{ "dataset": "disclosure.zone / observations", "schema": "https://os.disclosure.org/schema/records/1.1.0/observation.json", "standard": "DisclosureOS 1.1.0", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "note": "Our own assessment lives under extensions[\"disclosure.zone\"] and is not part of the standard. Fields we do not measure are omitted rather than filled with placeholders.", "generated": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "count": 86, "omitted": [ { "id": "test-site-2023", "reason": "location withheld in every document; the standard requires coordinates" }, { "id": "six-spheres-2025", "reason": "location withheld in every document; the standard requires coordinates" } ], "observations": [ { "id": "disclosure-zone:nuremberg-1561", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1561-04-14", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about an hour, per the account" }, "location": { "id": "nuremberg-1561-loc", "name": "Nuremberg, Franconia", "country": "Germany", "countryCode": "DE", "longitude": 11.08, "latitude": 49.45, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A broadsheet woodcut describing an “aerial battle” of spheres and crosses above the city. Routinely presented today as evidence of a historical UFO presence — in reality it is a source of an entirely different character from a modern aviation report.", "eventType": "multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "nuremberg-1561-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Hans Glaser broadsheet, Nuremberg 1561 (Zentralbibliothek Zürich)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.e-manuscripta.ch/zuzneb/doi/10.7891/e-manuscripta-91897", "notes": "The source exists and is well described. The dispute concerns interpretation, not authenticity." }, { "sourceId": "nuremberg-1561-s2", "type": "news_article", "title": "Contemporary popular-media presentations as a “UFO battle”", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://www.zb.uzh.ch/en/news/wickiana", "notes": "Over-interpretation: it disregards the generic context of the broadsheet." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "None. The event predates any reporting system.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "An unrecorded number of townspeople" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/nuremberg-1561" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/nuremberg-1561" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 1, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 1, "D": 1 }, "overall": 0.8, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "nuremberg-ufo-battle" ], "titlePl": "Zjawisko nad Norymbergą", "summaryPl": "Ulotka z drzeworytem opisująca „walkę powietrzną” kul i krzyży nad miastem. Współcześnie regularnie prezentowana jako dowód historycznej obecności UFO, w rzeczywistości jest to źródło o zupełnie innym charakterze niż nowoczesny raport lotniczy." } }, "description": "Hans Glaser’s broadsheet and the problem of sources from before instruments" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:airship-wave-1896", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1896-11-17", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a wave lasting about six months" }, "location": { "id": "airship-wave-1896-loc", "name": "From California eastward across the Midwest", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -121.49, "latitude": 38.58, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "For six months American newspapers carried thousands of reports of a cigar-shaped “airship” with searchlights and propellers, crossing the country from California eastward. It is the first mass aerial-anomaly wave in the modern record — and it happened before powered flight existed.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "airship-wave-1896-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Contemporary newspaper reporting, 1896–1897", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85054468/1897-04-20/ed-1/seq-3/", "notes": "The only surviving source layer. Several papers later admitted fabrication." }, { "sourceId": "airship-wave-1896-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later historical studies of the wave", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "None. No investigative body existed.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Thousands of reporters, including public officials and newspaper editors" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/airship-wave-1896" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/airship-wave-1896" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 1, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.3, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "airship-wave-templating" ], "titlePl": "Fala sterowców", "summaryPl": "Przez pół roku amerykańska prasa publikowała tysiące doniesień o cygaropodobnym „sterowcu” z reflektorami i śmigłami, przemierzającym kraj z Kalifornii na wschód. To pierwsza masowa fala anomalii powietrznych w nowożytnym zapisie i wydarzyła się, zanim istniał lot silnikowy." } }, "description": "A nationwide wave of “mystery airship” sightings half a century before Roswell" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:foo-fighters-1944", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1944-12-14", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "seconds to several minutes per encounter" }, "location": { "id": "foo-fighters-1944-loc", "name": "The squadron’s extracts name Erstein, Breisach, Sarrebourg, Strasbourg, Hagenau, Worms, Luneville, Saverne, Ingweiller, Weissembourg and Landau; by OpenStreetMap, eight lie in France and three in Germany. The pin marks OpenStreetMap’s point for Strasbourg, which two extracts name, not the place of any sighting", "country": "France", "countryCode": "FR", "longitude": 7.75, "latitude": 48.58, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A file of Air Staff SHAEF in PURSUE release 01 holds 14 extracts from the sortie reports of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, from ten nights between 14/15 December 1944 and 29/30 January 1945. The crews describe red, orange, yellow, amber, green and white lights, singly, in pairs and in groups, some of which followed their aircraft, one “within 100 ft.” and for “5 minutes”; the squadron called them “Foofighters”. Its intelligence officer wrote: “In every case where pilot called GCI Control and asked if there was a Bogey A/C in the area he received a negative answer.” SHAEF wrote that “it would seem that there must be something more than mere imagination behind the matter”. The Air Ministry suggested Me 262s and flak rockets, and in the same letter: “The whole affair is still something of a mystery”.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Air Staff SHAEF file 37153, “Night Phenomena”, 16 January to 18 March 1945: extracts from the sortie reports of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron and the letters of XII Tactical Air Command, the First Tactical Air Force, SHAEF and the Air Ministry (RG 331, PURSUE release 01)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/331_120752_numeric_files_1944%E2%80%931945_37153_german_armament_equipment_documents.pdf", "notes": "17 pages, newest first. What the squadron reported for December 1944 is quoted on p. 14, the extracts are on pp. 15–17, SHAEF’s letters of 11 February 1945 on pp. 11–12, A.D.I.(K)’s note of 17 February on p. 10, the Air Ministry’s reply of 13 March on p. 2 and SHAEF’s of 18 March on p. 1. Pages 3 and 6–9 hold a separate report of 1 March 1945, and pp. 4–5 another subject. The address the index gives does not work; the link is the one the publisher serves." }, { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "F. C. Durant’s report of the meetings of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, convened by the CIA’s Office of Scientific Intelligence, 14–18 January 1953, in the CIA folder CIA-UAP-002 (PDF pp. 18–19)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-002_Scientific-Advisory-Panel-on-Unidentified-Flying-Objects_Report_1952-1953.pdf", "notes": "Eight years after the events: what the panel heard about foo fighters, under the heading “ON LACK OF DANGER”." }, { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The same report of meetings in the file of the Department of the Air Force Committee to Review Project Bluebook, 1966–1967 (DOW-UAP-D092, PDF pp. 56–57)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/DOW-UAP-D092_DAF-Committee-to-Review-Project-Bluebook_1966-1967.pdf", "notes": "A copy stamped “UNCLASSIFIED”, with Alvarez’s name blanked out in both places where the CIA copy gives it." }, { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "COMETA, “UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?”, 1999, in an English translation filed in the release (Appendix 6, pp. 75–76 of the file)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/255_413270_ufo's_and_defense_what_should_we_prepare_for.pdf", "notes": "A report by a French association, first published, according to its own title page, in the magazine VSD in July 1999. Gives no source for what it says about the foo fighters, the German pilots among them." }, { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s5", "type": "news_article", "title": "Donald H. Menzel, “The Truth About Flying Saucers”, LOOK, vol. 16, no. 13, 17 June 1952, clipped into FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 6 (pp. 256–261)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_6.pdf", "notes": "One question in passing about foo fighters, on p. 260." }, { "sourceId": "foo-fighters-1944-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "Memorandum for record, AFOIN-2C4, 11 July 1955, on KC-97 crew sightings and radar returns over Newfoundland (DOW-UAP-D095, PDF p. 40)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/DOW-UAP-D095_Joint-US-Canadian-Aviation-Projects-and-UFO-Sighting-Reports_1954-1955.pdf", "notes": "Not about foo fighters. Cited only because it calls the returns of one object both “ground radar returns” and “GCI radar returns”." