Crashes & retrievals (topic)

Crashes & retrievals (topic)

Type	Topic overview
Events	141
Years	1947–2023
Timeline	Show on the Timeline

Crashes & retrievals is one of the twelve topics on the UAP Timeline. It covers claims that crashed craft, debris or wreckage were recovered and studied. The Timeline lists 141 events on this topic, from 1947 to 2023.

Key people

• Leonard Stringfield — Former Air Force intelligence officer and NICAP researcher who collected anonymous crash-retrieval accounts from 1978 to 1994.
• Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
• Linda Moulton Howe — Journalist and filmmaker who runs the Earthfiles website and has reported many crash-retrieval claims.
• Harold Puthoff — Physicist who co-founded the SRI remote-viewing research and later worked on AAWSAP and To The Stars Academy.
• Eric W. Davis — Physicist who worked on AAWSAP and has said the U.S. holds recovered craft.
• David Grusch — Former intelligence officer who testified in 2023 that the U.S. has recovered non-human craft.
• Kevin Randle — Roswell researcher and author of many books on crash-retrieval claims.
• Luis Elizondo — Former Army counterintelligence officer who says he ran AATIP.
• William Blanchard — Roswell base commander in 1947 who later became Air Force vice chief of staff.
• Don Schmitt — Roswell researcher and co-author of Witness to Roswell.
• Jesse Marcel — Intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group who recovered the Roswell debris in 1947.
• Ryan Wood — Researcher who published the Majestic documents with his father Robert Wood.
• Steven Greer — Physician who founded CSETI and the Disclosure Project.
• Tom DeLonge — Musician who founded To The Stars Academy.
• Tom Carey — Roswell researcher and co-author of Witness to Roswell.
• Roger Ramey — Eighth Air Force commander who presented the Roswell balloon in 1947.

Programs, places and terms

• Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
• Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
• U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
• Roswell — The New Mexico town at the center of the 1947 crash story.
• Crash retrieval — The alleged recovery of crashed non-human craft by governments.
• Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
• U.S. Navy — The U.S. naval service, whose pilots reported the UAP encounters revealed in 2017.
• Central Intelligence Agency — The U.S. foreign intelligence agency, which has followed UFO reports since the 1940s.
• Roswell incident — The July 1947 recovery of debris near Roswell, New Mexico, announced as a "flying disc" and then explained as a weather balloon.
• Project Blue Book — The Air Force's public UFO investigation from 1952 until its closure in December 1969.
• MUFON — The largest civilian UFO organization in the United States.
• Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
• AARO — The Pentagon office set up in 2022 to investigate UAP.
• Department of Energy — The U.S. department that runs the nuclear weapons laboratories.
• Area 51 — The secret Nevada test site where spy planes and stealth aircraft were developed.
• Roswell Army Air Field — The bomber base at Roswell, home of the 509th Bomb Group in 1947.

