FLYJACK

Maybe, this is just one minor piece that fits a hypothesis.. .. if he was about to jump he would be concerned about the weather.. if everyone else was concerned why the need to hide it. Unconcerned, he now stuck out. It is also possible Williams misread the situation. "WILLIAMS stated he has a habit of noticing individuals dressed in black and this was the reason he remembers the above described individual. The man described above had a “blah” attitude and was quite unaffected by the inclement weather conditions prevailing at the time, which noticeably bothered the rest of the passengers." and remember Cooper's initial demand was airstairs to be lowered after takeoff.

Lots to unwind there,, some not accurate. but he jumped at night over the jungle with slight injuries.

That was a typo.. was NOT concerned with the weather.. I corrected it.. the gate agent said he was the only passenger waiting that was not concerned with the bad weather.. If you were planning to jump in the PNW you would be concerned..

When Reno was in play he decided to jump ASAP.. being on the plane when it landed was risky, he had the money and the opportunity to get out. Jumping closer to take-off would give him more time.

Heading South as a ruse is the prevailing thought, but I can't accept that Cooper gave a demand he knew would be rejected by the pilots as impossible. He had aviation knowledge.. It is like carjacking a taxi in NY and demanding to be taken to Miami nonstop.. His demand only makes sense if Cooper believed the range could make Mexico. So, he believed it could and expected the plane to go to Mexico but either he made an error with the range or his demands were miscommunicated by the crew, maybe he wanted the dirty configuration when stairs were deployed but his plan changed for Reno and he wanted stairs open ASAP. Another big piece is that he rejected landing and refuelling in large US airports, he wanted a smaller one.. if he was going to jump in the PNW at that point, why would it matter to him. IMO, he rejected those large airports because he was still thinking he would be on the plane when it landed to refuel, but he changed his mind when Reno was in play and bailed early. Plus, he was not dressed for PNW jump and hike out in that weather.. which he was (Edit) not concerned with according to the gate agent. If he lands in that weather and terrain he will be wet and dirty.. now he has to walk out. He would look obvious and need clothes.. We can't prove this but there is inferential evidence.

Others disagree but IMO, based on his demands and his rejection of large airports during the Reno negotiations he wanted to jump south of the US border.. he changed his plan and jumped early due to Reno. When he demanded no stops in the US and can refuel in Mexico, he believed the plane could make it to Mexico. Either he miscalculated the range flying dirty or Stew /crew misunderstood his demand, maybe they weren't to fly dirty the entire way but instead when the stairs were lowered.. because of the change to Reno the stairs were lowered sooner.

Yes, it seems that way..

The problem with that is you are using Jo Weber's interpretation of that doc as fact. Her claims are entirely unreliable.

In 1997, Jo told the the FBI that Duane used the alias "John Collins".. don't know if that was ever confirmed by the FBI. Which came first, the clerks claim or Jo's claim..

"canvassing hotel-motels, vicinity of airport" Investigation in Portland territory negative.

The Bing sketch hadn't been made yet,, there was that very first sketch that may have been made by then. IMO, it is entirely BS or extremely embellished.. The FBI was canvassing hotels.. maybe that part is legit and in the late 90's the clerk saw the Duane narrative contacted Jo and greatly embellished the incident. This was the first sketch..

I found some info related to that doc.. Apparently, in the late 90's Jo was getting publicity for her Duane narrative and was contacted by somebody claiming to be the clerk who worked at the Rodeway Inn.. The guy even claimed he was shown a pic of Duane and identified him as the guy he saw.. Jo even credited that incident with the FBI DNA testing Duane. If the doc was produced close to the hijacking that lends some cred but if it was created in the late 90's then is either a hoax or embellished.. but it looks like Jo didn't create it..

Since the FBI may read this forum.. Can you put hotel/motel info in the next Cooper vault doc.. and info for the slide with the hair and any details on the chute packing cards Thanks

I disagree with the context.. it could be referring to the previous night before the hijacking.. It doesn't make sense for it to be the 24th,, Cooper was busy in the early evening and would have received the late wake up call the same day as the FBI was there. The FBI wouldn't have any interest. The point is that Cooper stayed close to the airport before he hijacked the plane, not that he landed at the motel and decided to stay next to the airport, that is crazy. but if Jo Weber was part of it,, it is probably BS.. I'd still like to confirm the source.

