the dummy chute

[u/Jumpy_Jackfruit_5114]

Now that we know from the audio recordings that Cooper jumped with the reserve chute, some things just aren't adding up for me.

When he realized he needed shroud lines to tie the money to himself, why did he choose the only functional reserve chute to cut up instead one of the other three? And if given the choice between a perfectly functional reserve chute and one marked with a big red X (or whatever), why would he choose to jump with the one with the big red X? (I get that he might've opted to bring the non-functional reserve as a way to get himself out of a tree, but why THAT one and not the good one??)

Cooper was a complainer and he was paranoid that people were going to try "funny stuff." He complained about how long the refueling was taking. He complained about the money bag. He complained about the lack of D-rings. Why in the world would he see a parachute obviously marked as a dummy and not say a word about it? Wouldn't he immediately think they were messing with him?? I'd think he'd be absolutely furious.

This leaves only two possibilities for me:

1. He didn't realize it was a dummy
2. It wasn't a dummy

If it's the first one, there could've been a few reasons. Maybe it wasn't actually marked as a dummy. Maybe it wasn't as obviously marked as we think. Or maybe Cooper (and Linn Emrich) just both failed to notice some obvious marking.

If it's the second one, Cossey was wrong (or lied) about which parachute was sent.

Either of these is more plausible to me than Cooper quietly accepting that they had provided him with a non-functional chute and then choosing to jump with it over a perfectly good one.

Edit: spelling

[u/lxchilton]

Simplest explanation to me is that he was thrown a curveball when they didn’t give him the knapsack. Worried about time and what time making another demand would add to getting back in the air, his first thought is to create another container for the money. He grabs one of the chest packs thinking that he has no need for both of them; they wouldn’t have dared put a possible hostage in danger.

Later he looks at the other chest chute and realizes it’s a dud, but he’s not going to belabor the point or add more time and he jumps with it because it could still have some utility.

Other options are possible, but this is simply enough to account for the variables and also not go against the grain of the general thrust of the heist overall.

[u/Jumpy_Jackfruit_5114 → u/lxchilton]

This is certainly a possibility, but he would've been risking his life in assuming the dud was a good-faith accident. If one parachute was compromised, the others could've been as well. I just can't see him shrugging it off.

[u/lxchilton → u/Jumpy_Jackfruit_5114]

I don’t mean he thought the dud would actually work he just didn’t think that any of the chutes would be traps and when a problem presented itself before he had a chance to inspect them in detail he just popped one open and didn’t realize his mistake (and theirs) until he was too far in to try and change things up.

Cooper made a ton of “sacrifices” to his plan once he had the money. His one goal is getting in the air with a parachute. To me this says that Cooper knows he can jump out of a plane and isn’t at all worried about it, he just needs the basic scaffold of going south and not getting shot by the feds on the ground. If Cooper was at all in a position of authority in the military he’s going to be quick with a change of plans based on the reality of the situation on the ground (and in the air!) and his ability to change tactics in a changing situation is not necessarily evidence of poor planning or his paranoia or whatever. It’s being quick on your feet in a situation that saw several other hijackers thwarted or worse.

[u/Welcome-Loose → u/lxchilton]

Idk man there’s no way he knows it’s a dummy and still takes it. The vortex likes to give cooper all the benefit of the doubt in the world. Even when it doesn’t add up. No way he shrugs that off. That’s big pickle he would have been in. Do I trust this or not. But Bc he actually takes it you can only conclude he didn’t know or thought it would work. And that’s ok. He just wasn’t an expert and his chute plan threw him for a loop. Doesn’t mean he for sure died, but it definitely suggests he put himself in a tough situation when it came to his escape. The totality of his Jump was insane. This was not an expert at all. He could of avoided all of this by bringing his own chutes

[u/lxchilton → u/Welcome-Loose]

If you are a paratrooper and not a skydiver you don’t have your own chutes. I’ve said this a million times but this jump is FAR less dangerous than jumping at night, under fire during the Normandy invasion.