Events

• Walter Haut sealed affidavit (8 July 1947) — Roswell press officer Walter Haut's affidavit says his commander told him the base had recovered crash debris from a disc.
• Art McQuiddy and the Roswell press release (8 July 1947) — Roswell newspaper editor Art McQuiddy says the base announced a recovered disc, then asked him to call it a weather balloon.
• Thomas DuBose affidavit on the Roswell debris (8 July 1947) — Col. Thomas DuBose's affidavit says the Roswell debris went via Fort Worth to Wright Field and the balloon photos were a cover story.
• Robert Shirkey affidavit on the Roswell debris flights (8 July 1947) — Lt. Robert Shirkey's affidavit says he saw debris loaded for flights from Roswell to Fort Worth and Wright Field.
• Twining memo (1947) (23 September 1947) — Gen. Nathan Twining writes that the flying discs are real and could be a secret U.S. or Soviet project.
• Selman Graves and the Paradise Valley crash claim (October 1947) — Pilot Selman Graves says he saw a crashed craft and two humanoid bodies recovered in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
• Mexican mystery missile (1947) (October 1947) — An unknown missile allegedly crashes in Mexico and the State Department is said to seek the wreckage.
• Laredo UFO crash claim (1948) (1948) — An anonymous retired colonel claims a craft crashed near Laredo, Texas, and witnesses were sworn to secrecy.
• White Sands blown-window crash claim (1948) (1948) — An anonymous source claims a disc crashed at White Sands with its occupants dead from a blown-out window.
• Alleged CIA report on recovered disc technology (1949) (17 August 1949) — An alleged CIA report names a secret Defense Department program for exploiting recovered disc technology.
• Hebgen Lake disc report (1949) (17 August 1949) — An Air Force base reports an informant's account of seven discs and two crashed ones; a lake search finds nothing.
• Bell Labs source on 1950 crash files (1950) — A Bell Labs source says a former NASA employee had technical files on a 1950 crash retrieval.
• MJ-12 Fifth Annual Report (1952) — A disputed, possibly hoaxed 'Majic' report describes the 1947 recovery of craft and five bodies.
• Wright-Patterson guard and the tarp-covered craft (1952) (1952) — A former guard is said to have seen a tarp-covered craft taken into a secure area at Wright-Patterson.
• Air Force officer's crash-retrieval remark (1952) (1952) — A source says an Air Force officer told an aerospace meeting he had been at a crash retrieval scene.
• Warrant officer and the crates of bodies (1953) (1953) — A former Army warrant officer claims he saw crates of small humanoid bodies at Wright-Patterson.
• Fort Polk crash claim (1953) (1953) — An Army source says he saw an egg-shaped craft crash-land at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
• Garrison, Utah crash and burial claim (1953) (20 May 1953) — An anonymous Air Force official claims a craft crashed and was buried near Garrison, Utah.
• Kingman UFO crash (21 May 1953) — An engineer using the pseudonym Fritz Werner swears he investigated a crashed craft near Kingman, Arizona.
• SOM1-01 Special Operations Manual (1954) — Engineer Bob Wood reportedly suspects the 'SOM1-01' manual was created as Cold War disinformation.
• Roswell-area helicopter crash claim (1954) (12 April 1954) — An Air Force helicopter trainee says he was sent to a desert crash near Roswell in 1954.
• 4602d AISS crashed-object claim (1954) (14 October 1954) — A Marine aviator says he was told an Air Force intelligence squadron ran a crashed-object program.
• Mrs. G and the Wright-Patterson catalogue (1955) — A Wright-Patterson worker reportedly said she catalogued about 1,000 incoming UAP items.
• Blue Book Special Report No. 14 (5 May 1955) — Blue Book Special Report No. 14 analyzes 3,200 sightings and finds no proof of advanced craft.
• Afghanistan saucer reports (1956) (24 January 1956) — Wright-Patterson monitors a reported saucer landing in Afghanistan and plans an overflight.
• NICAP fed a fake crash story (1957) (May 1957) — Civilian group NICAP is fed a fake UAP crash story by a source with NSA ties.
• Hunter AFB "UFO crash" letter (1958) (30 October 1958) — An Air Force colonel writes about a 'UFO crash' near Hunter AFB, Georgia.
• Philip Corso's Roswell claims (1961) — Army Col. Philip Corso claims he handled autopsy reports and recovered alien artifacts.
• Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961) (13 November 1961) — An Air Force draft policy names intelligence teams for Projects Moon Dust, Blue Fly and 'UFO'.
• Fort Riley incident (1964) (10 December 1964) — A Fort Riley guard says soldiers were marched toward a large object lit by a helicopter.
• Lockbourne AFB object and Kecksburg (10 December 1965) — An Air Force guard says he watched over an object brought from Pennsylvania before it went to Wright-Patterson.
• Cedar Breaks radar site crash claim (1966) — A radar technician reportedly saw a disc crash at a Utah radar site linked to Area 51.