I don't read it that way.. Thanksgiving day was when the FBI arrived.. He could have checked in the day before the hijacking and if he asked for a late wakeup call that may have been the 24th.. It could be unrelated and the wording is vague but why would the FBI take the registration card.. if it was Wednesday early evening, it wasn't Cooper..

Reynolds was in Troutdale Or,, The Alcoa plant was near Lake Vancouver on the Washington side of the Columbia.. maybe 16 miles apart..

I saw this letter in the HBO doc,, does anybody remember it or have a source, is it legit, date? I did a word search in the FBI docs but no hit,, it may be an image somewhere.. I was able to read some of the blacked out text.. The hotel is the Rodeway Inn.. and the name was John Collins… Jo Weber claimed Duane used John C Collins,, but I couldn’t confirm that he actually did. Duane was not Cooper but Jo had access to documents and may have made up the John Collins name for Duane to fit this doc,, that was her MO.. Anyway, this may be the only "potential" reference to anybody being Cooper prior to the hijacking. The FBI took the registration card he touched but nothing was ever noted in the FBI files. It might not be Cooper but it is interesting. Rodeway Inn is still there.

Yup, Tina did corroborate Cooper's statement in the HBO doc,, he said he won't be taken alive.. Dynamite does come in red,, but imagine the psychology of pulling off a hijacking with a fake bomb, if people don't believe it, he is done.. a sky marshal or a couple passengers may jump him. A real bomb would give him the confidence, a fake bomb wouldn't unless he had another concealed weapon. We won't know for sure, but I lean toward real.

Anybody corroborate this statement.. it is from Gray's book,, "They're not going to take me alive," If he did say it.. It supports the bomb being real.

Teletype was edited to exclude non NORJAK comms..

Soderlind's notes with times.. FBI asked him for his notes..

They could see the glow of Portland,,, the clouds were broken. So, Cooper would know if he was over a city even if he couldn't see the ground, Vancouver and Portland would emit a glow.. There is no way Cooper intentionally jumps over a city at night in an unsteerable chute....

It is based on flawed logic,, that the TBAR money could only arrive there from Cooper landing outside the FBI LZ.. and the FBI made an error searching the wrong area. Why, because the FBI didn't find anything in their search area. That includes moving the flight path West or East or moving the jump zone South. They beleive that reverse engineering TBAR will produce a place to search the FBI missed and potentially find evidence. To do this one must ignore or distort the actual evidence.. It is a hail mary pass.. There are many ways the money could have arrived at TBAR while maintaining the FBI LZ and flight path. Cooper evidence may have been found in the FBI LZ but never turned in or recognized. It is extremely unlikely TBAR will be solved beyond some good theories. BTW,, If I was going to do a new search my #1 spot would be along the South Fork Lewis River from the Heisson bridge Eastward.. it is right in the LZ sweet-spot and there was a parachute found there that was rejected based on Cossey's flawed description.

This is what Edwards misunderstands,, The context here is the phone call to Soderlind shortly after Cooper jumped.. and the oscillation (Cooper's jump) could have been between 8:05 and the call to Soderlind. Rataczak is giving a range indicating the time would be recorded.. the end point of that range is the call to Soderlind in the suburbs of Portland. He is not saying Cooper jumped or the oscillations or the bump was in the suburbs of Portland. Soderlind was listening in and took notes and times.. Soderlind's LZ (map) went South to about Battleground, about when he got the call from Rataczak.

Frankly, it is a mess. Basically he is claiming the report of oscillations and the bump were two events not separated by seconds but by 7-10 minutes,, The crew reported the oscillations about 8:13, but felt the bump after the Columbia.. he claims He misreads several things and ignores others to get there. He insists the plane was auto, on auto the pilot wouldn't feel the hijacker on the stairs. It is mentioned in the files but is wrong, Rataczak said he was hand flying the entire time, Scott took over just before Reno and landed. Rataczak also stated he felt Cooper on the stairs.. He reported the mark your shrimpboat comment right away and called Soderlind minutes later. The other big thing he gets wrong is the reference to "suburbs of Portland" that was the call to Soderlind minutes after the "bump/oscillation".. Edwards has the evidence wrong and missed some important points.. He has repeated these errors for some time and for some reason he is fixated on moving the jump zone further south, confirmation bias maybe.