377

Date of incident: 21 September 1973 Crash related deaths: LCDR Francis W. Miller (CG Aviator #1164) LTJG Jerald M. Mack (CG Aviator #1567) AD1 Harold D. Brown, Jr. AM2 Benjamin R. Gaskins, Jr. AT2 John F. Harrison AT2 John P. Pledger Air Station the aircraft and/or crew were assigned to: Air Station Corpus Christi, TX Aircraft type and Coast Guard tail number: Grumman HU-16E Albatross, 2123* Location of the incident: Gulf of Mexico Description of the incident: This crew was dropping parachute flares to illuminate a search area. One of the flares accidentally ignited in the aircraft and the intense smoke incapacitated the pilots and crew. The aircraft made an uncontrolled descent into the water. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

They do. I've seen marine parachute flare containers in red, natural aluminum and orange. The gun launched ones are short and look roughly like big shotgun shells. The self launched ones are much longer cylinders and usually have labelling and firing instructions on the exterior. Have a look! https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_mss=marine+parachute+f&tok=ww1pyG3keMpdhdQSDmV7Iw&pq=sceptical&cp=22&gs_id=2o&xhr=t&q=marine+parachute+flares&safe=off&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS453US454&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bpcl=38897761&ion=1&biw=1344&bih=698&wrapid=tljp1353460298919054&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=exqtUJKCOeOUiALe5ICQAw We used to shoot off time expired marine parachute flares on 4th of July. The big ones go surprisingly high. They provide a very visible signal but they don't light things up on the ground until they get pretty low. A friend of mine was a PJ with an USAF Air Rescue Squadron. They had HUGE illumination flares that had parachutes. They were deployed using a static line. I saw some deployed by a USAF Air Rescue Herc during a sinking rescue at night off Pt Reyes CA in the 1970s. They burned bright white and lit things up spectacularly. He told me they cost the govt over $5000 each. It was worth it in this case, they found the swimming crewmen at night in heavy seas and managed to drop two rafts tethered together with a very long line upwind of the survivors. The flight path during the raft deployment was across the wind line. As the tethered rafts drifted towards the survivors the tether line came right to them and they managed to get into one of the rafts. They NEVER would have been spotted by surface vessels in those conditions. The aircraft commander of the Herc really did a superb job. His name was Capt. Ted Schindler, now retired from the 129th ARS. Fishermen still regard him and his crew as a heroes. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I have no doubt that Cooper terrified some of his victims. A credible bomb threat is scary as hell, and the crew must have been wondering if he would jump and wipe out all the witnesses by arranging a post exit detonation. It's just human nature to glorify low life thugs who pull off innovative crimes that didnt hurt or kill anyone. As time passes the fame and adoration increases and the disgust and disdain attenuates and almost disappears. Stealing money and threatening to blow people up isnt heroic, not even slightly. Cooper was brave as hell but there is a difference between brave and heroic. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Here is a military flare parachute for sale on eBay. http://bit.ly/10bPfdY 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Watch MA1 pilot chutes launch in this YouTube video. Skydivers often used two, to increase the chances of a clean launch into the slipstream. http://youtu.be/l_RYPx4iNUg As a young jumper I watched in amazement as a guy pulled his ripcord and the pilot chute launched weakly (worn spring). It bounced around on his back for about 5 seconds as he rocketed towards earth. Finally he rolled over a bit and the pilot chute emerged from the dead air on his back and caught the slipstream. Here is an example of a pilot chute hesitation, although of shorter duration than what I witnessed: http://youtu.be/bX9z-Gm8DO4 Back then (late 60s) MA1 pilot chutes were dirt cheap. I replaced mine a couple of times just to be sure I had one with a strong spring and good fabric. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Perhaps, but to my eye it looks a lot more like a flare chute. I taught an elementary school science class once a week for a semester during my engineering studies. It was a ghetto school and the rules were slack. Among other "dangerous" projects, we put together Estes brand model rockets and fired them from the school yard. Their chutes were much flimsier and lighter than what is shown one the Tacoma Chronicle photo. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=136195; Too small to be a bailout rig pilot chute. Look at the dimensions of the canopy compared to the hand that is holding it. Also, the type of pilot chute used in NB6 and NB8 rigs (MA1 pilot chute) doesn't even remotely resemble this. The pilot chutes of that era have a BIG spring sewn into and completely contained within the pilot chute structure. This spring remains compressed until the ripcord is pulled, then it launches the pilot chute out of the rig with considerable force. https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&tbo=d&biw=320&bih=416&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=pilot+chute+ma1&oq=pilot+chute+ma1&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.3...22121.22461.0.23379.4.3.