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Air Staff SHAEF to the First Tactical Air Force, 11 February 1945: “there is no information at this Headquarters which might explain the nature and cause of the lights and other phenomena described by the pilots of this Squadron.” The Air Ministry to SHAEF, 13 March 1945: “A few of the alleged aircraft may have been Me. 262 and for the rest, flak rockets are suggested as the most likely explanation. The whole affair is still something of a mystery and the evidence is very sketchy and varied so that no definite and satisfactory explanation can yet be given.” SHAEF passed the Air Ministry’s view on to the First Tactical Air Force on 18 March: “It is regretted that no further, or more definite, information can be given.”", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Crews of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, in 14 extracts from their sortie reports that name no one. The Air Ministry added that Bomber Command crews “have for some time been reporting” similar phenomena, and gave no details" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/foo-fighters-1944" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/foo-fighters-1944" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.5, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T5", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 6, "claims": [ "foo-fighters-enemy-weapon" ], "titlePl": "Foo Fighters", "summaryPl": "Teczka Air Staff SHAEF z wydania 01 PURSUE zawiera 14 wyciągów z raportów z lotów 415th Night Fighter Squadron z dziesięciu nocy, od 14/15 grudnia 1944 do 29/30 stycznia 1945 r. Załogi opisują światła czerwone, pomarańczowe, żółte, bursztynowe, zielone i białe, pojedyncze, w parach i w grupach; niektóre szły za samolotem, jedno podeszło „within 100 ft.” (na 100 stóp) i towarzyszyło mu „for 5 minutes” (przez 5 minut). Eskadra nazywała je „Foofighters”. Jej oficer wywiadu napisał: „In every case where pilot called GCI Control and asked if there was a Bogey A/C in the area he received a negative answer.”, czyli za każdym razem, gdy pilot wywołał GCI Control i zapytał, czy w rejonie jest „Bogey A/C”, dostawał odpowiedź przeczącą. SHAEF napisał, że „it would seem that there must be something more than mere imagination behind the matter” (wydaje się, że za sprawą musi stać coś więcej niż sama wyobraźnia). Air Ministry wskazało samoloty Me 262 i rakiety przeciwlotnicze, a w tym samym piśmie dodało: „The whole affair is still something of a mystery” (cała sprawa nadal pozostaje w pewnym stopniu zagadką)." } }, "description": "Lights that followed the aircraft of one night fighter squadron in the winter of 1944–45, as a SHAEF file records them" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:ghost-rockets-1946", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1946-05-25", "dateCertainty": "approximate" }, "location": { "id": "ghost-rockets-1946-loc", "name": "Sweden, with reports also from Finland, Denmark and Norway; the first came from southern Sweden. The pin marks OpenStreetMap’s point for Sweden, not the place of any sighting", "country": "Sweden", "countryCode": "SE", "longitude": 14.52, "latitude": 59.67, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "From late May 1946 the press in Sweden reported flying missiles, which it named “Ghost Rockets”; in June there were reports from Finland and Denmark, by July from Norway, and by the end of July the Swedish Defense Staff had received almost 1,000. The only account from the time in the US releases is a four-page article in the War Department’s Intelligence Review of 9 January 1947. It records descriptions from “a ball of fire with a tail” to a “shiny cigar-shaped object”, no fragments other than “nonmetallic slag”, and Swedish officers who spoke of Soviet rockets but could produce no evidence. Its authors put the high-altitude reports down to meteors or fireworks and thought that a handful of low-flying ones might have been real missiles.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Intelligence Division, War Department General Staff: “‘Ghost Rockets’ over Scandinavia”, Intelligence Review No. 47, 9 January 1947, pp. 17–20 (DOW-UAP-D099)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/DOW-UAP-D099_Intelligence-Review-of-Ghost-Rocket-Incidents_1947.pdf", "notes": "The only account from the time in the releases. The file holds the cover, the contents, the four pages of the article (PDF pages 3–6) and the back cover; the rest of the issue is not in it. No author is named. Page numbers in this case are those of the issue." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 2: E. G. Fitch to D. M. Ladd, 19 August 1947 (p. 129)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_2.pdf", "notes": "Records what Lieutenant Colonel Garrett of the Air Forces Intelligence told Special Agent S. W. Reynolds about the War Department’s pressure when objects were reported over Sweden." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Headquarters, Air Materiel Command, to the Chief of Staff, US Air Force, “Project ‘SIGN’”, 23 January 1948 (DOW-UAP-D100, p. 152)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/DOW-UAP-D100_Air-Materiel-Command-Report-on-UFOs_1947-1948.pdf", "notes": "Asks for “the entire file ‘Swedish Incidents’”, which is not in the release." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Air Intelligence Division Study No. 203, “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U. S.”, 10 December 1948 (DOW-UAP-D094, pp. 6, 10)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/DOW-UAP-D094_Analysis-of-Flying-Object-Incidents-in-the-US_1949.pdf", "notes": "Mentions the Scandinavian reports of 1946 two years later, in a speculation about Soviet propaganda. The same passage is on p. 15 of the typescript, DOW-UAP-D093." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s5", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 4: SAC San Antonio to the Director, 31 January 1949 (p. 115)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_4.pdf", "notes": "One sentence on the Swedish reports, without saying who thought they came from Russia." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s6", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 5: G-2 paper “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (Flying Saucers)”, marked as received on 22 May 1950 (pp. 156–159)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_5.pdf", "notes": "Unsigned. Retells the events of 1946 four years later and cites no source; the passages used here are on pp. 156–157." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s7", "type": "news_article", "title": "Newspaper clipping, undated, in FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 1 (p. 53)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_1.pdf", "notes": "The page names no paper and no date; the clipping before it is from the Milwaukee Journal of 7 July 1947." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s8", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "COMETA, “UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?”, 1999, in an English translation filed in the release (Appendix 6, p. 75 of the file)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/255_413270_ufo's_and_defense_what_should_we_prepare_for.pdf", "notes": "A report by a French association, first published, according to its own title page, in the magazine VSD in July 1999. Gives no source for what it says about 1946, and its dates and its “no debris” do not match the review of 1947." }, { "sourceId": "ghost-rockets-1946-s9", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Riksarkivet, podcast Arkivpodden, episode 33 “Spökraketer” of 27 April 2023 (transcript published on 15 November 2024): the head of the War Archives (Krigsarkivet), Bo Berg, in conversation with Jim Hedlund", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://riksarkivet.se/resurser/spokraketer", "notes": "A podcast transcript, not a document: an archivist’s account given in conversation. The only archival reference in it is the Defense Staff order of 12 June 1946, Fst/L 12/6 1946 NR 7:49." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Swedish Defense Staff’s communiqué of 10 October 1946, as the US Intelligence Review of 9 January 1947 summarises it, “very strongly indicated that the great majority of the reported incidents were of celestial origin”. The review’s own conclusion: “The best evidence, at present, is that there have been only 2 or 3 real incidents, perhaps as many as 5 or 10, of low-flying missiles of the V-1 type. The high-altitude missiles reported seem definitely to have been meteors or fireworks.” A G-2 paper in the FBI’s file, marked as received in May 1950, says that by 1947 the Swedish Government “finally issued a report identifying most of the incidents with natural phenomena and denying that any foreign power was involved”. No Swedish document is in the US releases: every Swedish position here is known at second hand.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "None named. By the end of July 1946 the Swedish Defense Staff had received almost 1,000 reports, the great majority from untrained observers; one came from a Swedish Air Force pilot, on 14 August" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ghost-rockets-1946" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ghost-rockets-1946" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 1, "D": 1 }, "overall": 1.2, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T5", "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 9, "claims": [ "ghost-rockets-soviet" ], "titlePl": "Ghost Rockets", "summaryPl": "Od końca maja 1946 r. szwedzka prasa donosiła o latających pociskach i nazwała je „Ghost Rockets”, czyli rakiety widma; w czerwcu przyszły doniesienia z Finlandii i Danii, do lipca z Norwegii, a do końca lipca szwedzki sztab obrony otrzymał prawie 1000 zgłoszeń. Jedyna relacja z tamtego czasu w wydaniach USA to czterostronicowy artykuł w „Intelligence Review” Departamentu Wojny z 9 stycznia 1947 r. Notuje opisy od „a ball of fire with a tail” (kula ognia z ogonem) po „shiny cigar-shaped object” (lśniący obiekt w kształcie cygara), żadnych szczątków poza „nonmetallic slag” (niemetalicznym żużlem) i szwedzkich oficerów, którzy mówili o radzieckich rakietach, ale nie mogli przedstawić dowodów. Autorzy przeglądu uznali obiekty widziane wysoko za meteory albo sztuczne ognie, a kilka nisko lecących za możliwe prawdziwe pociski." } }, "description": "Reports of missiles over Sweden and its neighbours in 1946, as a US intelligence review summed them up in January 1947" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:maury-island-1947", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1947-06-21", "dateCertainty": "exact" }, "location": { "id": "maury-island-1947-loc", "name": "Maury Island, Puget Sound, near Tacoma, Washington. The documents put the boat south of the island, close to its shore or at a cove on its east side; the pin marks the island itself", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -122.43, "latitude": 47.38, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "In August 1947 the FBI and the Fourth Air Force looked into a story that Harold A. Dahl had seen flying discs near Maury Island, in Puget Sound, and that one of them had showered his boat with debris. The story reached the file second-hand, first in a publisher’s letter of 22 July, and its versions disagree on the date, the number of objects and who was aboard. Two Army Air Forces intelligence officers who heard it in a Tacoma hotel on 31 July, and were handed a box of the supposed fragments, were killed hours later when their B-25 crashed near Kelso; the Army and the FBI found no sabotage. On 7 August Dahl and Fred L. Crisman signed a statement for the FBI calling the material “strange rock formations from a gravel pit on Maury Island”, and an Army Air Forces officer compared it with slag at a smelter. No one who said they had seen the discs ever signed an account of them.