Documents / Report

The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert

USAF / The Black Vault · 1995 · 882 pages · text by OCR

The Roswell Report: Fact versus Fiction in the New Mexico Desert was published by Headquarters United States Air Force in 1995. The Black Vault distributes this copy. It reproduces the report by Col. Richard L. Weaver and the synopsis by 1st Lt. James McAndrew, both written after a General Accounting Office inquiry requested by Representative Steven Schiff. The Air Force search found no evidence of an extraterrestrial craft or crew. It concluded that the Roswell debris most likely came from NYU Flight No. 4, a Project MOGUL balloon train.

  • p. 704 …Saw Bob Foster 731, also on way to NYC April 8 Mon. Arrived NYC 730 am…
  • p. 705 …I caught 550 train out of Penn Station to Red Bank, NJ April 29 Mon. Up…
  • p. 706 …1130 pm Owl to NYC May 6 Mon. Caught 625 train out of Penn Station to…
  • p. 707 Dec 2 Mon. Cakhurst. Cold wave hit about midnight - temperature down to $ 1 5^{\circ} $ - strong…
  • p. 708 …Dec 23 Mon. Oakhurst. Worked on Alamogordo and Flight 13. Had flight # 14 this pm. - 24…
  • p. 709 …Jan 13 Mon. Oakhurst. Working on sky wave curves. Made plans for Alamogordo this Thursday Jan…
  • p. 710 …Arrived AP about 1230 Feb 3 Mon Oakhurst. Peoples in Washington regarding balloon ascention in June…
  • p. 711 …Feb 24 Mon. Alamogordo. Waited for air transportation today but none available and may not be…
  • p. 712 …In Asbury Park 3 pm March 10 Mon Oakhurst. Vivian and I worked on Flight 25…
  • p. 713 …Cleaned out hanger and emptied trash out at East White Sands April 7 Mon Talked to…
  • p. 714 …April 21 Mon. Alamogordo Air Base. Bill Edmonston and I went out to Tularosa Range and…
  • p. 715 …May 19 Mon Reynolds and I left about 0946. May 19 Mon Reynolds and I left…
  • p. 716 …May 26 Mon. Worked on Tests 1 and 2 records today. No signals from Roswell - some…
  • p. 717 …Took Ireland, Mears, Winton, Olsen to Alamogordo to catch train this pm June 9 Mon. Bill…
  • p. 718 …July 7 (Mon) Alamogordo. Balloon Flight 11 A off at 0503. Big plastic with small auxiliary…
  • p. 719 …Aug 4 Mon. Up to Oakhurst. Hunt Aug 4 Mon. Up to Oakhurst. Went over developments…
# DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES AIR FORCE WASHINGTON DC

MEMORANDUM FOR SAF/AAZ ATTENTION: LT COL BUTLER

FROM: AF/SE

SUBJECT: GAO Review on Records Management Procedures Dealing with Weather Balloons, Unknown Aircraft, and Similar Crash Incidents (GAO Code 701034) - INFORMATION MEMORANDUM

In response to your memorandum dated 1 Mar 94, same subject, Air Force Safety has identified 2 directives concerning the investigating and reporting of air vehicle crashes. One is within our purview, while the other is managed by the Office of the Judge Advocate General.

AFR 127-4, Investigating and Reporting US Air Force Mishaps (attached), provides guidance for Air Force safety investigations, to include "air vehicle mishaps." The mishap report is used for mishap prevention purposes only and is not normally released outside Air Force channels. It does not cover the investigation of air vehicle crashes belonging to other branches of government or civilian crashes.

AFR 110-14, Investigations of Aircraft, Missile, and Nuclear and Space Accidents, provides guidance for Accident Investigation Boards, which are convened primarily to obtain and preserve available evidence for claims, litigation, disciplinary and administrative actions, and for all other purposes. The accident report is normally releasable to the public.

Normally, the safety investigation is done first, after which the wreckage/debris retention and disposition becomes the responsibility of the Accident Investigation Board. AFR 110-14, paragraph 10, Disposition of Wreckage and Other Evidentiary Materials, states "HQ USAF/JACC [now AFLSA/JACT] manages the retention of aircraft wreckage for anticipated litigation or in cases where there is a high degree of publicity. The Air Force is not under any general requirement to retain wreckage for long periods of time, but in some cases, it is advantageous to do while in others the wreckage can be disposed of quickly."

The Air Force Safety Agency searched the microfilm records (classified and unclassified) for air vehicle mishaps for the period 20 June through 31 July 1947. The only mishaps reported in New Mexico during that periods are as follows:

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Report, 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. 882 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.