DB Cooper

[1969912 0]

Quote

Bottom line for me is I will not continue
here as it has been.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass......

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[377 22]

Georger,

I understand your frustration with Jo but I dont favor excluding her. We appear as wrongheaded to her as she does to us. It's a big playground here and I think there is room for Jo in it.

This is a skydiving forum so it should have some DZ atmosphere and culture to it. Most DZs are inclusive and tolerant. It isn't uncommon to see right wing law and order types doing RW with freaks having more hardware piercing their body than is attached to their rigs. DZ's have their cliques and in-crowds, but people aren't normally banned unless they endanger others.

Pushy evangelists used to bother me, especially the ones who come to your door, but I have adopted a more tolerant and benevolent attitude in my old age. They REALLY think that converting me will save my soul and spare me eternal damnation in hell. In their minds, they are doing good. They have no bad intentions. They don't mean to harrass. They are just spreading the good news about Jesus. There is actually something sweet and altrusitic in what they do, even if it annoys me. I no longer am abrupt with them or rude.

Jo REALLY believes Duane was Cooper and thinks we are too biased against her to see the evidence in its own light. Her teases annoy me and her unshakable obsession is frustrating, but she isn't an evil person and has no malicious goals here. From time to time she does come up with useful info. She isnt wrong about everything. As I recall she was the first to insist that 727s dropped jumpers in SE Asia. I was 100% sure she was wrong, but her claim turned out to be true. Were it not for her I wouldnt have unearthed that Air America historian in TX who led to Snows discovery of that very surprising and informative film of the 727 paradrops.

Take a deep breath. You can ignore Jo. You don't need to exclude her or leave if she stays. You can pick and choose which, if any, of her posts you respond to.

So hang in there, try not to let Jo get on your nerves. You are a valued contributor. I will try hard to keep you here because you add so much to my enjoyment of the forum. I know you won't like this, but Jo does too.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[skyjack71 0]

Quote

Georger,

Jo REALLY believes Duane was Cooper and thinks we are too biased against her to see the evidence in its own light. Her teases annoy me and her unshakable obsession is frustrating, but she isn't an evil person and has no malicious goals here. From time to time she does come up with useful info. She isnt wrong about everything. As I recall she was the first to insist that 727s dropped jumpers in SE Asia. I was 100% sure she was wrong, but her claim turned out to be true. Were it not for her I wouldnt have unearthed that Air America historian in TX who led to Snows discovery of that very surprising and informative film of the 727 paradrops.

377

Thank You - I do hope everyone viewed the picture I posted of Tina and the picture in my possession. Not the picture of Tina with make-up and plucked eyebrows, but the one that I am again attaching below.

You guys have at it - I have other things going on far more important. NONE of you have known what was going on in the background and why I hesitated and waited - I had my reasons and not for my own good but to protect other people. NOW the FAT LADY WILL SING - besure to wear earplugs.

Coming in late March.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[happythoughts 0]

Quote

Her teases annoy me and her unshakable obsession is frustrating, but she isn't an evil person and has no malicious goals here. From time to time she does come up with useful info.

The "teases" are annoying. Yes. They are
valueless and there is no point to doing it, except
to annoy, and that is malicious in a small way.

If there is any information, it should be presented.
The "games" have repeatedly been shown to be
a waste of time.

We are way past the point where the signal-to-noise
ratio would validate the idea of putting up with the games.

Instead of encouraging anyone to put up with the games, in their many flavors, I would be in favor of their end. That won't happen.

For myself, I didn't participate in the last few time-wasters. It is as easy as that. That is my suggestion. People choose to respond or not.

I wouldn't want any contributors to leave the forum,
merely avoid the pointless part.

[georger 264]

Quote

Quote

Bottom line for me is I will not continue
here as it has been.

Don't let the door hit you in the ass......

Then get out of the way so the door will open,
Einstein!

[georger 264]

Quote

Quote

Her teases annoy me and her unshakable obsession is frustrating, but she isn't an evil person and has no malicious goals here. From time to time she does come up with useful info.

The "teases" are annoying. Yes. They are
valueless and there is no point to doing it, except
to annoy, and that is malicious in a small way.

If there is any information, it should be presented.
The "games" have repeatedly been shown to be
a waste of time.

We are way past the point where the signal-to-noise
ratio would validate the idea of putting up with the games.

Instead of encouraging anyone to put up with the games, in their many flavors, I would be in favor of their end. That won't happen.