• FBI denials of UFO interest (21 July 1966) — The FBI tells citizens UAP have never been its concern, contradicting its own files.
• Camp Pendleton Marine's crash-site claim (1967) (3 July 1967) — A Marine says he flew to a crash retrieval site in the desert in 1967.
• Nepal space debris (1968) (March 1968) — The DIA tracks a crashed circular metal disc recovered in Nepal, later tied to Project Moon Dust.
• Montauk Project (January 1971) — Preston Nichols claims he worked on exotic projects at Camp Hero in Montauk, New York.
• Great Lakes shoot-down claim (1973) (June 1973) — A Navy instructor claims a UAP was shot down by a missile and secretly moved by rail to Great Lakes.
• Dyess AFB weapons storage incident (1973) (October 1973) — A security policeman at Dyess AFB says his squadron encountered a UAP near nuclear bombers.
• Expected 1974 disclosure rumor (1974) — A sergeant says a retired Army official told him crash and occupant information would soon be released.
• Sgt. M.S. and the Wright-Patterson general (1977) — An Air Force sergeant says a general at Wright-Patterson told him about recovered material.
• Daniel Sheehan and the Blue Book photos (1977) — Attorney Daniel Sheehan says he was shown classified Blue Book material at the Library of Congress.
• Mario Woods incident at Ellsworth AFB (1977) (November 1977) — An Ellsworth AFB security airman says a UAP answered his spotlight signals.
• Ohio crash with survivor claim (1978) (1978) — An Air Force officer reportedly heard of a crash with two dead and one live occupant near Ohio.
• Fort Dix–McGuire incident (18 January 1978) — An alleged Air Force form describes a UAP incident and body recovery at Fort Dix and McGuire AFB.
• 1978 House SETI hearing (19 September 1978) — A NASA official testifies to the House about searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.
• Victor Marchetti's Second Look article (May 1979) — Former CIA official Victor Marchetti writes that the government is hiding alien contact.
• Southeastern Oregon crash claim (1979) (27 June 1979) — An informant claims a craft crashed in southeastern Oregon and he helped load crates.
• Del Rio crash claim (13 August 1979) — A retired airman says he learned of a 1950 crash near Del Rio, Texas.
• Weitzel letter (1980) (July 1980) — Air Force counterintelligence officer Richard Doty delivers a forged letter to a civilian UAP group.
• Hangar 18 (film) (July 1980) — The film Hangar 18 depicts a government cover-up of a crashed UAP.
• Larry W. and the 1968 capture claim (14 December 1980) — A source says a former soldier witnessed a UAP capture in 1968.
• Air Force colonel harassed over a UFO group (1982) (1982) — An Air Force colonel says he was harassed after founding a UFO group.
• Sandia uncle crashed saucer story (1982) (29 September 1982) — Puthoff relays a story of a scientist who studied a crashed saucer and copied an antigravity device.
• Sarbacher letter (1983) (29 November 1983) — Physicist Robert Sarbacher writes that he heard of recovered UAP materials while consulting for the Pentagon.
• Cheyenne Mountain and Lake Kickapoo sighting (1986) (December 1986) — A Navy officer says sensors at Cheyenne Mountain detected a UAP.
• John Lear's ParaNet statement (1987) (29 December 1987) — Pilot John Lear claims the government has worked with gray aliens since the 1960s.
• Edmund Gomez and Dulce (23 October 1988) — A New Mexico rancher claims he saw troops and an aircraft crash near Dulce.
• 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.
• Arthur Exon's Roswell statements (July 1989) — Gen. Arthur Exon says he was told Roswell was an alien craft recovery.
• Moriches Bay crash claim (28 September 1989) — An anonymous colonel claims a Star Wars weapon downed a UAP in Long Island's Moriches Bay.
• Eric Walker and the Penn State alumnus (6 September 1990) — A Penn State alumnus says former university president Eric Walker attended secret UAP meetings.
• Jesse Marcel Jr.'s account of the Roswell debris (6 March 1991) — Jesse Marcel Jr. says his father showed him strange Roswell debris in 1947.
• Uncle's 1946–47 project claim (12 April 1991) — A woman says her uncle worked on a 1946–47 government project linked to a crash.
• Tim Cooper's German saucer source (1991) (July 1991) — A retired colonel says early UAP were first thought to be German and used unknown materials.
• Navy linguist and the Soviet crash report (July 1991) — A Navy linguist says he decoded a Soviet report of a crash split between England and Germany.
• Oliver Henderson and the Roswell flight (9 July 1991) — Oliver Henderson's widow swears he told her he flew Roswell crash debris and bodies.
• Jud Roberts and the Mac Brazel interview (30 December 1991) — A Roswell radio manager says he interviewed rancher Mac Brazel and was warned off broadcasting it.
• Southaven Park crash claim (24 November 1992) — A book says locals believed a UAP crashed near Brookhaven Lab on Long Island.
