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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.

  • 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…
The Air Force's third explanation of his sighting, "well, contradictory and not set in factory." Captain is no longer discussing his sighting of the three unknown objects. After his initial comments in newspapers, exposing the obvious flaws in the Air Force's explanations, the muzzle was quickly applied. American Airlines, through its insistence, was forced to alliance, their attitude being that good relations with officials must be maintained at all costs. Consequently, he was requested not to publicise "so controversial a subject." Captain has commented, "I feel very deeply concerned with this loss of my own personal freedom." The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States roads in part: "Congress shall make law ... prohibiting the freedom of speech or of the press." While the silence order was imposed on Captain, however, the same did not apply to Mrs. remarked, "Although the Captain isn't talking, I can talk ..." Mrs. was asked if Captain would be willing to go before the Space Committee hearings in Washington to relate his story. Mrs. replied: "Definitely. In fact, a Senator asked the Captain if he could come to Washington and tell his story. The Captain said 'Yes, I would go, but you would have to subpoena me. Then I could talk.'" From the NICAP Bulletin, July-August 1959: "In a recent development, the Air Force is now circulating a statement, allegedly from American Airlines, quoting Captain saying that he had never seen jet refuelling operations at night and that the UFCs saw on February 24 could have been a jet refuelling operating. The unsigned statement is in direct contradiction to the statements made to the NICAP Director to the Long Island Daily Press and in taped interviews. In effect, a statement have been brushed by the Air Force as lies after they apparently requested American Airlines to silence his so he could not answer back. American Airlines had deliberately arranged none of the early publicity before he was evidently told to

stop talking. Copies of the controdictory statements have been sent to several members of Congress."

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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.