John Lear's ParaNet statement (1987)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Date | 29 December 1987 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Crashes & retrievals (topic), Beings & bodies (topic), Military encounters (topic) |
| People | John Lear, Paul Bennewitz, Bob Lazar, George Knapp |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 100 |
| Year | 1987 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1987 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
John Olsen Lear (1942–2022) was an American pilot, the son of Learjet founder Bill Lear. On 29 December 1987 he posted to the ParaNet computer bulletin board a long statement claiming that the U.S. government had made a secret treaty with grey aliens, a document that helped launch a whole genre of "dark side" UFO lore.[1][2]
Pilot
Lear made his first flight at 14 and soloed at 16, joined his father's company in 1960 and in May 1966 helped fly a Learjet around the world, about 22,000 miles in about 50 hours. He said he flew for the CIA, reportedly from 1967 to 1983. He ran unsuccessfully for the Nevada state senate in 1980.[1]
The statement
Lear's statement claimed that a secret committee, Majestic 12, had made a treaty with grey aliens, trading permission to abduct people and mutilate cattle in return for alien technology, and that the aliens had betrayed the deal. It cited crash recoveries near Roswell, Aztec and Laredo and described an underground base at Dulce, New Mexico, where a clash had supposedly killed 66 people. He revised it several times, with a final version dated 25 August 1988 that added that Germany might have recovered a flying saucer in 1939.[1][3]
Influence
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The statement drew on stories that had circulated in the disinformation surrounding Paul Bennewitz, and it spread widely in UFO circles. From 1988 Lear worked with William Cooper, and in 1989 they issued an "indictment" of the U.S. government. In 1989 he was MUFON's Nevada state director and hosted its Las Vegas convention. He met Bob Lazar in 1988 and introduced him to journalist George Knapp, who broadcast Lazar's Area 51 claims on KLAS-TV in 1989. The statement also influenced Thomas Allen LeVesque, who later admitted fabricating stories about Dulce.[1][4]
Assessment
Lear's claims were never substantiated, and researchers found that many fell apart under scrutiny. His statement nonetheless shaped lore about alien treaties, underground bases and a sinister government that influenced later conspiracy culture. He was a regular guest on Coast to Coast AM from 2003 to 2015 and died on 29 March 2022.[1][2]
People and topics
- John Lear — Pilot and son of Bill Lear who spread claims of alien treaties in the late 1980s.
- Grey alien — The popular image of a small being with a large head and dark eyes.
- Central Intelligence Agency — The U.S. foreign intelligence agency, which has followed UFO reports since the 1940s.
- Disinformation — False information spread deliberately to mislead.
- Paul Bennewitz — Albuquerque physicist targeted by Air Force disinformation in the Bennewitz affair.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
- Bob Lazar — Man who claimed in 1989 that he worked on alien craft at S-4 near Area 51.
- George Knapp — Las Vegas journalist who broke the Bob Lazar story and co-wrote Skinwalkers at the Pentagon.
On the Timeline
- Bruce Maccabee's CIA talk (1987) (7 July 1987) — Navy physicist Bruce Maccabee says he lectured about UAP at CIA headquarters.
- Veritay propulsion report (1988) (April 1988) — A contractor submits a propulsion report to the Air Force led by Franklin Mead.
See every 1987 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- John Lear — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "John Lear", HowStuffWorks · science.howstuffworks.com · archived copy
- John Lear statement, U.F.O. BBS text archive · cdn.preterhuman.net · archived copy
- Dulce Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- John Lear's 1987–88 statement — Sacred Texts · sacred-texts.com · archived copy
Further reading
- Roswell incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- UFOs and the Air Force: records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Majestic 12 — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Majestic 12 file — FBI Vault · vault.fbi.gov · archived copy
- Dulce Base — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Aztec, New Mexico (1948 UFO hoax) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · 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.
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