For myself, I didn't participate in the last few time-wasters. It is as easy as that. That is my suggestion. People choose to respond or not.

I wouldn't want any contributors to leave the forum,
merely avoid the pointless part.

"When an 89 year old English orthopedic surgeon died last year his heirs were in for just such a surprise. In his garage sat a dusty old vintage car that had been there since he parked it over 45 years ago. Though his family did not know about his
rare car, his close friends and many collectors were aware of his prized possession and he would often get letters and calls asking him to sell the car. The car in question is one of just 17 Bugatti Type 57 Atlantics ever built.

Experts think it will sell for 4.3 million dollars when it is offered for sale at Bonhams auction in February, but I think that with the high numbers we've been seeing in auctions lately that it will certainly top 5 million dollars."

http://www.examiner.com/x-547-Sports-Car-Examiner~y2009m1d5-Rare-Bugatti-
Found-in-Garage-by-Drivin-Ivan

[georger 264]

Quote

Quote

Georger,

Jo REALLY believes Duane was Cooper and thinks we are too biased against her to see the evidence in its own light. Her teases annoy me and her unshakable obsession is frustrating, but she isn't an evil person and has no malicious goals here. From time to time she does come up with useful info. She isnt wrong about everything. As I recall she was the first to insist that 727s dropped jumpers in SE Asia. I was 100% sure she was wrong, but her claim turned out to be true. Were it not for her I wouldnt have unearthed that Air America historian in TX who led to Snows discovery of that very surprising and informative film of the 727 paradrops.

377

Thank You - I do hope everyone viewed the picture I posted of Tina and the picture in my possession. Not the picture of Tina with make-up and plucked eyebrows, but the one that I am again attaching below.

You guys have at it - I have other things going on far more important. NONE of you have known what was going on in the background and why I hesitated and waited - I had my reasons and not for my own good but to protect other people. NOW the FAT LADY WILL SING - besure to wear earplugs.

Coming in late March.

Have you talked all of this over with Tina?
Is Tina aware of what you are doing?

Georger

[snowmman 3]

Jo, serious question.
If Duane had a daughter, and you found a picture of a little girl, why wasn't your first guess that it's a picture of said girl?

Do you have other information?

I mean, most other people would have went that way. Why did you go the "Tina way"?

The photo paper/processing might be dateable. If it was Tina, it would have to have been taken around when? (fill in your estimate). I'm guessing 1955 or so?

If it was the mysterious Zona, it would have been taken earlier?

Why don't you introduce discussion along those lines. Surely you've thought about those issues? if you've been looking at this for 13 years. Spill out your numbers, facts.

(edit) To be blunt, I'm suggesting you actually don't look for facts when you could..i.e. you have something in your hand that could be easily analyzed.

(edit) jo mysteriously said:
"NONE of you have known what was going on in the background"

well I did a deal today where the guy said "cash only. Bring hundreds". I did. Gold was in the background when we made the deal. Really. The offshore account was never mentioned. This is all true.

[Orange1 0]

Snow - it doesn't matter who is in the picture. The chances of having it anything to do with the hijack are close to zero. If Jo can't even have the courtesy to tell the forum who she thinks it is or how it might connect Duane to the plane, why bother?

But on the subject of Tina, I really would be interested to know if Jo's VOW to keep everything secret should Tina talk to her still stand. I suspect not from what she has posted here. Now, I know people break vows all the time, but still... those who would choose to question the integrity of others should be more careful about their own.

fwiw there is a spoof website out there that postulates Tina was in on the hijack (and that that wasn't her real name etc etc). If anyone is interested in wasting more time i can post the link.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[georger 264]

Quote

Jo, serious question.
If Duane had a daughter, and you found a picture of a little girl, why wasn't your first guess that it's a picture of said girl?

Do you have other information?

I mean, most other people would have went that way. Why did you go the "Tina way"?

The photo paper/processing might be dateable. If it was Tina, it would have to have been taken around when? (fill in your estimate). I'm guessing 1955 or so?

Reply: Why mince words? The paper/processing can
be dated. There are enough usable pixels in the
electronic image to restore it to some degree. You know this -

My guess is this all about games. Jo seldom does anything without a reason. And reading Jo's words,
I cannot see she has stated the photo is Tina or anyone. But Jo would allow us to talk about it, after Sluggo planted the idea, and Jo would engage in discussion about this photo without revealing anything more. That has come to be Jo's style.

