selected ufo cases
Cases with Multiple Witnesses
The Bethune / Gandor Air Encounter
February, 10, 1951 - Gandor, Newfoundland, Canada
US Naval Reserve Lieutenant Graham Bethune, copilot of Flight 125, first sighted a huge object [at least] 300 feet in diameter on a near collision course with their aircraft. "A rough estimate would be at least 300 feet in diameter, over 1,000 miles per hour in speed, and approached to within 5 miles of the aircraft." View full report
Source: Disclosure Project / NICAP website / ufologien.net ID: 980
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Witness Photo, Witness Sketch
Korean War battlefield UFO encounter; physiological effects
1951 - Chorwon, Korea, Republic
"We suddenly noticed on our right-hand side what appeared to be a jack-o-lantern come wafting down across the mountain... It had an orange glow in the beginning... But then this object approached us. And it turned a blue-green brilliant light... and then, we were attacked. We were swept by some form of a ray that was emitted in pulses... then I saw it shoot off at a 45 degree angle, that quick, just there and gone." View full report
Source: John Timmerman, J. Allen Hynek Center For UFO Studies (credit: CNI News) ID: 1076
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Group Sighting, Light Beam, Physiological Effects, Sound
Airline pilots observe fast-moving, disc-shaped UFO over Arkansas
March, 20, 1950 - Stuttgart, Arkansas, United States
Chicago & Southern Airlines Capt. Jack Adams and First Officer G. W. Anderson, Jr., were flying a commercial DC-3, when they saw an object approaching the airliner at high speed. It appeared to be circular (disk-shaped), with a diameter of approximately 100 feet. The bottom side appeared to have 9 to 12 symmetrical oval or circular portholes. Capt. Adams estimated the speed to be in excess of 1000 mph. View full report
Source: U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report #14 (Battelle Institute Study), 1955 ID: 677
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Portholes/Windows, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
The Farmington UFO Armada
March, 17, 1950 - Farmington, New Mexico, United States
"Fully half of this town's population still is certain today that it saw space ships or some strange aircraft -- hundreds of them zooming through the skies yesterday. Estimates of the number ranged from & quotes several to more that 500. The objects appeared to play tag high in the air. At times they streaked away at almost unbelievable speeds." View full report
Source: Farmington Daily Times, March 18, 1950 ID: 880
Case Type: PressReport Features: Multiple UFOs, Group Sighting, Mass Sighting
CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite's UFO Encounter in the South Pacific (1950's)
1950 -
In the 1950s Cronkite was part of a pool of news reporters brought out to a small South Pacific island to watch the test of a new Air Force missile... a large disc-type UFO appeared on the scene. Cronkite guessed that the object was about 50-60 feet in diameter, a dull grey color and had no visible means of propulsion. As Air Force guards ran toward the UFO with their dogs, the disc hovered about 30 feet off of the ground." View full report
Source: Bill Knell, UFO researcher ID: 1178
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Witness Photo, Famous Person
Employees of aeronautical laboratory see metallic, disc-shaped object
May, 24, 1949 - Rogue River, Oregon, United States
An employee in the supersonic laboratory of an aeronautical laboratory and some other employees of this lab, were by a river, 2-1/2 miles from its mouth, when they saw an object. The time was about 1700 hours on May 24, 1949. The object was reflecting sunlight when observed by naked eye. It was of metallic construction and was seen with good enough resolution to show that the skin was dirty. View full report
Source: Dr. Bruce Maccabee / U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report 14 (Battelle Study), 1955 ID: 728
Case Type: StandardCase
Maneuvering elliptical UFO seen by trained observers at White Sands Proving Ground
April, 24, 1949 - White Sands Proving Ground , New Mexico, United States
"The object was an ellipsoid about 2-1/2 times as long as it was wide. It had a length of about .02 degrees subtended angle and was gleaming white in color. It did not have metallic or reflected shine. Toward the underside near the tail, the gleaming white became a light yellow. The object was seen under conditions of a cloudless sky and no haze. It left no vapor trail or exhaust. View full report
Source: Richard Hall, The UFO Evidence, 1964 (NICAP - National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomenon) ID: 1095
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Military, Sound, Group Sighting, Scientist/Engineer
The Gorman Dogfight
October, 1, 1948 - Fargo, North Dakota, United States
On the evening of October 1st, 1948, Lieutenant Gorman was returning from a cross-country flight with his squadron of North Dakota Air National Guard, when he saw an unidentified light source. He closed to within about l,000 yards to take a good look, later saying, “It was about six to eight inches in diameter, clear white, and completely round without fuzz at the edges." For 27 hair-raising minutes, Gorman pursued the light through a series of intricate maneuvers. View full report
Source: North Dakota Public Radio, Dec. 10. 2003 ID: 704
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew
Electrician and wife in Indianapolis see domed disc shaped object
July, 31, 1948 - Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Vernon Swigert, an electrician, was standing by the bathroom window of his home when he first sighted an object. He ran to his kitchen where he pointed out the cymbal shaped or domed disc object to his wife. It was about 20 ft across, and 6-8 ft thick. Total time in sight was approximately 10 seconds, during which the object flew on a straight and level course from horizon to horizon, west to east. View full report
Source: U.S. Air Force Project Blue Book Special Report #14 (Battelle Institute Study), 1955 ID: 675
Case Type: SummaryReport
The Chiles-Whitted Case
July, 24, 1948 - Montgomery, Alabama, United States
