Posted On: July 15, 2022

Today’s investigation brings us to the small town of Levelland, in the State of Texas. This town, which in 1957 had a population of about 10,000, is located west of Lubbock on the flat prairie of the Texas South Plains. The case we’re discussing today is widely considered by ufologists to be one of the most impressive in UFO history, primarily because of the sheer amount of witnesses involved in a relatively short period of time. However, both the US Air Force and UFO skeptics have described the incident as being caused by either ball lightning or a severe electrical storm.

On the evening of November 2, 1957, two immigrant farm workers, Pedro Saucedo and Joe Salaz, called the Levelland police department to report a stunning encounter. Saucedo told Officer A.J. Fowler, who was working the night desk at the time, that they had been driving four miles west of Levelland when they saw a blue flash of light near the road. They claimed their truck's engine died, and a rocket-shaped object rose up and approached them. According to Saucedo, "I jumped out of the truck and hit the dirt because I was afraid. I called out to Joe but he didn't get out. The thing passed directly over my truck with a great sound and rush of wind. It sounded like thunder and my truck rocked from the flash... I felt a lot of heat."

As the object moved away, the truck's engine restarted and continued to work normally. Believing the story was a joke, Fowler simply ignored it. Just one hour later, motorist, Jim Wheeler reported a "brilliantly lit, egg-shaped object, about 200 feet long" was sitting in the road, four miles east of Levelland, blocking his path. He also claimed his vehicle died, and as he got out of his car, the object suddenly took off as its lights went out. As it moved away, Wheeler's car restarted and worked normally.

At 10:55 pm, that same evening, a married couple driving northeast of Levelland reported that they saw a bright flash of light moving across the sky, and their headlights and radio died for a few seconds. Five minutes later, Jose Alvarez claimed he met a strange object sitting on the road 11 miles (18 km) north of Levelland, and his vehicle's engine died until the object departed. At 12:05 am, now November 3, a Texas Technological College student, which today is Texas Tech University, named Newell Wright was surprised when, driving 10 miles east of Levelland, his "car engine began to sputter, the ammeter on the dash jumped to discharge and then back to normal, and the motor started cutting out like it was out of gas... the car rolled to a stop; then the headlights dimmed and several seconds later went out."

When he got out to check on the problem, he saw a "100-foot-long" egg-shaped object sitting in the road. It took off, like all the other encounters, and his engine started running again. At 12:15 am, Officer Fowler received yet another call, this time from a farmer named Frank Williams, who said he had encountered, surprise, surprise, a brightly glowing object sitting in the road, and "as his car approached it, its lights went out and its motor stopped." The object flew away, and his car's lights and the motor started working again. Other callers were Ronald Martin at 12:45 am and James Long at 1:15 am, who both gave practically the same story.

By this time, several Levelland police officers were dispatched to investigate these strange yet consistent reports. Among them was Sheriff Weir Clem, who saw a brilliant red object moving across the sky at 1:30 am. At 1:45 am, Levelland's Fire Chief, Ray Jones, also saw an object, and his vehicle's lights and the engine sputtered. The reports apparently ended soon after. During the night of November 2, and early morning of November 3, the Levelland police department received a total of 15 UFO-related reports, and Officer Fowler noted that "everybody who called was very excited."

The Levelland sightings received national publicity and were soon investigated by Project Blue Book. Started in 1947 as Project Sign, Project Blue Book was the official US Air Force research group assigned to investigate UFO reports. An Air Force sergeant was sent to Levelland and spent seven long hours in the city gathering any info he could find. After interviewing three of the eyewitnesses – Saucedo, Wheeler, and Wright – and after learning that thunderstorms were present in the area earlier in the day, the Air Force investigator concluded that a severe electrical storm – most probably ball lightning or St. Elmo's fire – was the major cause for the sightings and reported auto failures. According to UFO historian Curtis Peebles, "the Air Force found only three persons who had witnessed the 'blue light'...there was no uniform description of the object."

Additionally, Project Blue Book believed that "Saucedo's account could not be relied upon – he had only a grade school education and had no concept of direction and was conflicting in his answers... in view of the stormy weather conditions, an electrical phenomenon such as ball lightning or St. Elmo's fire seemed to be the most probable cause." The engine failures mentioned by the eyewitnesses were blamed on "wet electrical circuits." Donald H. Menzel, an astronomer at Harvard University and a prominent UFO skeptic, agreed with the Air Force explanation: "members of civilian saucer groups complained that, since the Air Force investigator had spent only seven hours in the area, he had obviously not taken the problem seriously and could not have found the correct solution. Even seventy hours of labor, however, could not have produced a clearer picture...the evidence leads to an overwhelming probability: the fiery unknown at Levelland was ball lightning."

Menzel argued that "in Levelland on the night of November 2, conditions were ideal for the formation of ball lightning. For several days the area had been experiencing freak weather, and on the night in question had been visited by rain, thunderstorms, and lightning." Menzel admitted that "since ball lightning is short-lived and cannot be preserved as tangible evidence, its appearance on the night of November 2 can never be absolutely proved." However, he also argued that "only the saucer proponents could have converted so trivial a series of events – a few stalled automobiles, balls of flame in the sky at the end of the thunderstorm – into a national mystery."

If there was only one witness, you could call him crazy, but fifteen, all giving the same, exact story? Consistent reports of a 100-foot-long flying object cannot be ignored, and certainly cannot be dismissed in such a casual manner. Do you agree with the Air Force’s explanation? Let us know in the comments below.