Jo could have a million reasons for doing what
she does, some of these innocent. No one may ever know especially if Jo does not wish anyone to know.

The photo has acted like a Rorsach Test and the
only thing Jo posted with the photo were her admonitions to Ckret to go talk to Tina Mucklow.

But, if this reaches Tina or Schafner and they get
upset Jo will deny everything and blame it on -
GEORGER!

Except it was Jo who posted the photo and her words
were addressed to : " CKRET: Does this put him on
the plane? Rather than to continue to speculate - why doesn't Ckret just contact Tina and ask if that is a photo of her and ask her about the "RECIPE FOR
LIFE". Remember she spent a lot of time on that
plane with Cooper".

So, Jo does make the asociation with Tina by her
own words, but it is an indirect association.

If this is a childhood photo of Tina, how did Jo
Weber get it?

So Jo is addressing Ckret, not us. Jo is also
addressing Tina Mucklow, indirectly. Maybe we as a
group were supposed to stay silent! This is between
Jo and Ckret and Tina, using this forum. Does Tina
know Jo has launched this 'whatever it is' !!

Jo has her blog. It is here. All good citizens are
directed to come here and read Jo's wisdom and
information, as from Delphi.

And #1969.234598.B is guarding the gate!

Jo is a Homeric Poem, and like Walter Chronkite,
SHE WAS THERE!! I guess that is what Jo Weber is
saying.

• Quote

[snowmman 3]

Quote

fwiw there is a spoof website out there that postulates Tina was in on the hijack (and that that wasn't her real name etc etc). If anyone is interested in wasting more time i can post the link.

that's weird, cause I had read something like that just recently..is this the one you're talking about?
Complicated plotline.

calls Tina, Amanda. Here in 2005
http://nypintafanfic.blogspot.com/2005/04/another-view-of-db-cooper-story.html

"Conrad Poe" is a time traveller in the story? I think? Interesting for 377 and Gossett.

Also interesting because we've mentioned Conrad before, and Edgar Allan Poe can be related thematically? Poe: The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym? (truth/meaning)

Orange1: Did you find the Amanda story thru Google blog search? I'm curious how you ran in to it around when I did..I always figure we respond to the same ebbs and flows of thought here. ...Hey I read a synopsis of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, because of your mention. It sounds very good. I have to read it.
..who was the narrator? Cooper? :)

And yes, I agree that Jo accuses everyone else of lying, but she's perfectly comfortable lying when it suits her purposes. She's even said so. We can all be a little self-centered, but Jo is to an extreme. A cautionary tale, for me.


from the end of the fiction story:

She studies his face for a moment then says, “So, you have been looking for him for over a century? Why?”
“He killed two men.”
“Oh,” was all she says. They stand in silence as the last of her bags are packed away.
Just as she is about to get into the cab, he says absently, “You didn’t think it was for the gold did you?”
She stops short and turns, “Gold? What gold?”
“Nah,” he says, then looks away and shrugs, “I don’t really think there is any.”
“But?”
“Conrad insisted he had some buried somewhere around Santa Clara Valley. Near Newhall.”
“Really?” Amanda asks trying to sound disinterested.
“Yes. He said the money from the plane was to fund another expedition. It’s too bad really. All that supposed gold just waiting to be found.”
“Yeah. Too bad,” she says absently.
He smiles at her as he can see her mind working, and then says brightly, “It was a pleasure to finally meet you Amanda. Take care of yourself.”
“Yes,” she says, flashing her best smile, but obviously still distracted, “ you too.”

[Orange1 0]

Yes, that's the one. Via searching under Tina's name. Not sure what I was expecting to find!

Heart of Darkness is the novel on which "Apocalypse Now" is based, albeit obviously set in Vietnam rather than Congo. And so we are back to 'Nam

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Orange1 0]

Actually, I got distracted quite early on in that search. Apart from the Conrad Poe story and Jo's vow (woudn't a vow made to a nun mean something?) I also came across this:

Quote

Rhodes specifically details how he contacted Tina Mucklow in a convent, where she had withdrawn from the world after the Cooper flight as Sister Mary Alice. She said she remembered nothing from that night and from the course of the conversation Rhodes decided it was pointless to continue, or to send her pictures of McCoy.

Also on that other favourite subject:

Quote

The mother-in-law and sister-in-law immediately identified the tie and tie clasp. The wife would not testify against McCoy.

Source for these quotes (obviously from someone who thinks it was McCoy):
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=146269&page=8

Tina "remembering nothing" is consistent with the kind of traumatic experience that would make one blank something out. Evidently traumatic enough to send her to a convent.

