The Roswell Report: Case Closed

standard procedure was to preposition military recovery crews near the projected point of payload impact. The crews consisted primarily of Air Force members in uniform and they operated military vehicles. I often directed these crews to "standby" along the shoulder of Highway 285, both north and south of Roswell until the balloon was in position. The recovery crews received detailed instructions from tracking aircraft that led them to the exact location of the payload. The recovery vehicles included, depending on the mission, a crane, weapons carriers, communications van, and occasionally tanker trucks to refuel the aircraft that would sometimes land on nearby roads.

During the time of the year when balloon trajectories were to the west, I attempted to drop the payloads in the Rio Grande Valley. I also aimed for another valley, the flat area north of Truth or Consequences that includes the Plains of San Augustin. In addition, many remote balloon launch sites were located throughout the Rio Grande Valley west of the White Sands Proving Grounds. Launch crews were also mostly military and used much of the same equipment as the recovery crews.

I had extensive involvement with Project 7218 that later became Project 7222. This project studied the free-fall characteristics of anthropomorphic dummies dropped from balloons from altitudes up to 100,000 feet. The missions usually consisted of two dummies attached to a suspension rack that I directed to be released at altitude. Depending on the wind conditions and time of year, the dummies, on many occasions, landed in the Roswell area. I recall some difficulties in the release mechanisms of the dummies that resulted in some of them free-falling to the ground while they were still attached to the rack. Someone without a good vantage point or not associated with the project might mistake these dummies for "aliens" due to their odd flesh tones and abstract human features.

I also recall an accident involving a manned balloon flight. I remember this event clearly because I am also a balloon pilot and had an accident approximately two years before. The accident occurred on a flight that Capt Joe Kittenger was "checking out" two back up pilots for his high altitude missions. The balloon was launched around midnight from behind the Balloon Branch at Holloman AFB. I remember that some of the steel ballast used by the balloon caused a "fireworks' display when it contacted some nearby power lines during the launch. I was operating the control center for this flight and I received notification from the communications vehicle that was following the balloon that there had been an accident north of Roswell. I later learned that the gondola had rolled over during a practice touch and go landing and one of the pilots had been struck in the head and injured. I recall speaking to Capt Kittinger about the accident and I saw the injured pilot. Although his injury was not serious, his head had considerable swelling and he looked very odd.

I also worked with Capt Kittinger on Project Stargazer. I also had met several times the civilian scientific advisor Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Dr Hynek was thoroughly familiar with the balloon operations at Holloman and visited the Balloon Branch numerous times. This project experienced some difficulties and only one manned flight was conducted.