Minneapolis analysis of probable landing zone with Route 1 sectional chart
Document date 4 December 1971
Also filed separately as sections:
Report a problem
Email this to [email protected]
Id: Cooper-Part-13:306-307
Subject: Cooper Files: Cooper-Part-13:306-307 Document: Minneapolis analysis of probable landing zone with Route 1 sectional chart Id: Cooper-Part-13:306-307 Page: https://cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-13%3A306-307 What is wrong (title, date, type, which pages belong together, copies)? What does the scan show?
A person reads every report. Corrections are made by hand, to the data — titles, dates, names, which pages belong together — never to the scans, and they can take a while to appear.
FBI 164-81, Vault Part 13 pp. 306–307 (DB Cooper-3166–3167), Report, dated 4 Dec 1971 — cooper.theunsolved.net/documents/Cooper-Part-13%3A306-307
USGOV1 ORD NAVAL Fit N[illegible] 11/24/71 CAA - [illegible] 0015E
---
TO: SEATTLE [guess: TELETYPE] FROM: Minneapolis [guess: 84-73]
---
1. Line G-I-K-M represents the airplane's flight path as it approache[d] the Portland (PDX) VOR.
2. The cabin pressure "bump" occurred at 0410 GMT, the time being re- corded by the NWA Flight Operations Office (NWAFO) in Minneapolis. It is a virtual certainty that the pressure "bump" marks the time that the high-jacker (HJ) left the airplane. The airplane was at Point A at that time, thus the HJ's body would land at Point A if his 'chutes did not open (unlikely).
3. If it is assumed that the HJ was a highly expert parachutist, and would thus free-fall as far as practicable to insure the best accura[cy] of his touchdown point, he would land slightly to the NE of Point A due to his drifting with the wind from the point of 'chute opening.
4. If the HJ opened his 'chute as soon as he left the airplane, he would drift along the line A-B and would touch down at B. All lines parallel to A-B are lines along which the HJ would drift if he opened his 'chute relatively early.
5. The parallelogram indicated by C-D-F-E represents the boundaries of the probable touchdown area adjusted for possible time errors and for the above described wind drift. It is probably the most fruitful search area.
6. The earliest the HJ could have jumped is 0406, and this point is represented by Point G.
7. The crew believes the pressure "bump" occurred at 0410, but in any even are certain it occurred before 0415. If the HJ jumped at 0406 (unlikely) he would land on or near line G-H. If he jumped at 0415 he would land on or near line MN.
8. Based on the above explanation of Figure 1, and on all the assump- tions based in its preparation, the following are pertinent:
a. The most likely landing point for the HJ is at, or slightly NE, of Point A.
b. His landing point is more likely to be in area C-D-F-E than any other.
c. It is possible his landing point could be anywhere within the area shown (G-H-N-M), but the probability goes down as the ends of this area are approached.
---
Figure 1, and this explanation, were prepared by[ ]
---
DB Cooper-3166 [handwritten] 05 [illegible] 2/4/[illegible] Manning[illegible] SEARCHED... INDEXED... SERIALIZED... FILED... 12/6/71 1971 FBI - SEATTLE
---
[illegible] - 81-.65] b6 b7C
Route 1 DB Cooper-3167 12/4/71 Nautical Miles [scale bar] PORTLAND
---
[Aeronautical sectional chart - Portland area]
Altitude annotations along route line: 2600 4500 MSL 2509 6500 MSL 8500 MSL
30° (Joins Seattle)
Visible locations and aviation features: PORTLAND Portland [airport symbols] - ATIS 128.35, TWR 118.7, GND 121.9 VANCOUVER TROUTDALE SAUVIE ISLAND (FISH 338/180m) ST. HELENS SCAPPOOSE CAMAS / WASHOUGAL ORGON CITY 385 L 25U GLADSTONE CANBY WILSONVILLE AURORA 195 L 41U MULINO 305 21U ESTACADA EAGLE [guess: CREEK] REST [LVL] SANDY BORING HUBBARD / LEKNABOT 1035/22
Elevation points: 4128, 3926, 3910, 4222, 4390, 2110, 2137, 4056, 1594, 4219
Columbia Co 36 L 42U 1700[ft]
COLUMBIA R[IVER]
[Multiple VOR radials, airways, and controlled airspace boundaries visible] [Hand-drawn lines indicating flight path running roughly north-south through Portland area]
Serials: 0015E