• Earl Zimmerman affidavit (2 November 1993) — A radio operator's affidavit describes 1947 flying saucer rumors at his base.
• Andrew Kissner and the 1947 crashes (1994) — A former New Mexico legislator says sources told him 1947 disc crashes caused deaths.
• Frederick Benthal's Roswell photographs claim (1 September 1994) — Army photographer Frederick Benthal says he photographed the Roswell crash and bodies.
• Boscombe Down incident (26 September 1994) — A magazine reports an object crash-landed at Boscombe Down, UK, followed by unmarked jets.
• GAO Roswell records report (28 July 1995) — Rep. Steven Schiff says Roswell base records were destroyed, per a GAO audit.
• Dan Morris testimony (30 August 1996) — Air Force Sgt. Dan Morris says he was part of a group gathering UAP information.
• Jonathan Weygandt's Peru crash claim (March 1997) — Marine Jonathan Weygandt says he guarded a crashed craft in a cliffside.
• The Day After Roswell (June 1997) — Philip Corso claims he helped seed recovered UAP technology into U.S. industry.
• The Roswell Report: Case Closed (24 June 1997) — The Air Force's 'Case Closed' report says Roswell 'bodies' were crash-test dummies.
• Homer Rowlette deathbed account (March 1999) — A man says his father told him on his deathbed about the Roswell crash.
• Privatized control group claim (1999) (7 July 1999) — An alleged CIA source says the UFO control group became privately funded after 1969.
• Puthoff–Green emails on a pseudonymous article (31 July 1999) — Puthoff emails Kit Green about a UFO magazine story.
• Pentagon audit discovery story (2000) (9 May 2000) — Puthoff tells Vallée a story about a secret program uncovered in a Pentagon audit.
• Project Zodiac (3 March 2001) — Eric Davis tells Vallée about a story called 'Zodiac' involving real researchers.
• Mark McCandlish and the Alien Reproduction Vehicle (9 May 2001) — Illustrator Mark McCandlish says gravity propulsion was reverse-engineered from recovered craft.
• Two Roswell materials claim (2002) (1 March 2002) — A general reportedly tells Eric Davis two unusual materials were recovered at Roswell.
• Will Miller's offer to Davis and Puthoff (25 April 2002) — A retired Navy commander offers his services researching crash retrievals.
• Jean Kisling's airline stranger (29 June 2002) — A French officer tells Vallée a stranger on a 1950s flight claimed to work on recovered craft.
• Wilson–Davis notes (16 October 2002) — Eric Davis allegedly meets Vice Adm. Thomas Wilson about a secret UAP program.
• Stephen Lovekin testimony (21 July 2003) — A White House communications specialist says he received UAP briefings.
• Ramey memo (2004) — A 1947 photo of Gen. Ramey holding a message is enlarged, and its text is debated.
• Eric Davis asks George H.W. Bush about Corso (26 March 2004) — Eric Davis says he asked George H.W. Bush about Philip Corso's claims.
• Charles Bowsher audit claim (7 August 2004) — A consultant says a former U.S. comptroller general found a 'crashed UFO program' in an audit.
• USS Princeton data recordings claim (14 November 2004) — USS Princeton radar staff say two men took the Tic Tac encounter data recordings.
• Raechel's Eyes (2005) — A woman claims her daughter communicated with a hybrid being about secret projects.
• Project Serpo (1 November 2005) — A message board host receives an alleged 3,000-page report on a famous case.
• High-level Arlington workshops (2005) (6 December 2005) — Puthoff describes high-level workshops on the UAP question.
• Inman recording in Dreamland (7 July 2007) — In a recorded call, Adm. Bobby Ray Inman names a CIA official as the best person to ask about UAP.
• Chester Lytle's Kirtland sighting (1 January 2008) — A Manhattan Project contractor says he saw a domed disc through a telescope during a nuclear test.
• Needles crash reports (2008) (14 May 2008) — Residents near Needles, California report a crash followed by helicopters and convoys.
• Bill Richardson and the Roswell records (28 June 2008) — Bill Richardson says Los Alamos and the Pentagon refused his questions about Roswell.
• Project Grudge data and the artifact file (23 January 2009) — A BAASS team member is said to be retrieving old Project Grudge data from Area 51.
• Chuck Wade's seven New Mexico crashes (26 March 2011) — A researcher presents claims from military sources about UAP crash recoveries.
• Chase Brandon's Roswell box (8 July 2012) — Retired CIA officer Chase Brandon says he saw a box labelled 'Roswell' at the agency.
• Bill Uhouse (1 November 2013) — A retired Marine captain says he tested exotic aircraft and worked on alien technology.
• Boeing engineer's LeMay story (1 November 2013) — An anonymous former Boeing engineer claims Gen. Curtis LeMay told him of a UAP crash.
• Project Pandora and the Moscow Signal (2014) — The Pentagon declassifies files on Projects Pandora and Bizarre, about microwaves and the mind.
