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Project Blue Book documents on the Killian case, compiled by Dan Wilson
NICAP · 83 pages · text by OCR
This NICAP compilation by Dan Wilson gathers Project Blue Book records on the sighting of 24 February 1959, when American Airlines Flight 139, flying from Newark to Detroit, and two United Airlines crews saw three lights over Pennsylvania and Ohio. It includes the record card, pilot statements, Air Force letters and correspondence with an Akron UFO committee. The Air Force concluded that the lights came from three B-47s refueling from KC-97 tankers. Book excerpts disputing Captain Killian's later claims are also included.
“Nevers”20 pages
- p. 3 …that Captain states in his report that he has never witnessed a night refueling operation . Yet
- p. 12 MEMO ROUTING SLIP NEVER USE FOR APPROVALS, DISAPPROVALS, OR RECURRENCE, OR SIMILAR ACTIONS
1. NAME OR…
- p. 20 …could be a jet tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed refueling operation at night, I am…
- p. 33 …could be a jet tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed refueling operations at night, I am…
- p. 36 …Airlines, quoting Captain saying that he had never seen jet refuelling operations at night and that…
- p. 39 …planes for 15 years, said, "I have never seen anything like it before."
Killian said other…
- p. 40 …said never seen anything before."
man said other members crew and the 35 passengers saw the…
- p. 45 …all my period of flying, I have never in my life seen anything even remotely resembling…
- p. 46 …I thought - well, there must be something to it, but what, I was never sure. These…
- p. 47 …is in New York, but I have never experienced an thing like that before. It might…
- p. 52 …since 1929 and who states he has never seen anything like this before, is not likely…
- p. 58 …the situation by ATIC later declassified but never released, stating that the flying saucers were interplanetary…
- p. 59 …of Intelligence investigations of UFOs: "It will never be possible to say with certainty that any…
- p. 62 …could be a jet tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed refueling operation at night. I am…
- p. 66 …This man had been a civilian pilot for five and he said that he had never…
- p. 69 …is in New York but I have never experienced anything like that before."
WHEN Killian first…
- p. 72 …He told the Detroit Times, "I never attached any importance to the fact that they may…
- p. 73 …encounter "awe inspiring" and said he had never seen anything like that in the air before…
- p. 80 …at night. (Original statement to American Airlines: "Never having witnessed refueling operations at night, I am…
- p. 82 …could be a jet-tanker refueling operation. Never having witnessed refueling operations at night, I am…
Location Pennsylvania
Date 24 Feb 1959 Hour (2) 2045
wX Visibility unlimited at $ \delta 5 0 0^{*} $ - on top of broken clouds
Description Three lights varying in color from yellow to orange, also changing in intensity from dim to brilliant. Lights apparently moving east to west
Direction of Motion E to W
Satellite: (AFCIN-4F3, Phone 69219) Checked - objects much too slow and uniform.
Astronomical Phenomena (Meteor, Comet, Planet, etc) Objects too slow for meteors - description doesn't fit - motion rules out planet
Radar Analysis (AFCIN-4E1) N/A
Natural Phenomena (Ball Lightning, etc) Size of object rules out "ball lightning".
Aircraft, Balloons, Airships, etc. Possibly aircraft
Other ___
Evaluation of Source Reliability Probably very good.
Analysis and Conclusions: Information from Pittsburgh is that a B-47 refueling operation was in progress at the time of the sighting. This operation took place in the area of the sighting. The Air Force bomber and tanker aircraft were flying from east to west. Witness indicates in his statement that he is not familiar with the light pattern used during refueling operation. The objects of this sighting were probably due to misinterpretation of the lights on aircraft during a refueling operation.
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Document, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. The text was read from the page images by an OCR model; expect the odd misread word. 83 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.