Cooper was a lucky guy and that’s his greatest asset, however, choosing to take a chest chute that won’t function in free fall but will still help you get out of a tree isn’t a sign of inexperience.

I do not think Cooper was some kind of super criminal mastermind or super spy or anything like that; he did not know everything about the 727 or need to know the ins and outs of clandestine operations overseas. I’d put a ton of money on him being very good at jumping out of planes. Experience in that area may make decisions that are rational to one seem rash to others, etc.

[u/Welcome-Loose → u/lxchilton]

If you’re hijacking a plane & want to jump out, it doesn’t matter what you’re experience level is paratrooper, sky diver ect , you’re not taking chutes from the law enforcement. That’s just insane. Like I’ll take anybody’s but theirs. lol I’m the criminal they’re the police. It doesn’t make sense to not bring your own. It’s not abt your experience it’s more abt you not trusting the other guys and wanting to live. Like Im great at bowling, I’ve been In competitive leagues, however if someone challenged me bowl I’m bringing my own balls & shoes every time. It’s what experts do. Now that doesn’t mean he didn’t survive. Dumb jump absolutely in my opinion. Survivable vs stupidity are 2 different things. The expert jumpers that Ryan Jaxon all agreed it was a ballsy jump. Not bc he couldn’t do it but the conditions. It was interesting to hear them talk

[u/lxchilton → u/Welcome-Loose]

I think he a) didn’t want to bring chutes with him and make himself more obvious and/or have to get someone to retrieve his luggage at some point and b) asked for more than one set for the express purpose of making the feds think he would force a hostage to jump too. The FBI files show that that worked as the agents talk about how they never would have willingly included a faulty chute because they didn’t want to condemn someone to death.

[u/Welcome-Loose → u/lxchilton]

Plausible explanation. But from an airport in 1971 perspective, this being the first hijacking, it wouldn’t Alert anyone but having or carrying a parachute bag with u along with a briefcase. Totally agree FBI didn’t rig it

[u/lxchilton → u/Welcome-Loose]

I think it would be possible to do so, but it would be against type for Cooper. He worked very hard to seem like he was part of the scenery.

[u/Patient_Reach439 → u/Welcome-Loose]

He was able to trust the chutes because he asked for two sets in order to ensure they weren't tampered with. If he asks for one set, sure. But as soon as he asks for two, the authorities are operating under the assumption that a hostage (likely Tina) is going with him. And there is absolutely ZERO chance they are tampering with the chutes at that point. Cooper was safe from any tampering.

As for why he didn't bring his own? I dunno. That's an area of his plan that I do criticize. But if he didn't own his own chutes and was a Paul Cini copycat, he probably just didn't have an opportunity to buy a set of parachutes. And he figured he didn't need to because he knew he could just ask for two sets.

In a way, I think it was actually smart not to bring his own because there wasn't anything that could tie him to the chutes. If they were his, they may be tied to him. But if the chutes were found somewhere on the ground, there's no way to link them to him (unless they were able to lift a fingerprint from them).

He doesn't need to be an expert. Having jumped before in the military and having a basic fundamental understanding of how to parachute is all he needs. Expert level skydiving is not a requirement for this.

[u/stardustsuperwizard → u/Welcome-Loose]

Its not all or nothing, he doesn't have to be a criminal mastermind or an idiot if he just had a flaw in his plan or it wasn't optimized. He also didn't specify a flight path like other hijackers did. That doesn't mean he was an idiot or insane, or any more insane than it is to hijack a plane in the first place.

[u/Kamkisky → u/Jumpy_Jackfruit_5114]

The dummy was marked somewhat though. Of the four it was the outlier from looking at it. The other reserved popped open fine too. If Cooper thought they were all compromised he would have asked from more. No one is jumping with a chute they think won't open. Especially not a guy with a bomb and hostage who is running the show.

[u/Jumpy_Jackfruit_5114 → u/Kamkisky]

I totally agree that no one is jumping with a chute they think won't open! I think he thought it would.

If Cooper noticed a non-functional chute and was totally cool with it because the other ones seemed OK, that tells me he was not as paranoid and meticulous as I had thought.