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0...1ac.1.JkuzSV6-dQM#i=0 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Bruce passed this on from Galen Wow. Tosaw spent some really serious money on his Cooper dive ops. THREE hard hat divers? Your average Joe Scuba doesn't have hard hat gear. Pro divers do and they don't come cheap. I hadn't realized Galen was so close to Tosaw. Maybe it was a law brotherhood thing, like a shark bond. BTW Bruce, it NOT a pilot chute, 100% certain. It's most likely a flare chute. You'd assume Tosaw had access to all the FBI evidence. Was there something in it that made him so sure Cooper splashed? A river landing was pretty unlikely if you look at the odds. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote You are wrong Jo and you are so stubborn. When you are so very sure about something that is wrong, it makes folks seriously doubt the accuracy of your other recollections. You are claiming that Duane had a radio in the Caddy that could communicate with other CBers and also communicate with aircraft. That's just not feasible Jo. It's not something that a "CB man" could make or modify. It's akin to saying Duane made ice cubes in your toaster oven. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Farflung wrote Ahem... Georger is from Iowa where a guy named Art (not John) Collins made some mighty nice ham gear. He also made the ARC 58 or ARC 102 HF SSB radio that you used in your eight engined hell wagon. Ten Tec is revered but Collins is worshipped. Those Bendix-King av band "Horsey Talkies" are awesome Farf. I've used em. So many radio savvy folks on this forum. Why? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Nope. I'd need to see something FAR MORE substantive and relevant. Call me Mr. Sceptical. Put Duane in a chute. You've had years to do that one simple thing and have been unable to do so. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo, Long distance CB to CB contacts are routine if atmospheric conditions are right. No big deal. I am surprised preople derided your account of long distance comms. You could have just been lucky that an atmospheric reflection path let you communicate with distant CBers in the area of interest. CB (e.g. 27 MHz) to aicraft radio (eg 126 MHz) direct two way comms cant be done. IMPOSSIBLE. Really Jo. TECHNICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. I've never seen a plane equipped with a CB radio and I've seen the interiors of hundreds of planes. It's possible technically, but unlikely. To have it installed in the panel legally on a standard category aircraft it would have to have certain FCC and FAA approvals that I dont think any CB radios have. You wrote I think its possible that you simply misinterpretted what kind of vehicle Duane was communicating with. Nothing above says with certainty that he was communicating with an airplane. 10-4? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Is metallic titanium of the type found on Cooper's alleged tie used in flares? I know magnesium is used in some types. Just wondering. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Sigh... 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote That might be true... But what you do is speculate without supporting evidence. The speculation always supports a benevolent view of Diane and often connects him with parachuting and Norjack. Fact: Duane spent a lot of time in prison. Speculation: Duane was protecting young inmates from being raped. He also was associated with a prisoner smoke jumper program at Folsom Prison. Fact: Duane stole purses, wallets etc. Speculation: Duane left enough money for the victims to get by for a day. Fact: Duane knew an airplane mechanic. Speculation: The airplane mechanic was involved in parachuting activities. Fact: Duane was familiar with geography in the area in which Cooper allegedly landed. Speculation: Duane was either Cooper or the "man on the ground". Fact: Duane had unexplained large amounts of cash. Speculation: Duane was Cooper. Fact: Duane had some odd hardware items which you sold at a garage sale. Speculation: The items were from a parachute rig. Fact: Duane hid some items in a van headliner. Speculation: Items not disclosed or returned to you were related to Norjack. Fact: Duane claimed familiarity with paraglider controls. Speculation: Duane was a parachutist. Fact: Duane knew a person called "Paperlegs". Speculation: Paperlegs was associated with smoke jumping. Fact: Duane had a prison sentence commuted. Speculation: Duane was getting paid back for something he did for the govt. Fact: Duane told you he was "Dan Coooooper". Speculation: Duane was telling the truth and referring to DBC. Fact: Duane prevented you from watching a TV show about Norjack. Speculation: Duane was DBC. Need I continue? The "facts" above assume your accounts of what you saw and heard are accurate and truthful I don't think you are a liar Jo, but I do think you are obsessed and biased and that it hugely influences the conclusions you draw from ambiguous evidence. I know I am echoing the thoughts of most folks here when I say I hope your MRI is clean and that you recover from whatever illness you have. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