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894 (“Flying Discs”), Section 3: letters and memoranda from Seattle, Butte, San Francisco and Chicago, August–September 1947", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "Ladd’s memorandum to the Director and the blind memorandum of 14 August pp. 31–34; the Seattle letter of 18–19 August pp. 35–49 (its pages 1–6, 6A, 7–14); the Butte memorandum of 27 August on Arnold’s interview pp. 89–95; the Chicago memorandum of 20 September pp. 147–149." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Fourth Air Force A-2 report “Investigation of Flying Disc”, 12 August 1947, with its inclosures (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 3, pp. 8–9, 14–25)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "The report pp. 14–17, a faint carbon; covering letters of 27 August pp. 8–9; Palmer’s letter to Arnold of 22 July (Inclosure 1) p. 18; Dave Johnson’s telegram of 29 July (Inclosure 2) p. 19; five photographs of the “Unidentified Substance” (Inclosures 3 to 7) pp. 20, 22–25. Inclosure 8, the rescue report, is listed separately." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Air Rescue Service, Detachment 8, McChord Field: Final Mission Report, 4 August 1947 (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 3, pp. 10–13)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "A copy, filed as Inclosure 8 to the A-2 report. Its own inclosure, “1-Photographs”, is not in the release." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Statement of Harold A. Dahl and Fred L. Crisman to Special Agent David A. MacCulloch, 7 August 1947 (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 3, p. 51)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "Signed by both men, with the agent’s signature and date below. It does not mention a sighting." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s5", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Affidavit of Captain Emil J. Smith, United Air Lines, August 1947 (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 3, pp. 52–56)", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "A sworn narrative of 31 July to 3 August. The day is blank in this copy; the Seattle letter dates the deposition to 8 August. Dahl’s story here is Smith’s account of what Dahl told him." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 2: Seattle teletypes of 6, 7 and 12 August 1947 and the Director’s message of 14 August", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_2.pdf", "notes": "Seattle of 6 August pp. 24, 26; the Director to Seattle, 14 August, p. 28; Seattle of 7 August pp. 138–144; Seattle of 12 August pp. 146–148." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 1: Portland teletype of 5 August 1947, FBI memorandum of 6 August and Seattle teletype of 14 August", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_1.pdf", "notes": "Portland pp. 139–141 (a carbon) and p. 143; memorandum of 6 August p. 145; Seattle of 14 August p. 119." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s8", "type": "news_article", "title": "Letter of Norman G. Markham to the Chief Signal Officer, 14 March 1948 (DOW-UAP-D088, p. 9)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D088_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_101-172.pdf", "notes": "Filed under incident 101 of the incident summaries forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949; a second copy is in RG 38, incident summaries 101–172, p. 11. Markham’s speculation, not a report." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s9", "type": "news_article", "title": "“Flying Saucery”, Sunday Graphic, London, 26 March 1950: clipping in FBI file 62-HQ-83894, SUB_A, pp. 90–91", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_sub_a.pdf", "notes": "Sent by the Legal Attaché at the American Embassy in London. The label with the paper and the date is on p. 90; the passage on Dahl is on p. 91." }, { "sourceId": "maury-island-1947-s10", "type": "official_report", "title": "Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center to SAFOI-3d (Maj. Tacker), “Aerial Phenomena Research Organization”, 4 May 1960, paragraph 4 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28956049, image 37)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28956049?objectPage=37", "notes": "A memo about the Ubatuba case of 1957 that mentions Maury Island only as a comparison; filed in the unit titled “Peoria, Illinois, August 1953”. On the scan the words “The Air Force” are faint." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Fourth Air Force A-2 report of 12 August 1947, approved by Lt. Col. Donald L. Springer, recommends “That no further investigation be undertaken on this specific incident by Army Air Force personnel” and that consideration be given to revoking Crisman’s Air Reserve commission “as an undesirable and unreliable officer”; the report still gives the status of the case as “Pending”. For the FBI, D. M. Ladd reported to the Director on 14 August 1947: “Investigation by the Bureau has reflected that this plane was definitely not carrying parts of a disc and there appears to be no substantiation of a sabotage charge.” The Seattle office closed its investigation in its letter of 18–19 August. No document in the release records a formal finding on the sighting itself.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "One claimant, Harold A. Dahl, whose account survives only as retold by others; Fred L. Crisman said he saw a disc on a later visit to the island. The documents name others aboard the boat (Dahl’s son, “a Mr. Knight”, “two other seamen”), none of whom was interviewed in the release" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/maury-island-1947" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/maury-island-1947" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 0, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.1, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T3", "T1", "T1", "T5", "T5", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 10, "claims": [ "maury-island-sabotage" ], "titlePl": "Odłamki z Maury Island", "summaryPl": "W sierpniu 1947 r. FBI i Fourth Air Force badały historię, według której Harold A. Dahl widział latające dyski koło Maury Island w Puget Sound, a jeden z nich obsypał jego łódź szczątkami. Historia trafiła do akt z drugiej ręki, najpierw w liście wydawcy z 22 lipca, a jej wersje różnią się datą, liczbą obiektów i składem załogi. Dwaj oficerowie wywiadu lotnictwa armii, którzy wysłuchali jej 31 lipca w hotelu w Tacomie i dostali pudełko rzekomych odłamków, zginęli kilka godzin później, gdy ich B-25 rozbił się pod Kelso; armia i FBI nie znalazły śladów sabotażu. 7 sierpnia Dahl i Fred L. Crisman podpisali dla FBI oświadczenie, w którym nazwali ten materiał „strange rock formations from a gravel pit on Maury Island” (dziwnymi formacjami skalnymi ze żwirowni na Maury Island), a oficer lotnictwa armii porównał go z żużlem z huty. Nikt, kto mówił, że widział dyski, nie podpisał relacji o nich." } }, "description": "Gravel-pit rock passed off as flying-disc fragments, two Army officers killed hours after being handed a box of it, no sabotage" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:arnold-1947", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1947-06-24", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 2–3 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "arnold-1947-loc", "name": "Cascade Range, near Mount Rainier, Washington", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -121.76, "latitude": 46.85, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported nine objects moving in formation near Mount Rainier. His description of their motion — “like a saucer skipped across water” — was converted by the press into the shape of the objects, giving rise to the term flying saucer.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "arnold-1947-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files / early USAF investigation, Arnold case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "arnold-1947-s2", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Kenneth Arnold’s written statement to the aviation authorities (1947)", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" }, { "sourceId": "arnold-1947-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Incident summaries of unidentified flying objects, forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949, incidents 1 to 100 (DOW-UAP-D087)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D087_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_1-100.pdf", "notes": "Incident 17 (pp. 45–46): a check-list and a narrative with a sketch. The carbon is so faint that most of the entries cannot be read." }, { "sourceId": "arnold-1947-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 3: Palmer’s letter to Arnold of 22 July 1947 and the FBI’s interview of Arnold in Boise, 19 August 1947", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdf", "notes": "Palmer’s letter p. 18, filed as an inclosure to a Fourth Air Force report; the Butte memorandum of 27 August on the interview pp. 89–95. Both belong to the Maury Island case." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The early USAF investigation did not establish a source; mirage and misjudged distance were considered.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "1 (private pilot)" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/arnold-1947" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/arnold-1947" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.5, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T3", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "arnold-saucer-shape" ], "titlePl": "Obserwacja Kennetha Arnolda", "summaryPl": "Pilot prywatny Kenneth Arnold zgłosił dziewięć obiektów przemieszczających się w formacji w pobliżu Mount Rainier. Jego opis ruchu, „jak spodek rzucony po wodzie”, został przez prasę przekształcony w kształt obiektu i dał początek terminowi flying saucer." } }, "description": "Nine objects near Mount Rainier and the birth of the term “flying saucer”" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:roswell-1947", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1947-07-08", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "not applicable — debris recovery" }, "location": { "id": "roswell-1947-loc", "name": "A ranch near Corona, New Mexico; RAAF Roswell", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -105.28, "latitude": 33.94, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "RAAF Roswell issued a press release announcing the recovery of a “flying disc”, retracted the same day in favour of a weather balloon. The case remained marginal for thirty years and returned only in the late 1970s, as testimony recorded after the fact.", "eventType": "trace", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "roswell-1947-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "RAAF Roswell press release of 8 July 1947 and its retraction", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA326148.