WFO to Director and Seattle re ERAC and infrared search options (duplicate copy)

NR 019 UF PLAIN 9:48 PM URGENT 12-2-71 ASW TO DIRECTOR SEATTLE FROM WASHINGTON FIELD(164-169) FIVE PAGES

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UNSUB; NORTHWEST FLIGHT THREE ZERO FIVE, PORTLAND TO SEATTLE, NOVEMBER TWENTY FOUR LAST; CAA - HIJACKING; EXTORTION, OO:SE. RE SACRAMENTO NITEL TO BUREAU DATED DECEMBER ONE LAST.

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TODAY, DISCUSSIONS WERE HELD WITH OFFICIALS OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA), WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDC) RELATIVE TO UTILIZATION OF EARTH RESOURCES AIRCRAFT (ERAC) IN CONFORMANCE WITH INFORMATION CONTAINED IN REFERENCED NITEL. MR. BARNEY NOLAN, ERAC PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ADVISED THAT THE AFOREMENTIONED AIRCRAFT DOES NOT POSSESS ALL THE CAPABILITIES UTILIZED IN REFERENCED NITEL. MR. NOLAND AND MR. MYRON KRUEGER, TECHNICAL COORDINATOR OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, AND INTER-AGENCY AFFAIRS, NASA, SUGGESTED THE FOLLOWING ALTERNATIVES AFTER CONSIDERATION OF PROBLEMS INVOLVED AND OBJECTIVES OF INSTANT INVESTIGATION: END PAGE ONE

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164-81-5220 SEARCHED......INDEXED...... SERIALIZED /17/...FILED /17/ DEC 0 8 1971 FBI - SEATTLE

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ALTERNATIVE NUMBER ONE. THEY WOULD RECOMMEND UTILIZATION OF LOW ALTITUDE LIGHT AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED WITH INFRARED (IR) FILM TO PHOTOGRAPH THE AREA IN QUESTION. IT WOULD BE NECESSARY TO HAVE SUCH AN AIRCRAFT MANNED BY PERSONS CAPABLE OF OPERATING THE REQUIRED CAMERA EQUIPMENT. SUCH PERSONNEL COULD POSSIBLY BE SUPPLIED BY STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND (SAC); UNITED STATES AIR FORCE INTELLIGNECE, OR AEROSPACE CARTOGRAPHIC AND GEODETIC SERVICE, TOPEKA, KANSAS. NASA HAS NO SUCH AIRCRAFT, BUT ONE COULD BE RENTED OR COULD POSSIBLY BE OBTAINED FROM ONE OF THE AFOREMENTIONED AGENCIES. IT IS NOT KNOWN WHETHER ANY OF THESE AGENCIES CURRENTLY HAVE APPROPRIATE THERMAL IR SCANNERS WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR DETECTING BURIED OBJECTS THROUGH EARTH SCARS, THAT IS , DISTURB SOIL. HOWEVER, IT IS BELIEVED THAT THERMAL IR SCANNERS WOULD HAVE PRACTICALLY NO VALUE IN ACCOMPLISHING THE OBJECTIVE, PARTICULARLY IF THE AREA IN QUESTION IS SNOW COVERED.

ALTERNATIVE NUMBER TWO. IT IS POSSIBLE TO USE IR CAMERAS AND OR THERMAL IR SCANNERS WITH HIGH ALTITUDE AIRCRAFT END PAGE TWO

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PAGE THREE SUPPORT. THIS WOULD ENTAIL FLYING U-TWO AIRCRAFT OVER THE AREA AT THIRTY OR FORTY THOUSAND FEET AND WOULD YIELD A RESOLUTION OF TWO OR THREE. IN OTHER WORDS, OBJECTS ON THE GROUND WOULD HAVE TO MEASURE A MINIMUM OF TWO OR THREE FEET IN SIZE TO BE DETECTED. MR. KRUEGER POINTED OUT THAT THIS PROCESS WOULD PROBABLY NEVER LOCATE A FOLDED OR COLLAPSED PARACHUTE, ONLY ONE WHICH WAS SPREAD OUT IN A TREE OR ON THE GROUND. THE NECESSARY AIRCRAFT FOR THIS ALTERNATIVE WOULD HAVE TO BE OBTAINED THROUGH THE SAC OR UNITED STATES AIR FORCE U-TWO SQUADRON AT TUCSON, ARIZONA. NASA COULD ALSO PROVIDE SUCH AIRCRAFT, BUT NOT UNTIL THE WEEK OF DECEMBER THIRTEEN NEXT AT THE EARLIEST.

MR. KRUEGER EXPRESSED HIS DESIRE TO AID THE BUREAU BY INITIATING CONTACTS WITH THE NECESSARY MILITARY OFFICIALS IN THE EVENT EITHER OF THE ABOVE ALTERNATIVES SHOULD BE DESIRED BY THE BUREAU. HE INDICATED THAT IF REQUESTED, MILITARY AIRCRAFT COULD POSSIBLY BE DEPLOYED TO THE AREA WITHIN TWO OR THREE DAYS. END PAGE THREE

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BOTH MR. KRUEGER AND MR. NOLAN EMPHASIZED THAT OBTAINING IR PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE AREA CAPABLE OF YIELDING A PARACHUTE WAS ANALOGOUS TO QUOTE FINDING A NEEDLE IN A VERY LARGE HAYSTACK UNQUOTE. THEY NOTED THAT AERIAL IR PHOTOGRAPHY WORK WAS ONLY A SINGLE ELEMENT IN ACCOMPLISHING THE OBJECTIVE AND THAT THE REAL TASK INVOLVED THE ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTANT IMAGERY BY QUALIFIED SPECIALISTS. IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT TO ANALYZE THE AREA INVOLVED IN CAPTIONED MATTER WOULD REQUIRE AT LEAST A DOZEN MEN WORKING FULL TIME FOR AT LEAST TWO OR THREE WEEKS. SUCH ANALYSIS COULD CONCEIVABLY COST THE BUREAU AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT, BUT THE AIRCRAFT REQUIRED WOULD PROBABLY BE PROVIDED FREE OF COST.

CONCERNING IMAGERY ANALYSIS AND DATA INTERPRETATION, MR. KRUEGER SUGGESTED THE FOLLOWING AS BEING EXPERTS IN THE FIELD:

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[REDACTED] A CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE WHO [REDACTED]

[REDACTED]

[REDACTED] NEW YORK, TELEPHONE NUMBER (AREA CODE

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SECOND SOURCE OF IMAGERY ANALYSIS WOULD BE THE SAC HEADQUARTERED AT OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, OMAHA, NEBRASKA, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY MANPOWER. AGAIN, MR. KRUEGER EXPRESSED HIS WILLINGNESS TO INITIATE CONTACTS WITH APPROPRIATE MILITARY OFFICIALS.

IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE, THE BUREAU IS REQUESTED TO ADVISE WFO WHETHER ANY ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO HAVE KRUEGER PURSUE THIS MATTER WITH MILITARY AUTHORITIES.

UNKNOWN SUBJECT CONSIDERED DANGEROUS. P

END

DCA

FBI SEATTLE CLR

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