The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (Nicap)

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

# INTRODUCTION

In an article for Yale Scientific magazine, April 1963, Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Chief scientific consultant to the Air Force on UFOs) said: "...there are more reports per year now than there were in the early years of the 'flying saucer era'. .. [UFO reports] have been coming to the Air Force at the rate of better than one a day over the past fifteen years. . . the daily press no longer carries such reports, except perhaps as fillers, because monotonously repeated items do not constitute news. But it is just this repetition that is of potential scientific interest." Dr. Hynek added that the intelligence of the UFO witnesses has been "at least average," often "decidedly above average," and sometimes "embarrassingly above average."

There are basically two explanations for the consistent, worldwide reporting of UFOs every year: (1) Widespread and presently unaccountable delusion on a scale so vast that it should be, in itself, a matter of urgent scientific study; (2) people are seeing maneuvering, apparently controlled objects in the atmosphere.

Of the two hypotheses, the second appears to be more reasonable and it is solidly grounded in empirical observations. It is also borne out, in enough cases to warrant far more scientific investigation, by instruments. [Section VIII]. However, the basic problem is to determine as conclusively as possible which hypothesis is correct. For obvious reasons, verification of the second hypothesis could be one of the most important discoveries of all time.

This report is an attempt to clarify the reliable evidence of UFOs, and to remove the fog of mysticism and crackpotism which has helped to obscure the real issues. These issues are (1) the factual evidence for UFOs and its interpretation; (2) official secrecy and its effect on efforts to arrive at truth.

Under no conditions is this report, or any part of it, to be considered an endorsement, acceptance or other recognition of any claims and beliefs of a philosophical, religious or spiritual nature. Diverse beliefs in these areas are being expounded by many cults, including individuals who use the UFO subject for the purpose of self-enrichment at the expense of an ill-informed public.

This report presents documented facts on the physical aspects of UFOs, which we believe should be investigated scientifically. If our hypotheses are correct they stand independently of, and do not prove, unsubstantiated tales of rides in "flying saucers." Our investigations have found no evidence to support these claims, but considerable evidence of fraud. This does not mean that we believe a meeting with space men is impossible. It merely means that the public is being misled by some unscrupulous individuals making these claims, whose false stories are beclouding serious evidence.

## NICAP and its Policies

NICAP is a non-profit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia (1956). Our main goals and purposes are scientific investigation and research of reported unidentified flying objects, and encouragement of full reporting to the public by responsible authorities of all information which the government has accumulated on this subject. The U.S. Air Force is charged with the official investigation of UFOs, but has practiced an intolerable degree of secrecy keeping the public in the dark about the amount and possible significance of UFO evidence. [Section IX]. Therefore, we have urged Congressional hearings to help clarify the evidence and encourage a full scientific review, with the public being kept fully informed.

carried out by Subcommittees (field units) of specially trained and equipped personnel. Affiliates in four states also assist with investigations, and public relations work. Panels of Special Advisers assist with evaluations of data. The executive staff are the only salaried employees.

NICAP policy is set by a Board of Governors [see inside front cover] and carried out by the executive staff. Investigations are

NICAP is supported by membership fees and donations. (Associate Membership is $5.00, covering six issues of the membership bulletin, The UFO Investigator, published approximately bimonthly). Members assist the investigation, on their own initiative, by submitting newspaper clippings, first-hand reports, and other leads to information. The current membership is approximately 5000, covering all 50 states and about 25 foreign countries. A Panel of Foreign Advisers (including lawyers, engineers, and other professionals) aids in data gathering on a world-wide basis.

NICAP has a secondary interest in all aerial phenomena, and has contributed to scientific studies of meteors and ice-falls. Data has been furnished to the American Meteor Society, various college and university departments, individual scientists, and to many hundreds of students at all levels. A recently formed NICAP Youth Council is encouraging young people to pursue a scientific interest in UFOs, aerial phenomena, and space travel.

Various beliefs and attitudes have been attributed to NICAP erroneously by some of our opponents in the past several years: That we are engaged in a vendetta against the Air Force for purposes of sensationalism; that we accuse the Air Force of being involved in a vast conspiracy (sometimes, it is said, on an international scale) to suppress from the public proof of the reality of extraterrestrial visitations, etc. These are irresponsible distortions of our views.

We are presenting serious, documented facts as evidence of an important phenomenon, the reality of which is denied by the Air Force. We are dissenting from the official (Air Force) position.

A phrase coined by the NICAP Director--'The Silence Group'--has been misused by people on both sides of the issue. The term was used to apply to one faction within the Air Force which favors suppression of UFO information from the public. This view was supported in a book by Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt, chief of the Air Force UFO project, who similarly described a continuing struggle between two factions within the Air Force--one of which favored complete secrecy. The question of whether the Air Force is suppressing information about UFOs does not rest on a conspiratorial view of history. [Section IX]

We have no quarrel with the Air Force and its important mission of national defense. Our criticisms are directed entirely at its allegedly scientific investigation of UFOs and public information policies on the same subject. If the United States Marine Corps were responsible for the UFO investigation, and handled it in the same manner, we would criticize its policies on the subject for the very same reasons.

It is claimed that the reality of UFOs has been disproved, but we are asked to accept this conclusion on authority alone without access to the data which would allow independent evaluation by the scientific community. We are asked to accept this conclusion in the face of evidence, such as contained in this report, which has often been "explained" in strange ways. [Section IX].

Merely on the basis of examining the explanations advanced by the Air Force for specific cases, one can find substantial reason to question the scientific adequacy of the official investigation. This has nothing to do with the motivation of the investigators, who no doubt are perfectly honest and sincere.