Ekuk, Alaska sighting (1960)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 19 May 1960 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic), Disinformation & hoaxes (topic) |
| People | Thomas Conrow, J. Allen Hynek, Brad Sparks |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 63 |
| Year | 1960 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1960 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
On the evening of 19 May 1960 residents of Ekuk and Clarks Point, small Yup'ik fishing villages near Dillingham, Alaska, reported a silver, round object hovering low over their homes, which they said lifted trash cans and sucked up grass before rising rapidly out of sight. The Air Force intelligence officer who investigated found no logical explanation, but Project Blue Book labelled it a weather balloon.[1][2]
The sighting
Witnesses described a silver object about 20–25 feet across with things hanging from it. It hovered 50–100 feet from them, barely clearing electric wires about 12 feet above the ground, and passed between two houses. They said it lifted two empty five-gallon cans into the air and dragged them swirling along the ground, crossed a ridge, dropped the cans, sucked up swirling grass with a loud noise and rose rapidly. The Air Force report form gives the time as 05:00 GMT on 20 May — evening local time — and the duration as about an hour.[1][2]
Investigation
The witnesses were interviewed through an interpreter by a member of the Alaska National Guard, and the case was handled by the 10th Air Division and the 705th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. Captain Thomas M. Conrow, an Air Force intelligence officer, reported that there still appeared to be "no logical explanation" for the sighting. The report noted clear weather with scattered cloud, said the object was not an ordinary airplane or balloon although a weather balloon had been in the area, and recorded no radar confirmation.[1][2]
Blue Book's verdict
Analysts at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base classified the object as a weather balloon with a radar reflector, even though it reportedly moved against the wind.[1]
Later attention
Astronomer J. Allen Hynek highlighted the case in The Hynek UFO Report (1977) as an example of a dismissive Blue Book explanation, and it appears in Brad Sparks's catalogue of Blue Book cases he considers unexplained, as well as in Loren Gross's chronology and Jerome Clark's UFO Encyclopedia.[1][3]
People and topics
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Thomas Conrow — Air Force intelligence officer who investigated the 1960 Ekuk, Alaska, sighting.
- Project Blue Book — The Air Force's public UFO investigation from 1952 until its closure in December 1969.
- Wright-Patterson Air Force Base — The Ohio air base that housed Project Blue Book and is linked to the Hangar 18 legend.
- J. Allen Hynek — Astronomer and Air Force UFO consultant from 1948 to 1969 who later founded the Center for UFO Studies.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Brad Sparks — UFO analyst known for his catalogue of Blue Book unknowns and work on the CIA lawsuit.
On the Timeline
- French scientist Mr. L at Wright-Patterson (1959) — A French scientist claims he was asked to work at Wright-Patterson on recovered material.
- Hillenkoetter's 1960 call for hearings (22 June 1960) — Former CIA Director Hillenkoetter tells a newspaper UFOs are under intelligent control.
See every 1960 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "May 19, 1960 — Ekuk, nr. Dillingham, Alaska — the case of the vigorous weather balloon", UAP Discovery · uapdiscovery.discourse.group · archived copy
- Blue Book file: 4 mi N of Dillingham, Alaska, May 1960, UFO Scans · ufoscans.com · archived copy
- Brad Sparks, Blue Book Unknowns catalogue (PDF), NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
- archive.org · archive.org · archived copy
- nicap.org · nicap.org · archived copy
- sohp.us · sohp.us · archived copy
Further reading
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Project Blue Book files — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
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.
No discussion yet.