UFO sightings in United States
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This is a list (incomplete) of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects or UFOs in the United States.
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[edit] 1897
- The Aurora UFO Incident is an alleged UFO crash that occurred on April 19, 1897 in Aurora, Texas. A UFO is said to have hit a windmill resulting in its crash, and the pilot of the UFO was found and buried at an unmarked grave.
- Early in the year and throughout the month of April, numerous eyewitness sightings of cigar-shaped airships were reported in multiple locations in Iowa, Kansas, California, Alabama, West Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Missouri, and Minnesota.
[edit] 1942
- The West coast air raid, sometimes referred to as the Los Angeles air raid or The battle of Los Angeles, was an event which took place early in 1942 in which reports of unknown object/s over Los Angeles triggered a massive anti-aircraft artillery barrage. Initially the target of the barrage was thought to be an attacking force from Japan, but it was later suggested to be a lost weather balloon or a UFO. The true nature of the object/s remains unknown.
[edit] 1947
- The Maury Island incident is an early modern UFO encounter incident that happened on June 21, 1947. It allegedly took place shortly after the sighting of the original flying saucers by Kenneth Arnold. It is also one of the earliest reported instances of an alleged encounter with so-called "Men in black". Opinions remain divided as to the case on whether it was genuine or a hoax.
- On June 24, 1947, Arnold said he saw nine unusual objects flying in a chain near Mount Rainier, Washington while he was searching for a missing military aircraft in his CallAir A-2. He described the objects as almost blindingly bright when they reflected the sun's rays, their flight as "erratic" ("like the tail of a Chinese kite"), and flying at "tremendous speed". Arnold's story was widely carried by the Associated Press and other news outlets, and is usually credited as the catalyst for modern UFO interest, though many less-publicized UFO incidents preceded it.
- The Roswell UFO incident involved the recovery of materials near Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947 which have since become the subject of intense speculation and research. There are widely divergent views on what actually happened, and passionate debate about what evidence can be believed. The United States military maintains that what was recovered was a top-secret research balloon that had crashed. However, many UFO proponents believe the wreckage was of a crashed alien craft and that the military covered up the craft's recovery. The incident has evolved into a widely-recognized and referenced pop culture phenomenon, and for some, Roswell is synonymous with UFO and likely ranks as the most famous alleged UFO incident.
[edit] 1948
- The Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter is alleged to have occurred on July 24, 1948 when two American commercial pilots reported that their DC3 had nearly collided with a strange torpedo shaped object flying near them. It was an important UFO sighting for several reasons: it was perhaps the first that occurred at close distance (allegedly within a few hundred feet); and it was reported by two very experienced pilots, Clarence Chiles and John Whitted. Both pilots had been decorated for their service as airmen during World War II, and both were regarded as valuable, respectable employees of Eastern Airlines. Chiles, in particular, was highly esteemed by his peers and by his employer. It was a pivotal case for the personnel of the U.S. Air Force's Project Sign, and was a main reason they championed the extraterrestrial hypothesis as the best explanation for UFOs.
- The Mantell Incident is among the most publicised early UFO reports: the crash and death of 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantell, on 7 January 1948, while in pursuit of a UFO. Historian David Michael Jacobs argues the Mantell case marked a sharp shift in both public and governmental perceptions of UFOs. Previously, mass media often treated UFO reports with a whimsical or glib attitude reserved for silly season news. Following Mantell’s death, however, Jacobs notes "the fact that a person had dramatically died in an encounter with an alleged flying saucer dramatically increased public concern about the phenomenon. Now a dramatic new prospect entered thought about UFO’s: they might be not only extraterrestrial but potentially hostile as well." (Jacobs, 45)
[edit] 1950
- The Mariana UFO Incident occurred over the Summer of 1950 in Great Falls, Montana. The event garnered national media attention, as the concept of UFOs and alien invasion was extremely popular amongst Americans at the time.
[edit] 1951
- The Lubbock Lights were a v-shaped formation of lights seen over the town of Lubbock, Texas in August, 1951.
[edit] 1952
- The Carson Sink Case was a famous UFO incident that occurred over the Carson Sink in western Nevada in the United States on July 24, 1952. The incident is considered especially noteworthy among UFO sightings because of the competency and reliability of the witnesses, two experienced command pilots of the United States Air Force.
- Beginning in the summer of 1952, according to Angelucci in his book The Secret of the Saucers (1955), he began to encounter flying saucers and their friendly human-appearing pilots during his drives home from the aircraft plant. These space people were superhumanly handsome, often transparent and highly religious. Eventually Angelucci was taken in an unmanned saucer to earth orbit, where he saw a giant "mother ship" drift past a porthole.
- The 1952 Washington D.C. UFO incident was a series of unidentified flying object reports from July 13 to July 29, 1952, over Washington D.C. This resulted in the implementation of the Robertson Panel, a CIA program to "reduce" interest in UFOs and to spy on UFO org.s.
