the fbi speculated from the beginning that cooper did not survive his jump. "diving into the wilderness without a plan, without the right equipment, in such terrible conditions, he probably never even got his chute open", said carr. even if he did land safely, agents contended that survival in the mountainous terrain at the onset of winter would have been all but impossible without an accomplice at a predetermined landing point. this would have required a precisely timed jump—necessitating, in turn, cooperation from the flight crew. there is no evidence that cooper requested or received any such help from the crew, nor that he had any clear idea where he was when he jumped into the stormy, overcast darkness. a 2009 national geographic special "robbery in the sky" speculates on why cooper and the larger part of the ransom have not been found .i.e. cooper was killed when he fell into the columbia river; the river at that time was part of a route for ocean going ships and cooper remains and the ransom were caught by an ocean going ship. part of the ransom money broke loose and drifted on to the sand bar where it was found. cooper and the rest of the money recived a burial at sea.