Heard from a source in the 'in.'..D.B. Cooper is on this site

Please D B can you share some stuff...-like how you remained so cool and stayed under the radar for so long, and did you do anything fun with the money? What gender are you using? Just give us anything

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Heartlander · 80-89, M

I can't imagine DB not being an insider. He/she had to have known a lot about Boeing 727s to pull that off. There are panels both inside and outside the aircraft to operate the rear stairs, and when the stairs were used it was usually operated from the outside panel. An inside operator had no way of knowing it was safe to lower the stairs. A non-insider would likely not even know if there was a panel on the inside. Also the controls themselves varied a bit from one plane to another.

Also, there was no way of knowing how fast the plane was going for a rear jump. And too fast is dangerous if the chute is opened too soon. He also didn't know the altitude, and could have drifter 50 miles before hitting the ground.

BUT ... an insider would also have had to also be a fool to try this with so many unknowns; and I don't remember any pilots, flight attendants or maintenance personnel who I'd classify as fools,

atlantic59 · 61-69, M

@Heartlander from all I've heard, he had knowledge of much of this, including the chance of drifting at night, but I believe he had the balls and the skills and possibly the help. I just wish he would make a cryptic post to tell us.

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@atlantic59 Yes. I was flying 727s when it happened and there was lots of second guessing about who or how someone could have known enough.

There were stories about one of the airlines having a 1st or 2nd officer suddenly vanishing after the event and speculations that it was DB. But that made little sense considering how well those people were paid just for being 1st or 2nd officers.

atlantic59 · 61-69, M

@Heartlander super interesting but he would, I think, just carry on as normal to let everything die down, so, yeah, there would not be any flags there, you would think, imagining his M.O. You certainly didn't see money surfacing soon after, and I'm sure it didn't die with him...
I like to see him as someone making a Grand Statement, more than just as someone trying to get the money for personal needs.. and if you are him, I applaud you sir, and thanks for the tantalization...

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@atlantic59 Not me. I was also once Air Force and Air Force Reserves, and spent more than my share of time as a drop zone safety officer. Even a well managed US Army troop drop by experienced Airborne had unpredictables.

atlantic59 · 61-69, M

@Heartlander love your knowledge though...my dad was 28 years in the RCAF

atlantic59 · 61-69, M

@Heartlander my dad went on a few searches for downed planes after the war as a navigator and he talked about doing grid patterns to find and how difficult it was to see a wreckage etc, but it also speaks to the vastness of the grounds below and endless trees, ravines, mountains and creeks and it might take decades for a hunter to come across a plane or other telltale remains. And of course nature reclaims quite quickly

Heartlander · 80-89, M

@atlantic59 Agreed. My very same experience. I spent a few tours in the Canal Zone and we'd occasionally get calls to be on the lookout for overdue ships/boats. In choppy seas it would be almost impossible unless they left a big wake.

Military drops are in huge open fields with few or no trees and even then there are mishaps. GIs go through training and have jumpmasters mothering them through the process. Jumping without a static line are done with steerable chutes. Golden Knights do that for a living.

Was your dad a WW2 navigator? I'm old enough to have flown with WW2 crew members who remained in the service after the war. Or had left the service and been recalled during one or more of the cold war scares. Listening to their stories was so inspiring. One still carried a picture of himself standing on a ladder with his body passing through a hole in the wing of a B17. The greatest generation ever was truly the greatest generation ever.