Another one of the famous airline sightings of earlier years is the Chiles-Whitted Eastern Airlines case. An Eastern DC-3, en route from Houston to Atlanta, was flying at an altitude of about 5,000 ft.. near Montgomery. ...The object was some kind of vehicle. They saw no wings or empennage, but both were struck by a pair of rows of windows or some apparent openings from which there came a bright glow "like burning magnesium." View full report
Source: Dr. James E. McDonald, U.S. House Hearings, 1968 ID: 116
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Sketch, Portholes/Windows
Disc Zooms Down Snake River Canyon, Idaho
August, 13, 1947 - Snake River Canyon, Idaho, United States
A farmer and his two sons, were at his fishing camp on August 13, 1947. He noticed an object some 300 feet away, 75 feet above the ground. It was edge hopping, following the contour of the ground, was sky blue, about 20 feet in diameter and 10 feet thick, and had pods on the side from which flames were shooting out. It made a swishing sound. View full report
Source: Twin Falls Times News, (Twin Falls, Idaho) August 15th, 1947 ID: 415
Case Type: PressReport
United Airlines Flight 105 pilots witness formation of disc-shaped objects
July, 4, 1947 - Emmet, Idaho, United States
On the evening of July 4th at Boise, Idaho, Captain Smith was walking up the ramp to board his plane, flight 105, for a trip to Seattle when someone mentioned the massive wave of saucers taking place all day over the northwest. Captain Smith joked: "I'll believe in those discs when I see them." Shortly after takeoff five disc-like objects, one larger than the rest, approached Captain Smith's DC-3 head on. View full report
Source: James McDonald, Statement to US Congressional Hearings/UFO Symposium, 1968 ID: 723
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Interaction/Reaction, Pilot/Aircrew, Witness Photo, Multiple UFOs
Roswell UFO Incident (Crash and Recovery)
July, 3, 1947 - Roswell, New Mexico, United States
In early July 1947 an incident occurred in the desert just outside of Roswell, NM. Many people have heard of the Roswell UFO crash, but very few people know the details of the incident. The following account of the 1947 UFO incident was taken from public records, from information provided by the International UFO Museum and from the press release for UFO Encounter 1997. View full report
Source: Roswell Online ID: 1134
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Military, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
New Mexico UFO Crash Encounter In 1945
August, 16, 1945 - San Antonio, New Mexico, United States
Reme Baca and Jose Padilla were young boys living in San Antonio, New Mexico in August 1945 when, they say, they literally stumbled across the remains of what they believe to have been an alien spacecraft. Their personal account of the case displays many of the key ingredients of crashed UFO lore. View full report
Source: Ben Moffett, The Mountain Mail, Socorro NM, Nov. 2, 2003 ID: 852
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Crash/Retrieval, Humanoid/Occupant, Children, Witness Photo
The 1942 'Battle of Los Angeles'
February, 25, 1942 - Los Angeles, California, United States
Imagine a visiting spacecraft from another world, or dimension, hovering over a panicked and blacked-out LA in the middle of the night just weeks after Pearl Harbor at the height of WWII fear and paranoia. Imagine how this huge ship, assumed to be some unknown Japanese aircraft, was then attacked as it hung, nearly stationary, over Culver City and Santa Monica by dozens of Army anti-aircraft batteries in full view of hundreds of thousands of residents. Imagine all of that and you have an idea of what was the Battle of Los Angeles. View full report
Source: Jeff Rense, Rense.com ID: 509
Case Type: MajorCase Features: Photo, Mass Sighting
1933 UFO stops for repairs in Sasketchwan, Canada
1933 - Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada
Witnesses saw "a large oval shaped object that was domed at the top and slightly rounded on the bottom. It was supported by legs and from a central door- way, or hatch, about a dozen figures could be seen going up and down a ladder-like stairway. The Occupants appeared to be slightly shorter than the average man, and were all dressed in what appeared to be silver colored suits or uniforms. All appeared to be wearing helmets or ski caps, and all were busy running around ""repairing,, the craft. " View full report
Source: John Brent Musgrave (FSR Vol 22 # 6 1976) ID: 1143
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Humanoid/Occupant, Physical Trace
Formation of round UFOs maneuver near ship in 1904
February, 28, 1904 - Pacific Ocean off San Francisco, California, United States
Three members of the crew of the USS Supply, at 6:10 a.m. local time, sighted an echelon formation of three objects which appeared near the horizon below clouds, moving directly toward the ship. As they approached, the UFOs began soaring, rose above the cloud layer, and were observed climbing into space, still in echelon. The lead object was egg-shaped and about the size of six suns, and the other two were smaller and round. View full report
Source: NICAP / Richard Hall (1964) citing "Monthly Weather Review" (1904) ID: 640
Case Type: SummaryReport Features: Multiple UFOs, Water-Related
UFO sighting over Basel, Switzerland in 1566
August, 7, - Basel, Switzerland
A 16th century woodcutting depicts this scene in which dark spheres were witnessed hovering over the town of Basel, Switzerland in 1566. The spheres appeared at sunrise, 'Many became red and fiery, ending by being consumed and vanishing', wrote Samuel Coccius in the local newspaper on this date. View full report
Source: 16th century woodcutting and newspaper (credit: UFOs at Close Sight) ID: 485
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Multiple UFOs
UFO 'battle' over Nuremberg, Germany in 1561
April, 4, - Nuremberg, Germany
At sunrise on the 14th April 1561, the citizens of Nuremberg beheld "A very frightful spectacle." The sky appeared to fill with cylindrical objects from which red, black, orange and blue white disks and globes emerged. Crosses and tubes resembling cannon barrels also appeared whereupon the objects promptly "began to fight one another." This event is depicted in a famous 16th century woodcut by Hans Glaser. View full report
Source: Various sources ID: 486
Case Type: StandardCase Features: Multiple UFOs