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "roswell-1947-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894 (“Flying Discs”), Section 1: teletype from FBI Dallas of 8 July 1947 and memoranda of 10 and 24 July 1947", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_1.pdf", "notes": "The teletype is p. 70; the memorandum of 10 July with the handwritten note is pp. 125–127, the memorandum of 24 July p. 131. Released by the Department of War in May 2026 (release 01)." }, { "sourceId": "roswell-1947-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "USAF reports of 1994–1997 on Project Mogul and the so-called “bodies”", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-D301-PURL-gpo92195/pdf/GOVPUB-D301-PURL-gpo92195.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "roswell-1947-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Witness accounts collected from the late 1970s, three decades after the event", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.341-roswell-1", "notes": "The core of the modern Roswell narrative comes from this layer, not from 1947 documents." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "A weather balloon (1947), and following investigations in the 1990s a balloon from Project Mogul — a classified acoustic system for detecting Soviet nuclear tests.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The rancher who found the debris and base personnel; the key accounts were recorded decades later" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/roswell-1947" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/roswell-1947" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "trace" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 1, "P": 2, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.8, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "roswell-craft-recovered", "roswell-bodies" ], "titlePl": "Roswell", "summaryPl": "Baza RAAF Roswell wydała komunikat o odzyskaniu „latającego dysku”, odwołany tego samego dnia na rzecz balonu meteorologicznego. Sprawa pozostawała marginalna przez trzydzieści lat i wróciła dopiero pod koniec lat 70. jako relacje spisane po dekadach." } }, "description": "Debris on the Foster ranch and the most durable myth in modern ufology" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:mantell-1948", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1948-01-07", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 30 minutes of pursuit" }, "location": { "id": "mantell-1948-loc", "name": "Near Franklin, Kentucky", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -86.58, "latitude": 36.72, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Captain Thomas Mantell crashed while pursuing a large, bright object also under observation from the Godman AAF control tower. The accident turned UAP into a flight-safety problem rather than a curiosity.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "mantell-1948-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Mantell case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "mantell-1948-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "USAF aircraft accident report, January 1948", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" }, { "sourceId": "mantell-1948-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Incident summaries of unidentified flying objects, forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949, incidents 1 to 100 (DOW-UAP-D087)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D087_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_1-100.pdf", "notes": "Incidents 33 and 33a to 33g (pp. 81–96): check-lists and statements from Godman Field and the surrounding area for 7 January 1948. Page 94 sets out the radio exchange between the tower and NG 869 as four people at Godman reported it." }, { "sourceId": "mantell-1948-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Air Intelligence Division Study No. 203, “Analysis of Flying Object Incidents in the U. S.”, 10 December 1948 (DOW-UAP-D094)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/DOW-UAP-D094_Analysis-of-Flying-Object-Incidents-in-the-US_1949.pdf", "notes": "Directorate of Intelligence, USAF, and Office of Naval Intelligence. Paragraph 2k of Appendix C (p. 17) describes the death of “a National Guard pilot” on 7 January 1948 without naming him. Page 21 puts a Godman sighting of 19 August 1948 down to Venus and suggests the earlier Godman incidents may have been Venus too." }, { "sourceId": "mantell-1948-s5", "type": "news_article", "title": "Letter of Norman G. Markham to the Chief Signal Officer, 14 March 1948 (DOW-UAP-D088, p. 9)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D088_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_101-172.pdf", "notes": "Filed under incident 101 of the incident summaries forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949. Markham’s speculation, not a report: page 9 mentions Mantell and, in the next sentence, the two officers and Maury Island." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Early explanations (Venus) were judged inadequate; the identification now favoured is a Skyhook high-altitude balloon.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The pilot (killed), Godman AAF tower personnel, ground observers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mantell-1948" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mantell-1948" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.7, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 4, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Śmierć kpt. Thomasa Mantella", "summaryPl": "Kapitan Thomas Mantell rozbił się podczas pościgu za dużym, jasnym obiektem obserwowanym również z wieży kontrolnej Godman AAF. Wypadek uczynił z UAP problem bezpieczeństwa lotów, a nie tylko ciekawostkę." } }, "description": "The first fatality of a UAP pursuit" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:chiles-whitted-1948", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1948-07-24", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a few seconds" }, "location": { "id": "chiles-whitted-1948-loc", "name": "Near Montgomery, Alabama", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -86.3, "latitude": 32.37, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Two Eastern Air Lines pilots reported passing a large cigar-shaped object with two rows of bright windows and a flame at the rear. The case was one of the pillars of the internal Project SIGN document said to have argued an interplanetary hypothesis.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "chiles-whitted-1948-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project SIGN / Blue Book files, Chiles–Whitted case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "chiles-whitted-1948-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Accounts of the “Estimate of the Situation” document", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821", "notes": "The document itself does not survive in the archives and its existence is unconfirmed." }, { "sourceId": "chiles-whitted-1948-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Incident summaries of unidentified flying objects, forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949, incidents 101 to 172 (DOW-UAP-D088)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D088_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_101-172.pdf", "notes": "Incident 144 (pp. 127–136): the check-list, Captain C. S. Chiles’s letter to Eastern Air Lines of 3 August 1948 (p. 131) and John B. Whitted’s statement (p. 134). Incidents 144a and 144b are other sightings the same night near Blackstone, Virginia." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book ultimately classified the event as a bolide (meteor).", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "2 airline pilots, 1 passenger" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/chiles-whitted-1948" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/chiles-whitted-1948" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "sign-estimate-of-situation" ], "titlePl": "Chiles–Whitted", "summaryPl": "Dwaj piloci Eastern Air Lines zgłosili minięcie dużego, cygaropodobnego obiektu z dwoma rzędami jasnych okien i płomieniem z tyłu. Sprawa była jednym z filarów wewnętrznego dokumentu Project SIGN sugerującego hipotezę międzyplanetarną." } }, "description": "A DC-3 crew’s near-miss over Alabama" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:gorman-1948", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1948-10-01", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 27 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "gorman-1948-loc", "name": "Fargo, North Dakota", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -96.79, "latitude": 46.88, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Second Lieutenant George Gorman flew an extended series of manoeuvres against a small bright light which, by his account, responded to his movements and out-turned him.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "gorman-1948-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Gorman case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "gorman-1948-s2", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "The pilot’s written report filed immediately after the flight", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" }, { "sourceId": "gorman-1948-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Incident summaries of unidentified flying objects, forwarded from Wright Field on 14 March 1949, incidents 101 to 172 (DOW-UAP-D088)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D088_US-AirForce_Analysis-of-Flying-Objects-in-the-US_101-172.pdf", "notes": "Incidents 172 and 172A to 172c (pp. 203–209): check-lists for George F. Gorman, the Fargo tower controllers L. D. Jensen and Manuel E. Johnson, and Dr. Cannon, with narratives. The pages are negative photostats with no text layer." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book attributed the event to a lighted weather balloon.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A National Guard pilot, airfield controllers, ground observers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gorman-1948" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gorman-1948" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T3", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Pojedynek powietrzny Gormana", "summaryPl": "Ppor. George Gorman prowadził w F-51 przedłużający się manewr za małym, jasnym światłem, które według jego relacji reagowało na jego ruchy i przewyższało go w zwrotach." } }, "description": "Twenty-five minutes of manoeuvring against a light over Fargo" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:green-fireballs-1948", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1948-12-05", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "individual events: 1–3 seconds" }, "location": { "id": "green-fireballs-1948-loc", "name": "New Mexico: Los Alamos, Sandia, Kirtland AFB", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -106.31, "latitude": 35.68, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A series of vivid green fireballs observed over the most sensitive nuclear installations in the United States. The phenomenon was taken seriously enough that a dedicated observation programme, Project Twinkle, was established with cameras and theodolites.