1954: Helicopter Pilot Has Close Encounter with UFO

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1954: Helicopter Pilot Has Close Encounter with UFO
Posted On: June 16, 2022

The year was 1954. The place, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. A helicopter pilot had a close encounter with a UFO.


Sorry about the robot voice. For now we are going to do a combination of some human narrator videos and some robot voiced ones. Our long term goal is to have 100% of our videos, human narrator. We are looking for volunteers. Send us an email if you are interested.


Another CIRVIS report that was sent to the NSA Director is the following, headed "Emergency" and dated 12 August 1954, from the Flight Service Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, to the Commander of Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, Colorado Springs (since 1953 the main receiving point for UFO reports by the military):


"AT 12:15 HOURS TOWER OBSERVED AND REPORTED TO BASE OPERATIONS STRANGE STATIONARY OBJECT VARIABLE IN BRILLIANCE LOCATED WEST OF TOWER. AFTER INITIAL SIGHTING, IT UNEXPECTEDLY GAINED APPARENT VELOCITY AND SPEEDED ACROSS THE SKY IN NNW HEADING WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY ITS RETURN TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION IN RELATION TO THE TOWER AND A NOTICEABLE DESCENT AND MOTIONLESS. TOWER IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED OPERATIONS AND DISPATCHED A LOCAL HELICOPTER NBR ARMY 267 TO OBSERVE THE PHENOMENA. HELICOPTER STATED THAT OBJECT WAS DEFINITELY NOT A STAR.


AT 01:56 HOURS AIRDROME OFFICER AND DRIVER OBSERVED MYSTERY OBJECT,


AT 02:05 HOURS TWO MEMBERS OF ALERT CREW OBSERVED OBJECT FROM TOWER. COLUMBUS CAA RADIO ALSO HAS OBJECT IN SIGHT. THE OBJECT THEN BECAME DIMMER AND SHOWING A SLIGHT RED GLOW.


AT 02:26 HOURS OBJECT STILL STATIONARY. SEVERAL REOCCURRENCE OF VARIABLE BRILLIANCY SHOWN AND NOW BECOMING EXTREMELY DIMMER 02:27 HOURS HELICOPTER 294 RETURNING FROM MISSION SIGHTED OBJECT AND PROCEEDED TOWARD IT.


AT 02:29 HOURS OBJECT COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED AND, 294 LOST SIGHT OF IT.


AT 02:40 HOURS ARMY OPERATIONS CALLED AND ADVISED THAT PILOT OF HELICOPTERS WISHED TO STRESS FACT THAT OBJECT WAS OF A SAUCER LIKE NATURE, WAS STATIONARY AND AT 2000 FT. AND WOULD BE GLAD TO BE CALLED UPON TO VERIFY ANY STATEMENTS AND ACT AS WITNESSES."


1954: Pilots Threatened with Jail If they Disclose UFO Sightings to the Media


Because of the many Airline UFO reports, airline pilots became subject to military restrictions contained in a Joint Army-NavyAir Force Publication, drawn up by the Joint Communications Electronics Committee and promulgated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and could thus find themselves liable to a prison term of up to ten years and / or a fine of $10000 if they discussed their sightings with the media or public.


These restrictions were first imposed during a conference between airline representatives and intelligence officers of the Military Air Transport Service, in Los Angeles on 17 February 1954.


JANAP 146 relates to Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS), and unidentified flying objects are listed separately from aircraft and missiles. Under Section III (Security, Military and Civilian), is the following warning:


"All persons aware of the contents of a CIRVIS report are governed by the Communications Act of 1934 and amendments thereto, and Espionage Laws. CIRVIS reports contain information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, 18 U.S. Code, 793 and 794. The unauthorized transmission or revelation of the contents of CIRVIS reports in any manner is prohibited."


Few pilots were affected by this regulation, however, although the airline companies discouraged public disclosure of sightings, sometimes threatening pilots with their jobs if they did so.


