[LucyT]

Since the parachute is made of silk, could it be left over from WWII military practice jumps? Here’s more from the article:

“The parachute was the right color, and the location was in the middle of what could have been Cooper’s landing zone.

“That got the attention of FBI agent Larry Carr, who drove to the site to see the find for himself.

“But Cossey told Carr that Cooper’s parachute was made of nylon. The one the children found was made of silk and did not feature a harness container. Cossey sold parachutes at a skydiving operation in Issaquah in the 1970s.

“Cossey has been through the drill before; this is the third time the FBI has asked him to examine parachutes to see whether they might have been Cooper’s.”

[Smokin' Joe]

I freely admit I do not know enough about the history of parachute manufacture (nor harnesses, for that matter), but I seem to recall that military chutes were made of silk, at least into WWII, and it may have been a surplus model. Not enough info.

Maybe the Japanese dropped some Gai-jin spies in...