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + instrument", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "green-fireballs-1948-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Twinkle documentation (1949–1951)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "green-fireballs-1948-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Los Alamos and Sandia security reports from the wave period", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/AARO_Historical_Record_Report_Vol_1_2024.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "green-fireballs-1948-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Message from the commanding officer, Kirtland AFB, to the Chief of Staff USAF, 31 January 1949 (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 4, p. 106)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_4.pdf", "notes": "A copy received by the FBI in February 1949." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Project Twinkle ended without resolution. The prevailing hypothesis was unusual bolide activity.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Security personnel at nuclear installations, scientists, pilots" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/green-fireballs-1948" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/green-fireballs-1948" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "instrument" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 1, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "uap-nuclear-affinity" ], "titlePl": "Zielone kule ognia", "summaryPl": "Seria jaskrawozielonych kul ognia obserwowanych nad najbardziej wrażliwymi instalacjami nuklearnymi USA. Zjawisko było na tyle poważnie traktowane, że powołano dedykowany program obserwacyjny Project Twinkle z kamerami i teodolitami." } }, "description": "A wave over New Mexico’s nuclear installations, and Project Twinkle" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:oak-ridge-1950", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1950-03-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "Radar returns over several days in March 1950, single returns in October and December 1950 and January 1951; the light of 18 December was seen for about thirty seconds" }, "location": { "id": "oak-ridge-1950-loc", "name": "Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The pin stands on the town of Oak Ridge, because the reports put the object “directly over Oak Ridge”; the sighting of 18 December 1950 was made from the turnpike towards the S-50 Area, about a mile from the White Wing entrance. The documents give no coordinates. The radars were at Knoxville: Stuart E. Adcock's home, the Naval Reserve Training Center on Alcoa Highway and McGhee Tyson Airport", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -84.27, "latitude": 36.01, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Between March 1950 and January 1951 the FBI's file on flying discs collected a run of reports of objects over the Atomic Energy Commission's plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A radio amateur in Knoxville reported an object “directly over Oak Ridge” at up to 100,000 feet on a surplus radar set; the Navy's radar saw nothing, and the Air Force officers who examined his set found it unreliable. In October an Air Force radar at Knoxville tracked eleven objects across the controlled area that a fighter could not find. On 18 December two carloads of officers and engineers saw a bright light over the turnpike, which the three who signed one of the statements compared to sunlight reflected from a distant aircraft. In January 1951 a pilot and the plant's patrol identified a light over the area as a star. The file records every check; none of them found an object, and several of the records it refers to are not in the release.", "eventType": "radar + visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "oak-ridge-1950-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894 (“Flying Discs”), Section 5: Army messages, FBI memoranda and teletypes, and the Knoxville report on the radar reports of March 1950", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_5.pdf", "notes": "Army messages of 2, 3 and 9 March pp. 57–58, 70, 88 (pp. 71–72 are a second copy of pp. 57–58); Belmont memoranda of 3 and 6 March pp. 80, 82; Knoxville teletype of 6 March p. 84; the Director's letters of 14 March pp. 86, 89; Knoxville report pp. 91–96, its pages 2–7; page 1 is not in the release." }, { "sourceId": "oak-ridge-1950-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 6: teletypes of October and December 1950 and CIC summaries of December 1950 and January 1951", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_6.pdf", "notes": "Knoxville teletype of 13 October 1950 p. 92; the Director's teletype of 5 December p. 93; Knoxville letters of 4 November 1950 and 10 February 1951 pp. 96, 100; CIC summaries with the statements on 18 December pp. 101–110." }, { "sourceId": "oak-ridge-1950-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 4: Knoxville memoranda of 10 January and 18 February 1949 and Colonel Gasser's letter of 10 February 1949 on the photographs of July 1947", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_4.pdf", "notes": "pp. 84–88, 109, 112–113." }, { "sourceId": "oak-ridge-1950-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Serial 153: the two photographs from Oak Ridge, July 1947, with a newspaper clipping", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_serial_153.pdf", "notes": "Nine pages; the index gives an address the publisher does not serve, and the record points at the file under its full name." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A radio amateur with a surplus radar set; Air Force radar operators at Knoxville; two carloads of officers and engineers on the way to work at Oak Ridge, named in their own statements; the agents of the FBI, CIC and OSI who checked the reports" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/oak-ridge-1950" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/oak-ridge-1950" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 2, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.8, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 4, "claims": [ "uap-nuclear-affinity" ], "titlePl": "Radar nad Oak Ridge", "summaryPl": "Od marca 1950 do stycznia 1951 r. teczka FBI o latających dyskach zbierała zgłoszenia obiektów nad zakładami Komisji Energii Atomowej w Oak Ridge w Tennessee. Radioamator z Knoxville zgłaszał na radarze z demobilu obiekt „directly over Oak Ridge”, dokładnie nad Oak Ridge, na wysokości do 100 000 stóp; radar marynarki nic nie widział, a oficerowie lotnictwa, którzy obejrzeli jego zestaw, uznali go za niewiarygodny. W październiku radar lotnictwa w Knoxville śledził jedenaście obiektów nad strefą kontrolowaną, których myśliwiec nie znalazł. 18 grudnia dwa samochody oficerów i inżynierów zobaczyły nad drogą jasne światło, które trzej podpisani pod jednym z oświadczeń porównali do słońca odbitego od odległego samolotu. W styczniu 1951 r. pilot i patrol zakładów uznali światło nad strefą za gwiazdę. Teczka zapisuje każde sprawdzenie; żadne nie znalazło obiektu, a części dokumentów, do których się odwołuje, nie ma w wydaniu." } }, "description": "An amateur radar, an Air Force radar and a light over the turnpike near a nuclear plant; every check came back empty or a star" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:mcminnville-1950", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1950-05-11", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several tens of seconds" }, "location": { "id": "mcminnville-1950-loc", "name": "The Trent farm, McMinnville, Oregon", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -123.2, "latitude": 45.21, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A farming couple took two photographs of a metallic disc-shaped object. The images passed through several independent analyses, including within the Condon Committee, and to this day have no resolution that all researchers accept.", "eventType": "photo + visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "mcminnville-1950-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The original negatives and the analysis in the Condon Committee report (1968)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/s3chap02.htm" }, { "sourceId": "mcminnville-1950-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later photogrammetric re-analyses, contradictory in their conclusions", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/contents.htm" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Condon Committee judged the photometric analysis consistent with a large distant object, but did not rule out a hoax.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "2 (the Trents)" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mcminnville-1950" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mcminnville-1950" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "photo", "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "mcminnville-authentic" ], "titlePl": "Fotografie z McMinnville", "summaryPl": "Para rolników wykonała dwie fotografie metalicznego obiektu dyskoidalnego. Zdjęcia przeszły przez kilka niezależnych analiz, w tym w ramach Condon Committee i do dziś nie mają rozstrzygnięcia zgodnego dla wszystkich badaczy." } }, "description": "The two most famous UFO photographs ever taken, and the limits of photographic analysis" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:lubbock-lights-1951", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1951-08-25", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "seconds per pass, over many nights" }, "location": { "id": "lubbock-lights-1951-loc", "name": "Lubbock, Texas", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -101.86, "latitude": 33.58, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "V-shaped formations of lights passed over the city for several weeks. The witnesses included university faculty, which gave the case unusual credibility, and a student produced a series of photographs.", "eventType": "visual + photo + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "lubbock-lights-1951-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Lubbock Lights case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book classified the phenomenon as birds — probably plovers — reflecting the light of the city’s newly installed street lighting.