Documents / Hearing transcript
This is the printed transcript of an April 5, 1966 hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services on unidentified flying objects. Air Force Secretary Harold Brown testified that 9,501 of 10,147 sightings from 1947 through 1965 had been identified and that no threat or extraterrestrial evidence had been found. The record includes the Scientific Advisory Board ad hoc committee report recommending university studies and the Air Force's marsh gas explanation for the Dexter and Hillsdale, Michigan sightings. Members also questioned J. Allen Hynek and Maj. Hector Quintanilla about the Exeter, New Hampshire case.
6045 Dr. HYNEK. Well, sir, scientists have a somewhat different way of working. They gather data quietly without fanfare, without the press looking over their shoulder. They may work for several years. The CHAIRMAN. What would you suggest, that I do, Doctor, as chairman of this committee? Dr. HYNEK. You are in a totally different category,sir. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Since this thing began in Michigan, we have two members of the Michigan delegation, and I am going to start off with Mr. Nedzi and ask him if he has any questions. Mr. NEDZI. Mr. Chairman, you are very kind. I don't have any questions directly pertaining to Michigan, although I have recent- ly been advised my district is about 150 miles from the sightings. The sightings are moving eastward toward my district. [Laughter.] One question Doctor, as to these statistics. Are they statistics only from the question, States, the investigations made by you and the Air Force? Dr. HYNEK. Yes, sir. The Air Force would have no jurisdiction over cases in other countries. But there are, I understand, reports from other countries, also. Mr. NEDZI. Is any effort made to coordinate information with some of the sightings that are made'abroad? Dr. HYNEK. No,sir. Up to now we have made no concerted effort to do this. Mr. NEDZI. Do you think it might be a good idea to do it? Dr. HYNEK. Well, I think we should 'attend to the situation here in the United States first. Then, if our efforts are successful and if we strike scientific paydirt and find something of value, then perhaps the other step you suggest would be advisable. Mr. NEDZI. Do you know whether any studies are going on over- seas, with respect to UFO's? Dr. HYNEK. I know of no formal studies. Actually, the rest of the world seems to be guided by, and shows a tremendous respect for, the U.S. Air Force, and they feel, I understand, that the Air Force has done a fine job. Mr. NEDZI. Perhaps the question should be directed to the Air Force, but, it seemed to me there should be some kind of exchange of ideas among the scientists who might be interested in it in other countries where these sightings have taken place. It might contribute toward an expose of the problem. Let me clarify for the record, I do not believe in flying saucers, but I think it is important to have some kind of evidence that can be pre- sented to the people so that they don't let the thing get more out of hand than I think it already is. Secretary BROWN. That is what we have been trying to do, Mr. Nedzi. I do not think we have any ideas of a scientific nature to exchange with anyone else yet, nor do they have such information to exchange with us, and the difficulty in going to an international pro- gram is that it won't broaden our knowledge of basic data very much. On the other hand, it may degrade the quality of the data, because we have a hard enough time getting details in this country. A few well- authenticated but unexplained cases are worth much more than a
Hearing transcript, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 88 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.