1989 in UFO history
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 📅 Year
Contents 5
| Year | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Events | 10 |
| Decade | 1980s |
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic), Bases & Area 51 (topic) |
| Timeline | 1989 on the UAP Timeline |
1989 in UFO history — the UAP Timeline records 10 events in 1989, mostly about beings & bodies and secrecy & cover-up. People named in these events include John Lear, Linda Moulton Howe, Bob Lazar, Jacques Vallée, Leonard Stringfield.
Overview
1989 brought one of ufology's most influential claims. In May Bob Lazar gave his first public interview, on Las Vegas station KLAS-TV. He said he had worked at "S-4," a site near Area 51 by Papoose Lake, where alien flying saucers were stored and studied.[1][2] Lazar had met John Lear in 1988, and the two made night trips to the Groom Lake area in March and April 1989 looking for UFO "test flights."[1] Lazar has provided no evidence for his claims. His stated degrees from top universities were quickly debunked, and his account of his education and employment is full of fabrications.[1] See also George Knapp.
On 29 November 1989 the Belgian UFO wave began, a series of sightings of triangular objects that lasted until April 1990.[3] It was tracked by NATO radar and jet interceptors and investigated by Belgium's military.[4] Also from 1989, people involved in the deception campaign behind the MJ-12 documents began confessing that they had fabricated the material to deceive UFO researchers.[5] See also William Moore.
The timeline's 1989 entries include more claims. In June Air Force Captain Richard Osedacz wrote an Air Force Institute of Technology paper saying a database of objects in near-Earth orbit, tracked by NORAD and called "fastwalkers," had existed since at least 1972.[2] In July retired Brigadier General Arthur Exon, a former Wright-Patterson commander, said he had been told Roswell involved an alien spacecraft and that a committee he called "the Unholy Thirteen" controlled UFO matters.[6] On 17 September Jacques Vallée wrote that a "large disinformation campaign" surrounded UFOs, though he could not find what it was covering.[6] Lear passed on claims from a source about a saucer and alien autopsies at an underground site, and Bill English described an alleged "Grudge/Blue Book Report 13."[7] Other claims concern an alleged shoot-down at Moriches Bay, Long Island, and an approach by NASA's Bob Oechsler to retired Admiral Sumner Shapiro, arranged through former intelligence chief Bobby Ray Inman.[6][8]
Events
- John Lear's source Mike (1989) (January 1989) — John Lear says a source was flown to an underground site to photograph a saucer and autopsy.
- Bill English and Grudge/Blue Book Report 13 (January 1989) — Bill English claims he saw a memo saying Blue Book officials knew of crash recoveries.
- Cabo Rojo jet disappearance (1988) (January 1989) — A Navy sailor says F-14 pilots chased a UAP near Puerto Rico.
- Bob Lazar goes public (15 May 1989) — Bob Lazar goes public, claiming he worked on alien craft at S-4 near Area 51.
- Osedacz thesis on fastwalkers (1989) (June 1989) — An Air Force captain writes that a database of UAP in near-Earth orbit has long existed.
- Arthur Exon's Roswell statements (July 1989) — Gen. Arthur Exon says he was told Roswell was an alien craft recovery.
- Puthoff on tracking the phenomenon (1989) (11 July 1989) — Puthoff tells Vallée nobody seems to be tracking the phenomenon properly.
- Vallée on the disinformation campaign (1989) (17 September 1989) — Vallée writes there is a large disinformation campaign around UAP.
- Moriches Bay crash claim (28 September 1989) — An anonymous colonel claims a Star Wars weapon downed a UAP in Long Island's Moriches Bay.
- Oechsler–Inman phone call (October 1989) — A NASA mission specialist meets a retired admiral about a group said to manage UAP information.
People
- John Lear — Pilot and son of Bill Lear who spread claims of alien treaties in the late 1980s.
- Linda Moulton Howe — Journalist and filmmaker who runs the Earthfiles website and has reported many crash-retrieval claims.
- Bob Lazar — Man who claimed in 1989 that he worked on alien craft at S-4 near Area 51.
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Leonard Stringfield — Former Air Force intelligence officer and NICAP researcher who collected anonymous crash-retrieval accounts from 1978 to 1994.
- Bill English — Former Army captain who claimed he read "Grudge/Blue Book Report No. 13".
- Jorge Martín — Puerto Rican UFO researcher.
- George Knapp — Las Vegas journalist who broke the Bob Lazar story and co-wrote Skinwalkers at the Pentagon.
- Richard Osedacz — Air Force captain whose 1989 thesis described tracking uncatalogued space objects.
- J. Allen Hynek — Astronomer and Air Force UFO consultant from 1948 to 1969 who later founded the Center for UFO Studies.
Nearby years
1988 in UFO history · 1990 in UFO history
References
- Bob Lazar — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- UAP timeline published with Michael Shellenberger's 2024 congressional testimony, entries for 15 May and June 1989 · oversight.house.gov
- Belgian UFO wave — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Unidentified flying object — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for July to 28 September 1989 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entries for January 1989 · oversight.house.gov
- UAP timeline (Shellenberger testimony), entry for October 1989 · oversight.house.gov
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Bob Lazar”, “Belgian UFO wave”, “Unidentified flying object”, “Majestic 12”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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