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Three Texas Tech professors, several dozen residents, one photographer" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lubbock-lights-1951" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lubbock-lights-1951" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "photo", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Lubbock Lights", "summaryPl": "Formacje świateł w kształcie litery V przelatywały nad miastem przez kilka tygodni. Wśród świadków byli wykładowcy uczelni, co nadało sprawie nietypową wiarygodność, a student wykonał serię fotografii." } }, "description": "Formations over Texas observed by university faculty" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:tremonton-1952", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1952-07-02", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "roughly 70 to 90 seconds of footage" }, "location": { "id": "tremonton-1952-loc", "name": "Near Tremonton, Utah", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -112.17, "latitude": 41.71, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A Navy warrant officer and professional aerial photographer shot colour film showing a group of bright objects in motion. The material received one of the most detailed analyses in Blue Book history, including densitometric measurement.", "eventType": "film + visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The original film and the analysis in the Project Blue Book files", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/case49.htm" }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Battelle Memorial Institute analysis (Project Bear)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/AD0069211.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book file on the Tremonton film, 1952–1956", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-D102_Project-Blue-Book-File-on-Tremonton-Film-Utah-1952.pdf", "notes": "156 scanned pages with an OCR layer. Newhouse’s letter of 11 August 1952 (p. 113), the 28th Air Division interview of 12 September 1952 (pp. 4–6, 14), the ATIC worksheet (pp. 57–58), the Air Force laboratory analysis (pp. 136–142), the Navy PIC reports of 5 December 1952 (pp. 129–133) and 4 May 1953 (pp. 71–77), the memorandum on the release (pp. 37–39), the teleconference of 3 February 1953 (pp. 78–80), the 1954 correspondence on the original (pp. 45–50), the Douglas Aircraft analysis of 1956 (pp. 82–97) and the press memorandum of 1 June 1956 (pp. 126–127). The file also contains material unrelated to the case." }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book photo file on the Tremonton film, 1952", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-D103_Project-Blue-Book-Photo-File-Relating-to-Tremonton-Film-Utah-1952.pdf", "notes": "Five pages: a cover sheet dating the file 7 July 1952, a catalogue card giving “Pillow balloons” or birds as the probable explanation, and a General Mills photograph of pillow balloons being launched, with an unsigned handwritten note on the back." }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "Final personnel record of Delbert C. Newhouse, U.S. Navy", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-D104_Final-Personnel-Record-for-Newhouse-Delbert-C-US-Navy-1957.pdf", "notes": "585 pages. The record mentions neither the film nor the sighting, and it gives no total of flying hours, so the 1,000 and 2,200 hours cited in the Blue Book file cannot be verified against it. It does confirm his rank in 1952, his training at the Naval School of Photography in 1935, and approved leave from 19 June to 7 July 1952 (pp. 82–83, 345, 369)." }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s6", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects and the report of its meetings, CIA, January 1953 (CIA-UAP-002)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-002_Scientific-Advisory-Panel-on-Unidentified-Flying-Objects_Report_1952-1953.pdf", "notes": "A 42-page CIA folder. The panel's assessment of the Tremonton film is in F. C. Durant's report of the meetings (pp. 21–24), and a film of seagulls shown to the panel is listed among the evidence (p. 11). Part I of the report of meetings is not in the folder, and two items were withdrawn from it." }, { "sourceId": "tremonton-1952-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA memorandum for the record, “British Activity in the field of ‘Unidentified Flying Objects’”, 18 December 1952 (CIA-UAP-014)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-014_British_Activity_in_the_Field_of_Unidentified_Flying_Objects.pdf", "notes": "Signed by H. Marshall Chadwell, Assistant Director, Scientific Intelligence. Records what a messenger from Britain reported on 15 December about his talks with R. V. Jones; the second person he talked with is redacted. The Tremonton film appears in one sentence (p. 1, point 5), which does not name Newhouse. Page 2 is an undated page from a different document." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The file holds three answers in sequence, not one. The ATIC worksheet for the sighting, in 1952, marks the final evaluation “Unknown”. A teleconference message from Blue Book of 3 February 1953, supplying text for a press release, calls sea gulls soaring in thermal air currents a “strong possibility” and says the Air Force contemplates no further action. A memorandum prepared for the Air Force press room on 1 June 1956 finds “little reasonable doubt” that the objects were “indeed seagulls”, and credits a seagull conclusion to the Air Force Photo Reconnaissance Laboratory. The laboratory analysis in the same file says the opposite: it is reasonably certain that the brightness of the images exceeds that of any natural diffuse reflector such as white birds against the sky.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Delbert C. Newhouse, Chief Photographer (a commissioned warrant officer), U.S. Navy, with his wife, their son aged 14 and their daughter aged 12" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/tremonton-1952" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/tremonton-1952" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "film", "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 5, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.1, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T2", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 7, "claims": [ "tremonton-seagulls-1956" ], "titlePl": "Film z Tremonton", "summaryPl": "Chorąży marynarki, zawodowy fotograf lotniczy, nakręcił kolorowy film przedstawiający grupę jasnych obiektów w ruchu. Materiał został poddany jednej z najbardziej szczegółowych analiz w historii Blue Book, w tym analizie densytometrycznej." } }, "description": "A Navy Chief Photographer, a commissioned warrant officer, and footage the Air Force answered three different ways" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:washington-1952", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1952-07-19", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several hours on each night" }, "location": { "id": "washington-1952-loc", "name": "Washington National Airport, Andrews AFB, airspace over the District of Columbia", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -77.04, "latitude": 38.85, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On two consecutive July weekends, civilian and military radars around Washington tracked unidentified targets over restricted airspace, correlated with visual sightings by pilots. Interceptors were scrambled. The case forced the largest Pentagon press conference since the end of the Second World War.", "eventType": "radar + visual + multi-witness + intercept", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "washington-1952-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files covering July 1952 (National Archives)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "washington-1952-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Washington National Airport air traffic control records", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2019/12/19/saucers-over-washington-the-history-of-project-blue-book/" }, { "sourceId": "washington-1952-s3", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Press briefing by Maj. Gen. John Samford, 29 July 1952", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" }, { "sourceId": "washington-1952-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later historical reconstructions and meteorological analyses", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/s6chap05.htm" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The USAF identified temperature inversion and the associated anomalous radar propagation as the principal explanation. Blue Book left part of the events unresolved.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Air traffic controllers, military radar operators, airline and fighter pilots" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/washington-1952" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/washington-1952" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "multi-witness", "intercept" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 2 }, "overall": 3.5, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "washington-7000mph", "washington-radar-visual-lock" ], "titlePl": "Fala nad Waszyngtonem", "summaryPl": "W dwa kolejne weekendy lipca 1952 r. radary cywilne i wojskowe wokół Waszyngtonu rejestrowały niezidentyfikowane cele nad przestrzenią zakazaną, skorelowane z obserwacjami wzrokowymi pilotów. Poderwano myśliwce przechwytujące. Sprawa wymusiła najliczniejszą konferencję prasową Pentagonu od zakończenia II wojny światowej." } }, "description": "Two weekends of radar contacts over the US capital, and the largest Pentagon press conference since the war" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:newfoundland-1955", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1955-07-06", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "not stated" }, "location": { "id": "newfoundland-1955-loc", "name": "“Newfoundland area”, given as 4910N/5950W. The map pin stands on that point, which lies over the Gulf of St Lawrence about 80 km off the west coast of Newfoundland", "country": "Canada", "countryCode": "CA", "longitude": -59.83, "latitude": 49.17, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On 6 July 1955 the crew of a USAF KC-97 tanker reported an unidentified airborne object in the Newfoundland area, and a ground radar in the same area obtained a return on an object that apparently was the one the crew were watching. A Headquarters USAF intelligence committee could not explain the simultaneous radar returns and visual sightings, tentatively accepted Northeast Air Command's evaluation of an electrical phenomenon and misinterpretation by the crew, classified the incident as an unidentified flying object, and recommended that fighters be scrambled without delay in future incidents of this kind. The crew's accounts, the radar data and the original messages are not in the released file.", "eventType": "visual + radar", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "newfoundland-1955-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Headquarters USAF, Directorate of Intelligence, papers on the KC-97 sightings of 6 July 1955 (DOW-UAP-D095, pp. 37–46)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/DOW-UAP-D095_Joint-US-Canadian-Aviation-Projects-and-UFO-Sighting-Reports_1954-1955.pdf", "notes": "Memorandum for record of 11 July 1955 (p. 40), cover sheets with comments of July 1955 (pp. 37–39), Air Staff Summary Sheet of 28 July 1955 requesting a fighter scramble (pp. 41–42), letter to the Royal Canadian Air Force of 9 August 1955 with the committee's summaries on the RB-47 and KC-97 sightings (pp. 43–45) and memorandum for record of 3 August 1955 (p. 46). Not in the file: the messages CAF IN 15592 and CAF IN 90703 the committee worked from, the crew interrogations, the Northeast Air Command evaluation, any radar record and the proposed message to Northeast Air Command." