Craig Weitzel

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Craig Weitzel

Illustration of official papers and files — Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

Type	Person
On the Timeline	1 event, 1980

Craig Weitzel was a member of the Civil Air Patrol in New Mexico who, in 1980, photographed an object he believed was a UFO and reported a strange encounter with a man who questioned him.

The Weitzel letter

Illustration of lights in formation over the landscape — Illustration: lights in formation over the landscape. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

In July 1980, Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent Richard Doty delivered a letter, supposedly from an Air Force official, to the civilian group APRO about Weitzel's sighting. The letter was later shown to be a forgery, apparently created as part of the disinformation campaign in New Mexico around that time, which also targeted Paul Bennewitz. The episode is a documented example of officials spreading false UFO information.

On the UAP Timeline

Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. — Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Weitzel letter (1980) (July 1980) — Air Force counterintelligence officer Richard Doty delivers a forged letter to a civilian UAP group.

Connected articles

References

Paul Bennewitz — Wikipedia · wikipedia.com · archived copy
Mirage Men (2013 documentary) — Internet Archive · archive.org · archived copy
Greg Bishop, Project Beta (2005) · goodreads.com · archived copy
The Bennewitz affair · lennyflatley.substack.com · archived copy
Mirage Men and the architecture of UAP disinformation · newspaceeconomy.ca · archived copy
Paul Bennewitz — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
Project Beta — Anomaly Archives · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
The Paul Bennewitz affair — Michael Heiser · drmsh.com · archived copy

Categories: Air force office of special investigatio | Person | Richard doty | Unidentified anomalous phenomena | Us air force

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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