• Boyd Bushman's final interview (August 2014) — Lockheed scientist Boyd Bushman says before his death that he worked on UAP technology.
• Oechsler on Navy EMP experiments (18 August 2014) — Bob Oechsler links Navy EMP experiments to UAP recoveries.
• Podesta–McCasland emails (24 January 2016) — Two Air Force generals and a Skunk Works executive appear in emails with Podesta's team.
• DeLonge on pooled crash material (27 March 2016) — Tom DeLonge says his advisers told him crash material was pooled among government and industry.
• DeLonge on hidden crashes (April 2016) — DeLonge says advisers told him of multiple crashes hidden by counterintelligence.
• DeLonge's research groups (2016) (31 August 2016) — Tom DeLonge says he became involved with groups studying crashed craft and biology.
• Bernard Haisch on legacy programs (2018) — Lockheed astrophysicist Bernard Haisch comments on alleged 'legacy' UAP programs.
• Eric Davis on an existing crash-retrieval program (24 June 2018) — Eric Davis says a crash retrieval program still exists.
• A.D.A.M. project (July 2018) — To The Stars Academy launches the A.D.A.M. project to study claimed exotic materials.
• Eric Davis on the Del Rio crash (28 October 2018) — Eric Davis says the 1950s Del Rio, Texas crash was a real retrieval.
• Elizondo on shoot-downs and recoveries (2019) (15 March 2019) — Lue Elizondo is asked about shoot-downs and recoveries and doesn't answer directly.
• Eric Davis on underfunded reverse-engineering (30 April 2019) — Eric Davis says crashes happened and reverse engineering is split into small, underfunded efforts.
• Eric Davis on recovered hardware (2019) (30 April 2019) — Eric Davis says the government holds recovered crashed and landed UFO hardware.
• Atomic Energy Commission UFO materials claim (29 April 2020) — A journalist's source says the Atomic Energy Commission had UAP materials as early as 1947.
• Will Miller's secret groups claim (2020) (25 June 2020) — Retired Navy commander Will Miller says he believes secret groups control advanced craft.
• Vallée on a contractor controlling the issue (2020) (4 December 2020) — Vallée says a private contractor controls the UAP issue.
• Marcel family Roswell debris (12 December 2020) — Jesse Marcel's grandson says his family held unusual Roswell debris.
• Harry Reid on Lockheed's UFO fragments (1 May 2021) — Former Sen. Harry Reid says he was told Lockheed held UAP fragments and was refused access.
• Insider on oversight without access (2021) (1 May 2021) — An anonymous insider tells a researcher that officials with oversight lack access to UAP information.
• Elizondo on a 1962 nuclear test retrieval (10 June 2021) — Elizondo responds to a question about an ocean crash retrieval during a 1962 nuclear test.
• Long Beach undercover approach claim (1 August 2021) — Coulthart writes a source was asked to go undercover inside an aerospace company.
• Nat Kobitz's read-in remark (3 September 2021) — Coulthart says a Navy science director told him he was read into a crash program.
• Mary Elizabeth Elliot inquiry (15 September 2021) — Researchers ask sources about a name in the alleged Wilson memo.
• Daniel Sheehan on post-war control of UAP information (October 2021) — Elizondo's lawyer Daniel Sheehan describes how UAP information has been controlled since WWII.
• Bobby Ray Inman on plausible explanations (2022) (16 March 2022) — Adm. Bobby Ray Inman says he found plausible explanations for all UAP.
• 2022 House UAP hearing (17 May 2022) — Rep. Mike Gallagher asks a Pentagon official about the 'Admiral Wilson memo' at a hearing.
• Garry Nolan on crash materials and contractors (3 August 2022) — Stanford's Garry Nolan discusses claims that crash materials went to aerospace companies.
• Puerto Rico underwater object (September 2022) — Elizondo describes a helicopter crew seeing a dark object underwater near Puerto Rico.
• 1980s CIA programs email inquiry (26 September 2022) — A researcher emails a former CIA science official about 1980s UAP programs.
• Franc Milburn's directed-energy claim (7 October 2022) — A former UK officer claims directed-energy weapons were used against UAP scientists.
• John Warner and AUTEC (14 October 2022) — Former Navy Secretary John Warner's son says his father saw something at a Navy test center.
• Liberation Times whistleblower hearings report (14 October 2022) — Insiders tell a journalist that congressional whistleblower hearings are coming.
• December 2022 Pentagon UAP briefing (17 December 2022) — Pentagon officials say they've seen no evidence that crashed UAP are from another world.
• Dulles–Kennedy meeting of 28 June 1961 (17 December 2022) — A declassified calendar shows CIA chief Allen Dulles met President Kennedy on 28 June 1961.
• John Ramirez on a Navy compartment (20 December 2022) — A retired CIA official describes a Navy compartment as sensitive as the Manhattan Project.
• Alfred O'Donnell's Area 51 saucer story (28 February 2023) — George Knapp says a former Area 51 contractor manager told him of a recovered saucer.