The little chute (seen in article photo) is DEFINITELY not a bailout rig pilot chute. It's almost certainly a flare chute. The other possibility is a radiosonde chute used to recover weather balloon payloads, but it's a bit too small for this type. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Jo wrote Jo, That's impossible unless the plane also had a CB radio, which is highly unlikely. What exactly did you witness in this alleged car to plane communication? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Farflung wrote (about Blevins) That is seriously impressive EE RF talk. I thought you were a bomber driver. This sounds like EWO speak. All that ECM EW lingo. We're you at the front of the BUFF or in the bowels spinning knobs? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Farflung wrote If McChord had an Air Rescue Squadron in Nov 71 then they had reserves. PJs (ARS parachute rescue jumpers) wore chest reserves in 1971. Some time ago ARS were called ARRS (Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadrons) I think. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

I think the avalanche beacons are too short range to be of use. I actually agree with you that its unlikely that Cooper used radios. I just like to fantasize that he did. Sheridan Peterson, a veteran skydiver and smoke jumper and ex Marine knew plenty about wilderness landings and egress. He had night jump experience too. I sure wish he could be interviewed, even if to just get his perpective on what it would take to do the jump successfully and who in 1971 knew about 727s being jumpable. Somewhere he is quoted recommending the use of a flashlight to illuminate your landing area. He KNOWS that is BS, but why would he say it? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Good point about the lobes Farf. You wouldnt need a lot of accuracy until you got close. General right left front back indications could get you close. .. eventually. And the horn honk and walkie talkie comm idea is good. Hadn't thought of that. Where were you on Norjack night? Can you prove it? 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

a Snowmman post from 2009: Link seems to be dead now. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Im willing to bet they didn't. Efficiency very very low. Distance zero. Natural Interference. Selectivity. Antenna issues. etc etc. You might as well conduct SETI on AM ... or VLF for that matter. Out of the box at those wavelengths would be the submarine vlf nets which require power like a small M-class star and underground antennas strung from the North Pole to the South Pole! And rattle the teeth of reindeer herds. Something that could tap into that system and be heard for a relay back .. that would be 'out of the box' at those low freqs and cost the GNP of Portugal! Generally I agree with your logic, but distance isnt "zero" G. I've heard these things up to a mile away and they are only running at 0.1 watts on AM BC band: http://www.talkinghouse.com/realestateradio.php http://www.iamradio.net/pdfs/iAMradioOperationsManual.pdf Never tried to DF one. Going to try that sometime soon. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

If it was indeed a USAF/ANG SAR Herc then it was likely an HC 130 which DID have a good UHF ADF. It may even have been equipped with one of the the best airborne UHF ADFs ever made, the ARD-17, specially designed for tracking Apollo capsules and capable of DFing on 243.0 MHz. http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19750010201_1975010201.pdf I've always found it amusing that F 106 interceptors scrambled to find the 727 couldnt... and a lumbering Herky Bird did. Bet those fighter jocks had a hard time with that. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

Gargling wrote Hmmm... I think I see a new project to pursue in 2013. I've already made HAHO radio jumps with a walkie talkie and reached stations up to 100 miles away. I've jumped with an asymmetric bag strapped to me to test freefall stability. I've jumped from the rear stairway of a DC 9 passenger jet. OK, I admit it, I am obsessed. I'm going to look through my junkbox and see what I can come up with for a low power BC band beacon. Then a field test to check reception distance and DF-ability. A wire antenna is a good idea for the transmitter. Stay tuned. Again, zero proof that Cooper used radios. I'm just indulging a fantasy. 377 2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.