From the Stacks: An Unsolved Mystery from the Sky

The National Archives at Seattle holds the 1971 FBI report for one of the most high-profile U.S. District Attorney’s Cases for the Western District of Washington: Case CR-0451, the infamous skyjacking case involving the alias “D.B. Cooper.” 

On Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 bound for Seattle from Portland, OR, Cooper handed a flight attendant a note indicating that he had an explosive device. He demanded $200,000 in exchange for the safe return of all the passengers on board. After receiving the money, he jumped from the back of the plane with a parachute somewhere between Seattle and Reno, NV. Optimistic that the case would be solved quickly, the U.S. Attorney’s office opened the file under this placeholder name, and D.B. Cooper was never found.

The investigative case file contains photographs and the initial sketch of the suspect. There are also detailed experiments conducted by the U.S. Air Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to determine how the theft was pulled off.

A document from U.S. Attorney’s Case File for the skyjacking case involving the alias “D.B. Cooper,” dated 1971. NAID: 325594129

Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd stumbled upon a remarkable discovery in the Judaean Desert–the first of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Over the next decade, this chance finding would lead to the unearthing of thousands of manuscript fragments from 11 caves near the ancient site of Qumran, dating back two millennia.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA, invites you to its Special Exhibit: Dead Sea Scrolls, featuring eight authentic Dead Sea Scrolls and over 200 artifacts from the Second Temple period. The exhibit will remain on display until September 2, 2025. Come see these unique artifacts while you can!

More than 200 artifacts–along with eight authentic scrolls–are on display as part of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum's Special Exhibit: Dead Sea Scrolls.

Passport to Presidential Libraries

The Passport to Presidential Libraries is a special keepsake booklet you can take with you on your travels to Presidential Libraries across the nation. Collect a commemorative stamp from the library at the time of the purchase and collect stamps from every Presidential Library visited in the future.

The Passport can be purchased for $10 in person at any Presidential Library within the National Archives system via either the admissions desk or museum store. Alternatively, visitors can purchase the Passport via some NARA Presidential Library online stores.