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Headquarters USAF committee, as sent to the Royal Canadian Air Force in August 1955: “The committee was unable to explain the simultaneous ground radar returns and aircrew visual sightings, and tentatively attributes the incident to electrical phenomenon and misinterpretation of the sightings by aircrew members.” And: “That this incident be classified as an Unidentified Flying Object.”", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The crew of a USAF KC-97 tanker, not named or counted; the evaluation speaks of “aircrew members”" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/newfoundland-1955" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/newfoundland-1955" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 2, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 1 }, "overall": 1.5, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "KC-97 u brzegów Nowej Fundlandii", "summaryPl": "6 lipca 1955 r. załoga tankowca KC-97 Sił Powietrznych USA zgłosiła niezidentyfikowany obiekt w powietrzu w okolicach Nowej Fundlandii, a radar naziemny w tym samym rejonie uzyskał echo obiektu, który najwyraźniej był tym, na który patrzyła załoga. Komisja wywiadu Kwatery Głównej USAF nie umiała wyjaśnić jednoczesnych ech radarowych i obserwacji wzrokowych, wstępnie przyjęła ocenę Northeast Air Command, według której chodziło o zjawisko elektryczne i błędną interpretację załogi, zaklasyfikowała incydent jako niezidentyfikowany obiekt latający i zaleciła, by przy podobnych zdarzeniach bez zwłoki podrywać myśliwce. Relacji załogi, danych radarowych i pierwotnych depesz w udostępnionej teczce nie ma." } }, "description": "A tanker crew, a ground radar and an Air Force committee that could not explain the two together" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:kelly-hopkinsville-1955", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1955-08-21", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "“nearly four hours”, in the household’s words at the police station at about 11 p.m.; the woman’s statement adds a sighting at about 3:30 a.m." }, "location": { "id": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-loc", "name": "A farmhouse on the Old Madisonville Road near Kelly, which the documents put six or eight miles north of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The pin marks OpenStreetMap’s point for Kelly, not the farmhouse", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -87.48, "latitude": 36.97, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On the night of 21 August 1955 two cars full of people from a farmhouse near Kelly drove to the police station in Hopkinsville and said that little men from a space ship had attacked the house: “We’ve been fighting them for nearly four hours”. They had fired at them with “a shotgun for Sutton and a .22 caliber target pistol for Taylor”. More than a dozen officers went out and found “no tracks of ‘little men’” and no mark of a landing, only a hole in a window screen where the occupants said they had fired. The papers in the US releases are in a Project Blue Book file: a copy of the local paper of 22 August, a statement written that day, a United Press dispatch, and the Air Force’s inquiries of 1956–57. No official investigation is on record; in 1957 the Air Force’s intelligence center wrote that “no credence can be given this almost fantastic report”.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Statement of 22 August 1955 by the woman of the house, aged 50, name redacted, witnessed by Maj. John E. Albert; typed copy certified at Campbell AFB (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 53)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=53", "notes": "The only statement by a member of the household in the file. The link opens the image in the National Archives catalogue." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s2", "type": "news_article", "title": "Kentucky New Era, Hopkinsville, 22 August 1955, “Story of Space-Ship, 12 Little Men Probed Today”, typed copy certified at Campbell AFB (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, images 52, 51 and 50)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=52", "notes": "Three pages of copy, filed in the reverse order; the link opens the first, image 52." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s3", "type": "news_article", "title": "United Press dispatch, Hopkinsville, 22 August 1955 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 115)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=115" }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Statement given by Maj. John E. Albert to the adjutant of Campbell AFB, 26 September 1957 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, images 48 and 47)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=48", "notes": "Albert went to the farm on the morning of 22 August 1955; the statement was taken two years later." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s5", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "4002d Air Base Squadron, Campbell AFB, to the Air Technical Intelligence Center, first indorsement, stamped 1 October 1957 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 46)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=46" }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s6", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Air Technical Intelligence Center to the Commander, Campbell AFB, “Request for Information - Hopkinsville Incident 21 August 1955”, 29 August 1957 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 56)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=56" }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s7", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Memo headed “Captain Gregory / J. A. Hynek / Hopkinsville Case”, 10 September 1956, copy (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 57)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=57", "notes": "The last digit of the year is unclear on the scan; the paragraph on image 110 calls this “Office Memo dated 10 September 1956”." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s8", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Unsigned, undated paragraph “h. Hopkinsville Case”, written after 10 September 1956, pasted into the file (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 110)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=110" }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s9", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Unsigned, undated page, paragraph 22: “If we may add a touch of levity to this discussion of UFO cases” (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 114)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=114" }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s10", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Frank Edwards, talk at a public meeting of Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York, 28 April 1956, as typed up (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, images 62, 68 and 69)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=68", "notes": "The paragraph on image 110 calls it “details of this bizarre sighting as written by Frank Edwards, noted TV and radio broadcaster”. The link opens image 68, where the Hopkinsville part begins." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s11", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Account by a radio station employee from Hopkinsville who interviewed the household, name redacted, undated, in two typed versions (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, images 79–105)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=79", "notes": "In the author’s words “SECOND HAND”, from the household. Quoted here from images 79, 91 and 96; the link opens image 79." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s12", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Civilian Saucer Intelligence of New York, newsletter page 6, “Report on Hopkinsville Finished, Must Still be Printed” (Project Blue Book, NAID 28963358, image 113)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=113", "notes": "Announces the report of Isabel Davis and Arthur Ledwith, which is not in the file." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s13", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book, separator sheet “21-22 August 1955 / HOPKINSVILLE, KENTUCKY”, marked “No Case” (NAID 28963358, image 43)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28963358?objectPage=43", "notes": "The Hopkinsville papers are images 42–117 of a file unit that the catalogue titles “OLD GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, August 1955”." }, { "sourceId": "kelly-hopkinsville-1955-s14", "type": "news_article", "title": "“Focus on UFO”, This World, S. F. Sunday Examiner & Chronicle, 16 October 1966, clipped into FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 10 (p. 29)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_10.pdf", "notes": "Tells the story among the sightings of 1966." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No report of an official investigation is in the file. The Air Technical Intelligence Center to Campbell Air Force Base, 29 August 1957: “Lacking factual, confirming data, no credence can be given this almost fantastic report. As the incident has never been officially reported to the Air Force, it has not taken official cognizance of the matter.” Campbell AFB replied that the Sheriff’s Office and the Hopkinsville police had been asked and “Neither had a report of investigation on file”. A statement taken at the base on 26 September 1957 ends: “It is felt that the report cannot be substantiated as far as any actual object appearing in the vicinity at that time.” The separator sheet in the Blue Book file is marked “No Case”.