Posted On: July 15, 2022

Today’s investigation brings us to the small town of Levelland, in the State of Texas. This town, which in 1957 had a population of about 10,000, is located west of Lubbock on the flat prairie of the Texas South Plains. The case we’re discussing today is widely considered by ufologists to be one of the most impressive in UFO history, primarily because of the sheer amount of witnesses involved in a relatively short period of time. However, both the US Air Force and UFO skeptics have described the incident as being caused by either ball lightning or a severe electrical storm.

On the evening of November 2, 1957, two immigrant farm workers, Pedro Saucedo and Joe Salaz, called the Levelland police department to report a stunning encounter. Saucedo told Officer A.J. Fowler, who was working the night desk at the time, that they had been driving four miles west of Levelland when they saw a blue flash of light near the road. They claimed their truck's engine died, and a rocket-shaped object rose up and approached them. According to Saucedo, "I jumped out of the truck and hit the dirt because I was afraid. I called out to Joe but he didn't get out. The thing passed directly over my truck with a great sound and rush of wind. It sounded like thunder and my truck rocked from the flash... I felt a lot of heat."

As the object moved away, the truck's engine restarted and continued to work normally. Believing the story was a joke, Fowler simply ignored it. Just one hour later, motorist, Jim Wheeler reported a "brilliantly lit, egg-shaped object, about 200 feet long" was sitting in the road, four miles east of Levelland, blocking his path. He also claimed his vehicle died, and as he got out of his car, the object suddenly took off as its lights went out. As it moved away, Wheeler's car restarted and worked normally.

At 10:55 pm, that same evening, a married couple driving northeast of Levelland reported that they saw a bright flash of light moving across the sky, and their headlights and radio died for a few seconds. Five minutes later, Jose Alvarez claimed he met a strange object sitting on the road 11 miles (18 km) north of Levelland, and his vehicle's engine died until the object departed. At 12:05 am, now November 3, a Texas Technological College student, which today is Texas Tech University, named Newell Wright was surprised when, driving 10 miles east of Levelland, his "car engine began to sputter, the ammeter on the dash jumped to discharge and then back to normal, and the motor started cutting out like it was out of gas... the car rolled to a stop; then the headlights dimmed and several seconds later went out."

When he got out to check on the problem, he saw a "100-foot-long" egg-shaped object sitting in the road. It took off, like all the other encounters, and his engine started running again. At 12:15 am, Officer Fowler received yet another call, this time from a farmer named Frank Williams, who said he had encountered, surprise, surprise, a brightly glowing object sitting in the road, and "as his car approached it, its lights went out and its motor stopped." The object flew away, and his car's lights and the motor started working again. Other callers were Ronald Martin at 12:45 am and James Long at 1:15 am, who both gave practically the same story.

By this time, several Levelland police officers were dispatched to investigate these strange yet consistent reports. Among them was Sheriff Weir Clem, who saw a brilliant red object moving across the sky at 1:30 am. At 1:45 am, Levelland's Fire Chief, Ray Jones, also saw an object, and his vehicle's lights and the engine sputtered. The reports apparently ended soon after. During the night of November 2, and early morning of November 3, the Levelland police department received a total of 15 UFO-related reports, and Officer Fowler noted that "everybody who called was very excited."

The Levelland sightings received national publicity and were soon investigated by Project Blue Book. Started in 1947 as Project Sign, Project Blue Book was the official US Air Force research group assigned to investigate UFO reports. An Air Force sergeant was sent to Levelland and spent seven long hours in the city gathering any info he could find. After interviewing three of the eyewitnesses – Saucedo, Wheeler, and Wright – and after learning that thunderstorms were present in the area earlier in the day, the Air Force investigator concluded that a severe electrical storm – most probably ball lightning or St. Elmo's fire – was the major cause for the sightings and reported auto failures. According to UFO historian Curtis Peebles, "the Air Force found only three persons who had witnessed the 'blue light'...there was no uniform description of the object."

Additionally, Project Blue Book believed that "Saucedo's account could not be relied upon – he had only a grade school education and had no concept of direction and was conflicting in his answers... in view of the stormy weather conditions, an electrical phenomenon such as ball lightning or St. Elmo's fire seemed to be the most probable cause." The engine failures mentioned by the eyewitnesses were blamed on "wet electrical circuits." Donald H. Menzel, an astronomer at Harvard University and a prominent UFO skeptic, agreed with the Air Force explanation: "members of civilian saucer groups complained that, since the Air Force investigator had spent only seven hours in the area, he had obviously not taken the problem seriously and could not have found the correct solution. Even seventy hours of labor, however, could not have produced a clearer picture...the evidence leads to an overwhelming probability: the fiery unknown at Levelland was ball lightning."

Menzel argued that "in Levelland on the night of November 2, conditions were ideal for the formation of ball lightning. For several days the area had been experiencing freak weather, and on the night in question had been visited by rain, thunderstorms, and lightning." Menzel admitted that "since ball lightning is short-lived and cannot be preserved as tangible evidence, its appearance on the night of November 2 can never be absolutely proved." However, he also argued that "only the saucer proponents could have converted so trivial a series of events – a few stalled automobiles, balls of flame in the sky at the end of the thunderstorm – into a national mystery."

If there was only one witness, you could call him crazy, but fifteen, all giving the same, exact story? Consistent reports of a 100-foot-long flying object cannot be ignored, and certainly cannot be dismissed in such a casual manner. Do you agree with the Air Force’s explanation? Let us know in the comments below.