Documents / FOIA release

Flying Saucers UFO Reports

Central Intelligence Agency · 2001-03-12 · 68 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This CIA release, approved in 2001, contains Flying Saucers UFO Reports No. 1, a magazine that Dell Publishing issued in 1967. It argues that UFOs deserve serious study. It gathers reported landings, radar trackings, sightings by astronomers and pilots, and cases involving creatures, drawing on Ruppelt, Keyhoe, Fuller, NICAP and APRO. It also describes Project Blue Book, NICAP, APRO and the new University of Colorado study under Dr. Edward Condon.

  • p. 16 …Investigators were skeptical of their value as evidence. mouths," the animal sounds, and the attempts to…

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# Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010002-9

that of a witness who described "a reddish-orange disc (that) emerged apparently from inside the object and began a slow, erratic descent down toward the power lines. As it reached a point within a quarter of a mile of them, it leveled off, then moved over the wires until it reached a point several hundred feet away. It then descended slowly until it was only a few feet above the lines. Then a silvery pipelike object came down from the base of the disc and actually touched the lines, remaining there for a minute or so." (Incident at Exeter).

The coincidence of power-blackouts with UFO sightings had been too numerous over the years for investigators to dismiss the relationship. Many of them had examined the possibility that the UFOs were recharging from earth based power sources. Whatever the ultimate truth is, there are a remarkable number of sightings during the course of which car radios, car motors, TV sets, city lights and, in some instances, entire areas have been effected, to the extent of total blackout.

NICAP drew attention to this unique feature of UFO reports in The UFO Evidence and cited, as examples of the frequent mentions of electrical failures that attach to sightings, the many reports that came in during the November 1957 flap.

Levelland, Texas: Torpedo-shaped object made explosive take-off from field passing over a truck. Truck lights and engine failed.

Same date and location: Two grain combines failed and seven separate reports of car motor and car light failure were reported.

Ararangua, Brazil: Aircraft electrical equipment effected at same time pilot saw red light near plane.

Kodiak, Alaska: Police officer reported interference on cruiser radio as he watched fiery red object trailing greenishyellow vapor pass over.

Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.: TV blackout as revolving UFO was seen hovering in sky.

Santa Fe, N.M.: Humming UFO passed low over car; engine, clock and wristwatch stopped.

Hammond, Ind.: TV blackout and report of interference with cruiser radios as police chased "elongated beeping object."

Lemmon, S.D.: Railroad phones and automatic block system failed after UFO had followed train into railroad yard.

The Air Force dismissed the suggestion of electro-magnetic interference and stated the number of "stallings" reported by motorists was negligible. It may have been this attitude that prompted the national press to steer away from coverage of several power blackouts, locally attributed to the presence of UFOs.

An example given little attention in the press but apparently noted with more than passing interest by the Air

Force was chronicled in Frank Edwards' Flying Saucers Serious Business (Lyle Stuart). In this instance a glowing object was sighted over Oneida, N.Y., traveling west, fast and high. Radar established it was not meteor, not plane, not missile. And the line of flight (East to West) established it was not a satellite.

Listed as a UFO, it was tracked to Kansas then lost on the radar screens as it headed northwest. It was later acknowledged by an Air Force spokesman that a few minutes later a power substation at Eureka, Utah ceased functioning and remained out of operation during 42 minutes that a UFO sat down near the station. Jets from Stead AFB in Reno and in Phoenix were sent up to intercept.

That same night there was a blinding flash in the sky, 70 miles south of Reno, so intense that the glare was seen in five states. The jets were pursuing the object at the time of the explosion over Nevada.

"Here was a case where flustered officials confirmed that an object beyond their control had crossed most of the United States, had landed beside a power station which remained useless until the object took off, pursued by armed interceptors. While under this pursuit, the object had admittedly exploded with a brilliance visible over five states." Flying Saucers-Serious Business.

Nor has the most memorable of all blackouts gone unremarked by UFOlogists who are concerned with the instances of UFO sightings coupled with power failures. On November 9,1965,80,000 square miles of America was plunged into darkness by the failure of the Northeast Power Grid. The magnitude of such a failure; its consequences and its forbidding potential demanded and received instant and thorough investigation and generated world-wide puzzlement and requests for explanation.

Quick answers were given and as hastily retracted.

One early explanation was that a line break near Niagara Falls was the cause. This proved not to be the case. The blame switched to power lines near Clay, N.Y. They were not at fault. Investigators turned their attention to trouble in the Montezuma Marshes near Syracuse. Everything shipshape. Ultimately the cause was said to have been a malfunctioning tripper at the Sir Adam Beck No. 2 plant, in Canada. But authorities admit today that the real cause of the disastrous blackout remains a mystery.

The utility companies, the Air Force and the press made little mention of the reported UFO sighting that afternoon of November 9. Two commercial airline pilots spotted two disc-shaped objects flying over Pennsylvania. In pursuit were two jets. At 4:30 p.m. a tremendous burst of speed carried the UFOs out of sight. At 5:30 p.m. a brilliantly glowing light was seen coming down over Syracuse, N.Y. At that same time 36,000,000 people were plunged into the Great Northeastern Blackout. Two huge fireballs were reported by two sets of reliable witnesses at this same time; one over the airport at Syracuse; the other above the power lines leading to the generating plant at Niagara Falls. NICAP has this later report on file. It is available to investigators interested in pursuing all theories relative to the November 1965 blackout. It has not been given serious consideration by authorities who still are seeking the answers. There have been other blackouts of sizeable consequence. There have been attendant UFO sightings. The theory may gain support.

Approved For Release 2001/04/02 : CIA-RDP81R00560R000100010002-9

Cases discussed

About this file

FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 68 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.