A CIRVIS report headed "Operational Immediate," dated 29 MARCH 1954, gave brief details of a sighting by a United Airlines plane, confirmed by another airliner:


"UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT GLOWING BRIGHT GREEN SIGHTED BY UAL-600 FLYING EASTBOUND AT 19 THOUSAND FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL OVER A POINT 12 MILES EAST OF CHEROKEE WYOMING. OBJECT FIRST APPEARED 12 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE HORIZON AND 100 DEGREES TRUE FROM OBSERVATION POINT AND DISAPPEARED BEHIND CLOUD BANK SLANTING DOWNWARD 30 DEGREES TO LEFT OF VERTICAL. TIME OF OBSERVATION 28:01:25M. DURATION 5 SECONDS, CAPTAIN SPERRY, UAL-600. CONFIRMED BY CO-PILOT. CONFIRMED BY PILOT N28392 DC3 5 MILES WEST OF SINCLAIR WYOMING AT 13 THOUSAND FEET, SAME TIME OF OBSERVATION, THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN RELAYED TO CIA BY ELECTRICAL MEAN."


As with many intelligence reports dating from 1953, the NSA (in this case the Director, or DIRNSA) was on the distribution list, thus proving this Agency’s long-denied involvement with the UFO phenomenon.


In December 1958, 450 airline pilots signed a petition protesting at the official policy of debunking sightings, which one pilot described as "a lesson in lying, intrigue, and the Big Brother attitude carried to the ultimate extreme."


No less than fifty of the pilots had reported sightings, only to be told by the Air Force that they had been mistaken. At the same time the pilots had been warned that they faced up to ten years in prison (under JANAP 146) if they revealed details of their sightings to the media!


Following a sighting by Captain Peter Killian and his crew, as well as thirty-five passengers aboard an American Airlines DC-6 over Pennsylvania on 24 February 1959, the Air Force issued three separate and contradictory explanations for the incident, without having interviewed any of the witnesses. After Killian exposed these contradictions in newspaper interviews, American Airlines, succumbing to Air Force pressure, told Killian not to publicize the story any further.


A senator asked Killian if he would be prepared to testify at a hearing in Washington. "Yes, I would," replied Killian, "but you would have to subpoena me. Then I could talk."


Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.


My Take: The evidence just keeps piling up. Qualified pilots and observers all seeing things that cannot easily be explained away. No swamp gas and temperature inversions here. Pilots being threatened to keep quiet about the truth.



[BACK]
1954: Helicopter Pilot Has Close Encounter with UFO
Posted On: June 16, 2022

The year was 1954. The place, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. A helicopter pilot had a close encounter with a UFO.


Sorry about the robot voice. For now we are going to do a combination of some human narrator videos and some robot voiced ones. Our long term goal is to have 100% of our videos, human narrator. We are looking for volunteers. Send us an email if you are interested.


Another CIRVIS report that was sent to the NSA Director is the following, headed "Emergency" and dated 12 August 1954, from the Flight Service Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, to the Commander of Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, Colorado Springs (since 1953 the main receiving point for UFO reports by the military):


"AT 12:15 HOURS TOWER OBSERVED AND REPORTED TO BASE OPERATIONS STRANGE STATIONARY OBJECT VARIABLE IN BRILLIANCE LOCATED WEST OF TOWER. AFTER INITIAL SIGHTING, IT UNEXPECTEDLY GAINED APPARENT VELOCITY AND SPEEDED ACROSS THE SKY IN NNW HEADING WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY ITS RETURN TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION IN RELATION TO THE TOWER AND A NOTICEABLE DESCENT AND MOTIONLESS. TOWER IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED OPERATIONS AND DISPATCHED A LOCAL HELICOPTER NBR ARMY 267 TO OBSERVE THE PHENOMENA. HELICOPTER STATED THAT OBJECT WAS DEFINITELY NOT A STAR.


AT 01:56 HOURS AIRDROME OFFICER AND DRIVER OBSERVED MYSTERY OBJECT,


AT 02:05 HOURS TWO MEMBERS OF ALERT CREW OBSERVED OBJECT FROM TOWER. COLUMBUS CAA RADIO ALSO HAS OBJECT IN SIGHT. THE OBJECT THEN BECAME DIMMER AND SHOWING A SLIGHT RED GLOW.


AT 02:26 HOURS OBJECT STILL STATIONARY. SEVERAL REOCCURRENCE OF VARIABLE BRILLIANCY SHOWN AND NOW BECOMING EXTREMELY DIMMER 02:27 HOURS HELICOPTER 294 RETURNING FROM MISSION SIGHTED OBJECT AND PROCEEDED TOWARD IT.


