The way Barbara responded to the many news articles of the time and the details she supplied of the jump made us suspicious, but the story was so unbelievable it was easy to talk ourselves out of believing it after she left.
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D. B. Cooper wasn't a fool. He wouldn't have jumped into a wilderness area like that in the dark! That would have been suicide
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Cooper knew that the destination and altitude would mean the pilot would fly Victor 23. He also picked the only plane that had a rear loading door that could be opened in flight and be used to make a safe jump.
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Shortly after takeoff from Seattle the skyjacker used the lever to open the pressure door. He flipped the toggle switch that let the stairs down over the mountainous area of Washington, but being an experienced jumper, he knew he couldn;t jump there. This was done so the lights of the cities and the checkpoints that had been chosen would be visible through broken layer of clouds or even through an overcast sky.
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Cooper had picked the area for the jump ahead of time, flying his small plane to scout out check points that would be visible at night along the airway. He then took a car trip to the spot and left a change of clothes near the site. Barb stated the actual jump site was nowhere near where the FBI was searching.
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From Victor Airway 23, Cooper could see the lights of Vancouver, WA and then Portland, OR. This alloyed for computing the actual speed of the aircraft. The last checkpoint was the beacon light from Aurora Airport. The jump was made near Woodburn, OR.
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Cooper did a 9000 foot freefall, falling nearly straight down at 8.5 feet per second. Due to the darkness, the distance was timed using a self illuminating Timex watch, opening the chute at about 1000 feet. Occasional lights from the freeway could also be seen as the altitude decreased. There were plenty of flat, treeless farmlands in the area, so there was an abundance of safe landing spots. He continued on foot to the hiding spot.
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The money was tied around her waist in a manner that allowed for using it as a depth finder as the ground approached.
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The money was hidden about 10 miles from Aurora Airport on a 45 degree angle to the airport. It was hidden in a cistern on a farm that was close to the center of the town of Woodburn.
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There was a white house facing the west with an abandoned tractor kitty corner to the house. The hazel nut orchard was longer than it was wide and ran east and west. There was a cistern that was no longer used at the far end. The farm had been bigger at some point in the past.
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The money was hidden in the cistern. Barb drew a picture showing that the money could be placed so it was not immediately visible if the lid was removed.
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The dynamite was real. According to Barb, "Nothing I've ever done was phony. " The zippered brown brief case contained two five pound charges. The detonator was a staple remover with wires soldered to it. She drew us a picture of how the dynamite was rigged.
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Barb was a smoker when we met and smoked Raleigh cigarrettes at the time of the hijacking. She switched brands shortly after. She had written the note after boarding the plane with her Bic pen. She still used Bic pens because they were cheap and reliable.
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Barb said she never intended to hurt anyone, but she could have if she had to. Her motive was bitterness against the airlines and the FAA, According to her, there were too many rules that made it difficult for the average private pilot. Also, she had wanted to become an airline pilot when she was younger, but could not qualify for many reasons.
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She was also bitter about life in general. She had spent most of her life trapped in the wrong body. She was frustrated about losing a home to bak taxes, her failed marriages, and the children she had to leave behind. According to Barb, she had too much time to think about all this during the months following her surgery. She layed in bed and concocted the plan. She chose this dangerous stunt as a way to get back at society in general.
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After the jump she donned women's clothing and her wig. At that time, the bus did not have a scheduled stop in Woodburn, but they would pick up a passenger if one was there.
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After Barb picked up her car in Portland, she headed back to Seattle. She started a new job at the University of Washington Suzallo Library less than a month later. (Note: We later learned from her co-worker, Steve, that she had been doing volunteer work at the library prior to the jump. When Barb returned from the long Thanksgiving holiday, another co-worker confronted her, citing Barb's similarities to the sketch and her flying and skydiving talents as proof, that Barb was the skyjacker. Barb didn't deny it, and many of her co-workers, including Steve, always believed that Barb was Dan Cooper.)
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Barb had dropped out of society as a man a few years before the jump. She had been required to wear women's clothing for a year before the surgery. She had spent two years as a loner recuperating from a series of major surgeries. No one would miss her if she disappeared and she thought no one would b suspicious she was the "man" who had hijacked the 727.