There is a lot more, I haven't trawled through it all. I have looked at this forum a long time ago and it may be the one where someone else suggested Mayfield was Cooper and was in cahoots with Himmelsbach (IIRC, that he had something on H that kind of forced him to provide Mayfield with an alibi). We had Brenda (what was her username??) on the old thread arguing for Mayfield, but she got pushed out eventually. In fact if I think of some of the interesting people we had there - georger is right, not nec that we should ban Jo, but that the rest of us should do our best not to let her push out people who have other suspects and are prepared to argue their cases (occasionally with potential actual evidence).

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Orange1 0]

http://www.standard.net/live/news/138977/

Any update on when Cook's book is out?

Note Carr also told them "It would be difficult for the FBI's crime lab in Quantico, Va., to get around to testing the hair sample because it is occupied with numerous high-priority cases, he said." (Wide ranging conspiracy indeed that shuts out every possible suspect ). The article does mention that Carr does not believe Gossett was Cooper.

On the confession:
""I thought it probably was true. I always knew him to be truthful.""
(Makes a nice change from trying to analyse someone with a history of lying, cheating, stealing, aliases etc.)

I'm still intrigued to see what the "evidence" that Cook offers up is, even though Carr and most/all here have already dismissed Gossett.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Orange1 0]

Just a reminder, from the above link, on the circumstantial evidence for Gosset:

Greg Gossett said that, in 1988, when he turned 21, his dad gave him a birthday surprise.

William Gossett took out the FBI sketch of Cooper from a filing cabinet and asked his son who the man in the picture resembled. Then he dropped a bombshell.

" 'I just want you to know, in 1971, that I hijacked a plane,' "Greg Gossett said, recalling what his father told him.

Stunned, Greg Gossett managed to ask his father what he did with the ransom money.

It was then that William Gossett pulled out two keys that he said were for a safety deposit box at a bank in Vancouver, British Columbia, where the money was stored.

"He said that I could never tell anybody until after he died," Greg Gossett said.

Kirk Gossett, another son of William Gossett, who lives in Gilbert, Ariz., said his father also told him numerous times he was responsible for the Cooper hijacking.

"He had the type of temperament to do something like this," Kirk Gossett said in a phone interview.

Kirk Gossett recalled that, in 1973, his dad took him to Vancouver and left him alone in a hotel for several hours, which would have given his father ample time to deposit or withdraw ransom money from the safety deposit box.

After Greg Gossett learned of his dad's secret, he scarcely thought about it. But that all changed on the night of Nov. 24, 2007, the 36th anniversary of the hijacking.

Greg Gossett was listening to Coast to Coast, a late-night nationally syndicated radio talk show that typically deals with topics involving the paranormal and conspiracy theories.

Cook, the show's guest, was discussing the Cooper case. It was then that Greg Gossett remembered his dad's confession and odd behavior over the years.

For one thing, William Gossett was obsessed with Boeing 727s, the type of jet Cooper hijacked.

Greg Gossett said that, when he was a kid, his dad frequently took him to airports, where he would point out 727s because they were the only passenger aircraft with a stairway that lowered in the back.

Also, around Christmas 1971, about a month after the hijacking, William Gossett was flush with cash, which was unusual because he was nearly always broke.

"He was proud as a Cheshire cat," Greg Gossett said, describing his dad's newfound wealth.

A few days after the Coast to Coast broadcast, Greg Gossett contacted Cook to tell him about his father's claim of being Cooper.

Cook was skeptical until Greg Gossett e-mailed him a military photo of his dad taken in 1971.

"It shocked me," Cook said. "I found the resemblance (between William Gossett and Cooper) dead on."

Indeed, the photo and FBI sketch are eerily similar. Both William Gossett and Cooper have the same deep-set eyes, pronounced forehead, thin lips and widow's peak.

Cook has sent the photo of William Gossett to a pair of flight attendants who were aboard the hijacked jet. He hopes Tina Mucklow Larson, who reportedly lives in Pennsylvania, and Florence Schaffner Wheeler, who resides in South Carolina, can make a positive identification.

Larson and Schaffner have not responded to the request, Cook said. The Standard-Examiner could not reach them for comment.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Orange1 0]

I was watching a History channel show on LSD last night, and they were talking about the CIA experiments with it (you might recall the stuff got declassified a couple of years ago). Sounds like the CIA were messing around merrily, almost guaranteeing bad trips, and some people appear to have been pushed over the edge into pyschosis.