AT 02:29 HOURS OBJECT COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED AND, 294 LOST SIGHT OF IT.


AT 02:40 HOURS ARMY OPERATIONS CALLED AND ADVISED THAT PILOT OF HELICOPTERS WISHED TO STRESS FACT THAT OBJECT WAS OF A SAUCER LIKE NATURE, WAS STATIONARY AND AT 2000 FT. AND WOULD BE GLAD TO BE CALLED UPON TO VERIFY ANY STATEMENTS AND ACT AS WITNESSES."


1954: Pilots Threatened with Jail If they Disclose UFO Sightings to the Media


Because of the many Airline UFO reports, airline pilots became subject to military restrictions contained in a Joint Army-NavyAir Force Publication, drawn up by the Joint Communications Electronics Committee and promulgated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and could thus find themselves liable to a prison term of up to ten years and / or a fine of $10000 if they discussed their sightings with the media or public.


These restrictions were first imposed during a conference between airline representatives and intelligence officers of the Military Air Transport Service, in Los Angeles on 17 February 1954.


JANAP 146 relates to Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings (CIRVIS), and unidentified flying objects are listed separately from aircraft and missiles. Under Section III (Security, Military and Civilian), is the following warning:


"All persons aware of the contents of a CIRVIS report are governed by the Communications Act of 1934 and amendments thereto, and Espionage Laws. CIRVIS reports contain information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, 18 U.S. Code, 793 and 794. The unauthorized transmission or revelation of the contents of CIRVIS reports in any manner is prohibited."


Few pilots were affected by this regulation, however, although the airline companies discouraged public disclosure of sightings, sometimes threatening pilots with their jobs if they did so.


A CIRVIS report headed "Operational Immediate," dated 29 MARCH 1954, gave brief details of a sighting by a United Airlines plane, confirmed by another airliner:


"UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT GLOWING BRIGHT GREEN SIGHTED BY UAL-600 FLYING EASTBOUND AT 19 THOUSAND FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL OVER A POINT 12 MILES EAST OF CHEROKEE WYOMING. OBJECT FIRST APPEARED 12 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE HORIZON AND 100 DEGREES TRUE FROM OBSERVATION POINT AND DISAPPEARED BEHIND CLOUD BANK SLANTING DOWNWARD 30 DEGREES TO LEFT OF VERTICAL. TIME OF OBSERVATION 28:01:25M. DURATION 5 SECONDS, CAPTAIN SPERRY, UAL-600. CONFIRMED BY CO-PILOT. CONFIRMED BY PILOT N28392 DC3 5 MILES WEST OF SINCLAIR WYOMING AT 13 THOUSAND FEET, SAME TIME OF OBSERVATION, THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN RELAYED TO CIA BY ELECTRICAL MEAN."


As with many intelligence reports dating from 1953, the NSA (in this case the Director, or DIRNSA) was on the distribution list, thus proving this Agency’s long-denied involvement with the UFO phenomenon.


In December 1958, 450 airline pilots signed a petition protesting at the official policy of debunking sightings, which one pilot described as "a lesson in lying, intrigue, and the Big Brother attitude carried to the ultimate extreme."


No less than fifty of the pilots had reported sightings, only to be told by the Air Force that they had been mistaken. At the same time the pilots had been warned that they faced up to ten years in prison (under JANAP 146) if they revealed details of their sightings to the media!


Following a sighting by Captain Peter Killian and his crew, as well as thirty-five passengers aboard an American Airlines DC-6 over Pennsylvania on 24 February 1959, the Air Force issued three separate and contradictory explanations for the incident, without having interviewed any of the witnesses. After Killian exposed these contradictions in newspaper interviews, American Airlines, succumbing to Air Force pressure, told Killian not to publicize the story any further.


A senator asked Killian if he would be prepared to testify at a hearing in Washington. "Yes, I would," replied Killian, "but you would have to subpoena me. Then I could talk."


Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.


My Take: The evidence just keeps piling up. Qualified pilots and observers all seeing things that cannot easily be explained away. No swamp gas and temperature inversions here. Pilots being threatened to keep quiet about the truth.



1954: Helicopter Pilot Has Close Encounter with UFO

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