[edit] 1953
- Ellsworth Air Force Base UFO incident.
- Felix Moncla, Jr was a United States Air Force pilot who disappeared while pursuing an unidentified flying object over Lake Superior in 1953. The U.S. Air Force reported that Moncla had crashed and that the "unknown" object was a misidentified Canadian Air Force airplane, but the RCAF disputed this solution, reporting that none of their craft were near the area in question.
- Robert Markhoff was a United States Air Force radar operator who also disapeared while flying over Otis AFB. There was a report of a UFO over the alert area at the base so the F-94C Starfire that they had was put on alert and sent up to intercept it. Almost as soon as he and the pilot, Captain Snuggs were off the runway, the engine quit and Snuggs bailed out. Snuggs survived but neither the plane nor Mr. Markhoff were ever seen again. The only thing recovered was the cockpit canopy.
[edit] 1954
- Buck Nelson was a farmer who claimed to have had an encounter with an unidentified flying object and its humanoid crew in 1954 while living in Missouri.
[edit] 1957
- The Levelland UFO Case occurred on November 2-3, 1957 in the small town of Levelland, Texas. Levelland, which in 1957 had a population of about 10,000, is located west of Lubbock on the flat prairie of the Texas panhandle. The case is considered to be one of the most impressive in UFO history, mainly because of the large number of witnesses involved over a relatively short period of time.
[edit] 1961
- Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials on September 19-20, 1961. Their story, commonly called the Hill Abduction and occasionally the Zeta Reticuli Incident, was the first widely publicized UFO abduction report.
[edit] 1964
- In November 1964, Chuck Wakely flew a charter airplane from Nasa en route to Florida, USA. Flying over the Bermuda Triangle at about 2000 meters, Wakely claimed that the plane became surrounded by a mysterious light. The light became blinding and all onboard electronic equipment ceased to function. After a while, the light disappeared and the electronics resumed normal functioning.
- Lonnie Zamora was a New Mexico police officer who reported a UFO close encounter on Friday, April 24, 1964, near Socorro, New Mexico.
[edit] 1965
- The Exeter incident of Exeter, New Hampshire occurred September 3, 1965. A UFO the size of a barn was seen as close as 500 feet away by a teenager and two police officers.
- The Kecksburg UFO incident of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, USA occurred on December 9, 1965. A large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. It streaked over the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario area, dropped reported metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, and caused sonic booms in western Pennsylvania. It was generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor.
[edit] 1966
- The so-called Portage County UFO Chase was an unidentified flying object encounter that began in Portage County, Ohio on the morning of April 17, 1966, when police officers Dale Spaur and Wilbur Neff observed a metallic, disc shaped object flying in the skies. They pursued the object for about half an hour, ending up in Pennsylvania before losing sight of the UFO. Several other police officers became involved in the chase, and several civilians reported witnessing the same , or a similar object in about the same area, during this time.
[edit] 1967
- Nebraska Police Sergeant Herbert Schirmer claimed that he was abducted by extraterrestrials in 1967. His case was one of those investigated in the Condon Report. He flew to Boulder, Colorado and was examined under hypnosis by psychologist Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle of the University of Wyoming on February 13, 1968.
[edit] 1969
- Jimmy Carter claimed that he had seen a UFO in 1969. In 1973, while Governor of Georgia, he filed a report with the International UFO Bureau in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Near the rural town of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania a small crowd of people witnessed a silent silver saucer hover above a local diner before suddenly disappearing into the night sky, according to numerous witness accounts.[citation needed]
[edit] 1973
- The abduction of Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker, also known as the Pascagoula Abduction is, after the Hill Abduction, among the best-known cases of reports of alien abduction.
[edit] 1975
- The North Hudson Park UFO sightings allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of January 12, 1975, when a Manhattan city park was the scene of a purported unidentified flying object encounter.It can be classified as a close encounter of the second kind (due to purported physical evidence at the scene) and of the third kind (due to a witness claiming to have seen beings associated with the flying saucer).
- Travis Walton claims to have been abducted by a UFO on November 5, 1975, while working on a logging crew in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Walton could not be found, but reappeared after five days of intensive searches.
[edit] 1976
- The Allagash Abduction is an incident that occurred on August 20, 1976 when four men, Jim Weiner, his twin brother Jack, Chuck Rak and their guide, Charlie Foltz, all in their early-twenties, ventured on a camping trip into the Allagash wilderness of Maine.
[edit] 1978
- A series of UFO sightings reported in New Jersey, on January 18, 1978.
[edit] 1979
- In 1979 in Marshall County, Minnesota, Deputy Sheriff Val Johnson claimed to have seen a UFO at 1:40 a.m. while on duty driving close to the North Dakota border.