Other than the CIA link I admit it is very tenuous...but just to put it out there.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[Orange1 0]

The problem with trying to find anything on that, especially linked to Vietnam, just throws page after page of conspiracy theories, most of which I find hard to take seriously.

There's this, but it doesn't have an awful lot of info.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1566883

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[georger 264]

Quote

The problem with trying to find anything on that, especially linked to Vietnam, just throws page after page of conspiracy theories, most of which I find hard to take seriously.

There's this, but it doesn't have an awful lot of info.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1566883

The problem with all of the wannabe candidates
is they fit within the parameters of Random
probability. He looks like - he suddenly was rich -
I have a ticket from - Dad said - Grandma said -
I had a vision - dadwas in vietnm and a paratrooper
etc etc etc etc etc. Today even possessing a Cooper $20 bill is not automatic admission. 37 years has
raised the bar for both candidates and investigators.
That is what Jo Weber never saw coming and can
do nothing about; sleuths and fiction writers also.

Very likely the FBI has a set of criteria all wouldbe
candidates must pass through before they will even
be considered.

Cooper candidates must pass through the door of
low probability and pass through specifically, like
a camel through the eye of a needle. Not through
the wider doors of high random probability based
on anecdotes given on the Art Bell Show etc.

After so many years high profile criminals are
caught mainly by accident. After 37 years the word
'accident' begins to border on impossible unless
something tangible surfaces. By the same token,
speculative scenarios begin to widen to the point
of total uselessness! We already have examples
of that including "Cooper Was a Werewolf" and
"My Lady Friend was DB Cooper".

. . .

[Orange1 0]

Quote

By the same token,
speculative scenarios begin to widen to the point
of total uselessness!

Not necessarily. That Cooper knew of or was even involved with the 727 airdrop tests is probably "good" speculation (at least by consensus of those who have commented here) and should serve to narrow rather than widen the scope.
There is clearly some area however where the scope must be widened vs the original investigation...or cooper would have been found already?

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[georger 264]

Quote

Quote

By the same token,
speculative scenarios begin to widen to the point
of total uselessness!

Not necessarily. That Cooper knew of or was even involved with the 727 airdrop tests is probably "good" speculation (at least by consensus of those who have commented here) and should serve to narrow rather than widen the scope.
There is clearly some area however where the scope must be widened vs the original investigation...or cooper would have been found already?

Yes necessarily. The devil is Time. Time = Probability.
The greater the time the wider the sample within which
some match will occur, inevitably.

What does: 'That Cooper knew of or was even involved with the 727 airdrop tests is probably "good" speculation' mean? Nobody has any facts which incline
one to believe such connections, and in fact th FBI
believes just the reverse, that Cooper was a novice.

In addition. if the age estimate is correct then Vietnam
is not a highly probability window. WWII would be the
appropriate window of experience, if the FBI is wrong.

The far better route is dna and mdna and reconstructive dna. Depending on the partials the
FBI has, as time passes better reconstructive dna
will come along, if anyone is still interested. and
then at least the population is limited. I mean for
all we know this man has a recessive gene or two
which could further narrow the population. Thatbeats
the hell out of looking all all WWII or Vietnam
paratroopers on the hope one will spring forth as a
high maybe. You would get that high maybe on
Random Selection alone! In fact you would get that
N! times and more. (Thats N factoral)

Time is your enemy in this. Chances are he will be dead by the time anything were to turn up, if he
wasn't already dead on the evening of 11-24-71.

But, the power of Random certainty is very real
in matters of this kind. Why has almost every human on Earth had a very real random esp experience.
Random certainty. And it gets very much more specific
from there. (Read "Innumeracy".)

There is a high rate of certainty that the money at
Tina Bar is related in some way to Cooper's fate,
if we could only read the tea leaves. Similarly the
305 Placard to the flight path and winds etc. Jo's
photo being Tina: P=100 or 0 and no other options.

Labyrs spoke of outlines. What he was saying, I think,
was 'keep track of the probabilities'. And maybe he
was saying more? I dont know. Maybe focus on people
who jumped with rounds only? Only Cooper had no
idea what types of chutes he was getting and he did
not specify. So maybe he was an all-around expert
or a novice, maybe a first-timer.

I have a feeling he jumped where he felt comfortable
jumping and I think I know the reason. It's one of
two things and no accident, I think.

