLYJACK 776]

15 minutes ago, Kamkisky said:

He didn’t jump at PDX, I think you get the point though.

What constitutes a “path?”

To me south is a clear direction. He didn’t need to specify more just like I wouldn’t need to in the Central California analogy. Just east is good enough. Whatever victor you like. I’m landing in the terrain I intended. Same for Cooper and south. 
 

The pilots could see the lights. So could Cooper. And any lights after darkness means it’s go time. 
 

He could have jumped in the Willamette Valley too,, very flat... arguably better,, if you know the area.

South is not a path... you have to get this out of your head. It is the single most absurd claim you have made.

Pilots saw the glow,, that doesn't mean Cooper did,, perhaps from the bottom of the stairs but that doesn't mean he did or he used it or knew where he was.  

It was a typical NW fall evening,, showers and broken clouds, we don't know what Cooper could see when he went to the bottom of the stairs... He has no expectation of knowing where he was or what he could see,,

and why plan to jump in that weather... south is so much better.