[edit] 1980
- The Cash-Landrum Incident was a reported Unidentified Flying Object sighting from the United States in 1980, which the witnesses insist was responsible for damage to their health. It is one of very few UFO cases to result in criminal court proceedings. It might be classified as a Close Encounter of the Second Kind, due to its reported physical effects on the witnesses and their automobile.
[edit] 1987
- The Gulf Breeze UFO incident occurred on November 11, 1987 in Gulf Breeze, Florida.
[edit] 1997
- The Phoenix Lights, sometimes referred to as "The Lights Over Phoenix", is the popular name given to a series of optical phenomena that took place in the sky over the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada on March 13, 1997. Lights of varying descriptions were seen by thousands of people between 19:30 and 22:30 MST, in a space of about 300 miles, from the Nevada line, through Phoenix, to the edge of Tucson. UFO proponents claimed they were part of aircraft unknown to man,the USAF identified them as flares dropped by A-10 Warthog aircraft which were on training exercises.
[edit] 2000
- Four experienced hunters claim to have seen a huge triangular UFO. The incident was investigated by NUFORC.
- The "St. Clair Triangle," "UFO Over Illinois," "Southern Illinois UFO," or "Highland, IL UFO" sighting occurred on January 5, 2000 over the towns of Highland, Dupo, Lebanon, Summerfield, Millstadt, and O'Fallon, IL, beginning shortly after 4:00 am. Five on-duty Illinois police officers in separate locales, along with various other witnesses, sighted and reported a massive, silent, triangular aircraft operating at an unusual range of near-hover to incredible high speed at treetop altitudes. The incident was examined in an ABC Special "Seeing is Believing" by Peter Jennings, an hour-long special "UFOs Over Illinois," produced by Discovery Channel, as well as a Sci-Fi Channel special entitled "Proof Positive."
[edit] 2004
- A triangular formation of reddish lights were seen at low to intermediate altitude by hundreds of witnesses, on three separate occasions in late 2004 and early 2005, producing multiple videos, photos, and mainstream local news coverage over two suburbs of Chicago, IL. The object(s) maneuvered slowly within a busy airspace near O'Hare International Airport. The incident was investigated by MUFON, and reported widely in metropolitan media.
[edit] 2006
Wikinews has related news:
- At approximately 4:30 p.m on Tuesday Nov 7th, 2006, federal authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport received a report that a group of twelve airport employees were witnessing a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering over gate C-17.
[edit] 2007
- UFOs similar to the Phoenix Lights incident were spotted in Chandler, Arizona, in February 2007. A short report on this phoenomena was broadcast on KNXV (ABC).
Wikinews has related news:
- Brian Fields, a retired United States Air Force Colonel, spots what he claims are two UFOs hovering over his home in Van Buren, Arkansas.
- A turquoise colored UFO was reported by locals and an officer in and around Charlotte, North Carolina.
Wikinews has related news:
- Locals said they saw UFOs in the sky over Honolulu, Hawaii at 6:20 p.m. The KHON 2 television station was able to catch the objects in the sky using their SkyCam. The National Weather Service said that no objects appeared on their radar at the time the objects were witnessed. The Federal Aviation Administration said that they also did not pick up anything unusual on their radars.
- Reported on KPNX (NBC) in Chandler, Arizona on August 10, 2007, a couple was awakened on the night of Wednesday, August 8, 2007 to a mysterious bright light in the sky, followed by a "sonic boom". No known photos or videos exist.
- On September 1,2007, witnesses reported seeing a large fireball plunge into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey, near Normandy Beach. The FAA reported no missing aircraft. Some speculate it was a meteor, others are convinced it was some sort of aircraft.
- On September 25, 2007, around 6:45 am., a bright red light was flying fast over the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Within seconds, it travelled to Kodiak Island air space, over 300 miles away. Many people claim to have seen it descend behind a mountain. Local troopers and Coast Guard personnel went to investigate the UFO but no signs have been found as of now.
- On September 27, 2007, around 5:45 A.M., a white object with a black dot, most likely a hole, was seen in the skies above Chandler, Arizona. Several videos exist featuring this object, all taken at different times and locations. It is referred to as the Aztec Death Star
[edit] 2008
Wikinews has related news:
- On January 8, 2008, more than 30 residents of Stephenville, Texas reported seeing a large object described as being about a mile long and a half-mile wide with bright lights being chased by what appeared to be fighter jets. The Air Force claims they had no aircraft in the area at the time of the sightings and says the objects may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. One resident described the object as "an arch shape converted in a vertical shape, and then it split and made two of them, and then these turned into just fire and it was gone."
[edit] External links
- UFO Sightings Video Compilation of UFO Videos
- MUFON - Last 20 UFO Sightings and Pictures
- UFO sightings in Pensacola - Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA
- MUFON Famous Cases Aurora Texas page 186
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