I see it as a very low probability he hit the Columbia
but again maybe he was having a very unlucky day!
Random certainty was working against Cooper also,
just like it works in all affairs, daily.

G.

[Sluggo_Monster 0]

All,

Here’s why I get so frustrated with attempting to make sense of the posts here:

Orange1 has made some significant contributions lately with some excellent research, but from this post, one would form an opinion about Gossett, his sons, and their involvement in the Cooper issue. However, there is absolutely NO MENTION of Steven Gossett (the other (older, I believe) son) who thinks Kirk and Greg are kooks. He’s their brother, if he doesn’t know… who does?


Sluggo_Monster (Stopping nuclear proliferation through “Conduct of Operations Improvement”)

Web Page
Blog
NORJAK Forum

[georger 264]

Quote

All,

Here’s why I get so frustrated with attempting to make sense of the posts here:

Orange1 has made some significant contributions lately with some excellent research, but from this post, one would form an opinion about Gossett, his sons, and their involvement in the Cooper issue. However, there is absolutely NO MENTION of Steven Gossett (the other (older, I believe) son) who thinks Kirk and Greg are kooks. He’s their brother, if he doesn’t know… who does?

Reply> and what is the probability that kooks will
appear on a kook's show - about the same probability
that cats will derive from........................... cats.

The other cat, Larry King, wouldnt have them!

Rush Limbau: "only if they are running for office".

Gretta: "only if you are killed by wild Iranians and
dumped in the Anthony's front yard".

Nancy Grace: "......... well let me think about it".

Geraldo: "sure, in 2013 when Im back from Mars!".

G.




Sluggo_Monster (Stopping nuclear proliferation through “Conduct of Operations Improvement”)

[Orange1 0]

Quote

All,

Here’s why I get so frustrated with attempting to make sense of the posts here:

Orange1 has made some significant contributions lately with some excellent research, but from this post, one would form an opinion about Gossett, his sons, and their involvement in the Cooper issue. However, there is absolutely NO MENTION of Steven Gossett (the other (older, I believe) son) who thinks Kirk and Greg are kooks. He’s their brother, if he doesn’t know… who does?


Sluggo_Monster (Stopping nuclear proliferation through “Conduct of Operations Improvement”)

Fair enough Sluggo - I have done no research on Gossett (that link popped up while I was doing a search for something else). Maybe I missed it on here, or maybe I just forgot, but I don't recall it being mentioned about Steven Gossett. Whether or not he thinks the others are kooks doesn't really sway me to be honest - families have strange dynamics. BUT no matter - what is enough to make me sceptical is another claim of a confession that was "forgotten" or brushed off etc etc until suddenly someone "saw the light", in all these instances the people themselves seem to provide contradictory evidence about when they first (supposedly) "realized" what they were looking at.

I haven't seen any convincing suspects at all yet to be honest. The one i "liked" best was Christiansen but Ckret just said...nay. I'm trying to remember why I dismissed Mayfield (long ago...)

Georger, don't do a Jo on us please. You say you have reason to believe Cooper jumped where he felt comfortable doing so - why?

I do however like your assertion that DNA testing will progress. I think people forget that newer technology is continuously being developed. So you're right, of course, and that alone will probably be able to at least "properly" eliminate suspects (Ckret mentioned 4 have already been eliminated using DNA testing). Science will probably get around the contamination issue, for those who think it is an issue (it's elimination, not planting after all). Of course should we all still be around to see it, those who do not want to accept it will continue to crank up the "conspiracy" stories while the rest will continue to roll our eyes. And so it goes.

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[SchlitznGrins 0]

Interesting article from the Daily News in Los Angeles dated November 24, 1996.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/D.B+COOPER'S+LEAP+INTO+INFAMY+:+DARING+HIJACKER+ESCAPED+BY+JUMPING...-a084004103

It also covers the CIA airdrops in Southeast Asia:
Back in the early '70s, it was not well known that a 727's rear door could be opened in flight. But the CIA had been doing it for years in Southeast Asia, dropping agents into enemy territory from the back end of an unmarked Boeing 727. For a while, the FBI thought Cooper was ex-military and might have moonlighted for the CIA. It's something they looked into.

Keep up the good work guys (and orange!)

[Orange1 0]

interesting name
That newspaper article has been referenced here before, first posted by Snow IIRC. It was an eye-opener to the fact that actually anyone doing a decent archive search would have known about the 727 airdrops for the past 12 or 13 years when we spent a while debating their existence!

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.