Southaven Park crash claim

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Contents 8
Southaven Park crash claim
The entrance to Southaven County Park on Victory Boulevard in South Haven, New York.
The entrance to Southaven County Park on Victory Boulevard in South Haven, New York. Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Date24 November 1992
TopicsCrashes & retrievals (topic), Beings & bodies (topic), Nuclear & missile sites (topic)
PeopleJohn Ford
TestimonyShellenberger testimony, p. 115
Year1992 in UFO history
Timeline1992 on the UAP Timeline
Sources9

The Southaven Park crash is an alleged UFO crash in Southaven County Park, Shirley, on Long Island, New York, on the night of 24 November 1992. It was promoted by John Ford and his Long Island UFO Network (LIUFON) and remains part of Long Island folklore.[1][2]

The claims

Portrait of Dr. Charles McMillan, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Portrait of Dr. Charles McMillan, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

According to LIUFON, residents near the park that night reported phones ringing with no one on the line, erased videotapes, malfunctioning digital clocks and a fire in the woods, which LIUFON said was handled by the fire department of nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory. Ford's group claimed a craft had come down in the park. A local MUFON director who visited the site with them said he saw nothing except some trees bent at odd angles.[1]

John Ford

Donald Kerr , Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence of the United States.
Donald Kerr , Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence of the United States. Photo: ODNI · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

Ford, a former court officer, founded LIUFON in 1988. On 12 June 1996 he was arrested and accused of plotting to kill Suffolk County Republican chairman John Powell, a county legislator, the district attorney and the public safety director by putting radium in their cars and food. Ford claimed local officials had helped cover up the crash. Two other men were also charged, one of whom was said to have supplied the radium.[3]

Outcome

Illustration of a military base at night
Illustration: a military base at night. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

A judge ruled Ford unfit to stand trial, and he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility.[1][3]

Assessment

Illustration of wreckage at a crash site
Illustration: wreckage at a crash site. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

No physical evidence of a crash has been presented, and the story rests on LIUFON's claims. Newsday listed it among Long Island's myths and legends in 2022.[1][2]

People and topics

Illustration of an object over the sea
Illustration: an object over the sea. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

On the Timeline

The first reflecting telescope , built by British scientist Isaac Newton in 1668. It had a 6 in. aperture and magnified 40 times
The first reflecting telescope , built by British scientist Isaac Newton in 1668. It had a 6 in. aperture and magnified 40 times Photo: David Brewster · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

See every 1992 event on the UAP Timeline →

References

Further reading

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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