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Seven adults, as a statement of 22 August 1955 lists them. The newspaper put “some 10 or 12 persons” at the house, including several children, and the officers could not tell how many of them claimed to have seen anything. City police, state troopers, deputy sheriffs and military police went to the farm and found nothing" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/kelly-hopkinsville-1955" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/kelly-hopkinsville-1955" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.2, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T5", "T5", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T1", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 14, "claims": [ "kelly-hopkinsville-siege" ], "titlePl": "Kelly–Hopkinsville", "summaryPl": "W nocy 21 sierpnia 1955 r. dwa samochody pełne ludzi z farmy pod Kelly przyjechały na posterunek policji w Hopkinsville, a przybysze powiedzieli, że dom zaatakowali mali ludzie ze statku kosmicznego: „We’ve been fighting them for nearly four hours” (walczymy z nimi prawie cztery godziny). Strzelali do nich z „a shotgun for Sutton and a .22 caliber target pistol for Taylor” (strzelby Suttona i tarczowego pistoletu kalibru .22 Taylora). Ponad tuzin funkcjonariuszy pojechało na miejsce i nie znalazło „no tracks of ‚little men’” (żadnych śladów małych ludzi) ani śladu lądowania, tylko dziurę w siatce w oknie, przez którą według domowników padł strzał. Papiery w wydaniach USA leżą w teczce Project Blue Book: kopia lokalnej gazety z 22 sierpnia, oświadczenie spisane tego dnia, depesza United Press i zapytania lotnictwa z lat 1956–57. Nie ma śladu oficjalnego dochodzenia; w 1957 r. ośrodek wywiadu technicznego lotnictwa napisał, że „no credence can be given this almost fantastic report” (nie można dać wiary tej niemal fantastycznej relacji)." } }, "description": "A night at a farmhouse near Kelly, Kentucky, in a newspaper, a witness statement and the Air Force’s later papers" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:russell-1955", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1955-10-04", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "not recorded in any of the three documents" }, "location": { "id": "russell-1955-loc", "name": "From a train between Baku and Tiflis, about ten minutes beyond Alyaty, across an airfield on the Caspian side of the line; the map pin marks Alyaty station and is approximate", "country": "USSR / Azerbaijan", "countryCode": "AZ", "longitude": 49.4, "latitude": 39.95, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "In October 1955 four Americans on a train from Baku to Tiflis saw lights rise from an airfield between the line and the Caspian Sea. Within six weeks the CIA had written three documents about it: a memorandum after interviewing one of them, a memorandum after interviewing all four, and an unevaluated information report from one of the party. The four described four different things. The CIA found that only one account supported an unconventional aircraft, that the rest could probably be explained as steep-climbing aircraft or missiles, and that the evidence was not firm enough to conclude the Soviets had a radically new type of aircraft.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "russell-1955-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA memorandum for the Director of Central Intelligence, \"Flying Saucers or Unconventional Aircraft\", October 1955 (CIA-UAP-D021)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/CIA-UAP-D021_Analysis-of-Unconventional-Aircraft-Sightings_1955.pdf", "notes": "Signed by the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence. Written from Prague dispatch C-103 of 13 October 1955, which is not in the file, and from an interview with Mr. Efron alone." }, { "sourceId": "russell-1955-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA memorandum for the Director of Central Intelligence, \"Sightings of Flying Saucers or Unconventional Aircraft\", 31 October 1955 (CIA-UAP-D020)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/071026/release_04/documents/CIA-UAP-D020_Memorandum-on-Unconventional-Aircraft-Sightings_1955.pdf", "notes": "Written by Herbert Scoville, Jr. after all four participants had been debriefed. Released without redaction." }, { "sourceId": "russell-1955-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA information report, \"Sighting of Unconventional Aircraft\", distributed 15 November 1955 (CIA-UAP-006)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-006_Sighting_of_Unconventional_Aircraft.pdf", "notes": "Marked \"THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION\". The source is not named. The only document that gives the date of the sighting." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The CIA's Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence reported to the Director of Central Intelligence on 31 October 1955, after all four participants had been debriefed: \"the only testimony which would support the existence of flying saucers or radically unconventional aircraft is that of Colonel Hathaway. All other observations can probably be explained as steep climbing aircraft or missiles.\" He added that further discussions would probably be required, and that \"the evidence does not appear sufficiently firm to warrant the conclusion that the Soviets have developed and have in operation a radically new type of aircraft.\"", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Four U.S. nationals travelling together, named in the CIA memorandum of 31 October 1955 as Senator Russell, Mr. Efron, Colonel Hathaway and Mr. Gros. The information report of 15 November names no one" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/russell-1955" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/russell-1955" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.4, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "russell-cia-saucer-1955" ], "titlePl": "Pociąg z Baku", "summaryPl": "W październiku 1955 r. czterech Amerykanów jadących pociągiem z Baku do Tyflisu zobaczyło światła wznoszące się z lotniska między torami a Morzem Kaspijskim. W ciągu sześciu tygodni CIA sporządziła o tym trzy dokumenty: memorandum po rozmowie z jednym z nich, memorandum po przesłuchaniu wszystkich czterech i nieoceniony raport informacyjny od jednego z uczestników. Czterech świadków opisało cztery różne rzeczy. CIA uznała, że tylko jedna relacja wspiera tezę o niekonwencjonalnym samolocie, że pozostałe da się prawdopodobnie wyjaśnić jako strome wznoszenie samolotów lub pocisków i że dowody nie są dość mocne, by uznać, że Sowieci mają samolot radykalnie nowego typu." } }, "description": "Four Americans in one train, four different objects, and an agency that took down every account before it gave a verdict" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:lakenheath-1956", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1956-08-13", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 5 hours (event sequence)" }, "location": { "id": "lakenheath-1956-loc", "name": "RAF Bentwaters and RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk", "country": "United Kingdom", "countryCode": "GB", "longitude": 0.56, "latitude": 52.41, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On the night of 13–14 August 1956 the radars of two USAF bases in England tracked targets correlated with visual sightings from the ground and from the air. A scrambled RAF fighter obtained a contact on its airborne radar, after which — by the crew’s account — the target moved behind the intercepting aircraft.", "eventType": "radar + visual + intercept + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "lakenheath-1956-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Bentwaters/Lakenheath case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "lakenheath-1956-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Condon Committee report (1968), chapter on radar-visual cases", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/case02.htm" }, { "sourceId": "lakenheath-1956-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later interviews with the radar operators", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book left the case unidentified. The Condon Committee described it as one of the most disturbing in the entire corpus.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "GCA radar operators at both bases, an RAF Venom crew, ground observers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lakenheath-1956" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lakenheath-1956" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "intercept", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 2 }, "overall": 3.3, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "lakenheath-tail-chase" ], "titlePl": "Bentwaters–Lakenheath", "summaryPl": "W nocy z 13 na 14 sierpnia 1956 r. radary dwóch baz USAF w Anglii śledziły cele skorelowane z obserwacjami wzrokowymi z ziemi i z powietrza. Poderwany myśliwiec RAF uzyskał kontakt na radarze pokładowym, po czym, według relacji załogi, cel przeszedł za ogon przechwytującego samolotu." } }, "description": "A night-long radar-visual sequence over USAF bases in England, with a Venom intercept" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:rb47-1957", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1957-07-17", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 1.5 hours" }, "location": { "id": "rb47-1957-loc", "name": "Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma — a transit across the Gulf and the southern US", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -95.3, "latitude": 32.3, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "The crew of an RB-47H electronic reconnaissance aircraft reported a simultaneous correlation: a signal on the passive ELINT receivers, a visual sighting of a bright light, and a reported ground radar track — sustained across much of a long transit.", "eventType": "elint + visual + radar + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "rb47-1957-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, RB-47 case (extensive)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "rb47-1957-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Dr James McDonald’s analysis based on crew interviews (1960s)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://files.ncas.org/condon/text/s4chap01.htm", "notes": "The principal source of the modern reconstruction — a secondary layer, not an operational document." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book classified the case as unidentified; later analyses suggested part of the data may have been confused with an airliner.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Six-man RB-47H crew including three ELINT operators; ground radar stations" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/rb47-1957" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/rb47-1957" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "elint", "visual", "radar", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.7, "evidenceClass": "A", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "rb47-three-sensors", "rb47-elint-is-radar" ], "titlePl": "RB-47H nad Zatoką Meksykańską", "summaryPl": "Załoga samolotu rozpoznania elektronicznego RB-47H raportowała jednoczesną korelację: sygnał na pasywnych odbiornikach ELINT, obserwację wzrokową jasnego światła oraz zgłoszenia śladu przez naziemną stację radarową, utrzymywaną przez znaczną część długiego przelotu." } }, "description": "More than 700 miles of signal tracking by an electronic reconnaissance aircraft" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:ubatuba-1957", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1957-09-05", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "Not given; the letter puts the explosion “at noon”" }, "location": { "id": "ubatuba-1957-loc", "name": "A beach “near the town of Ubatuba, Sao Paulo”, in the words of the letter; the Air Force’s papers call it “Ubatuba Beach”. The pin is OpenStreetMap’s point for the town of Ubatuba, not a beach", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -45.08, "latitude": -23.43, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On 14 September 1957, by the account of the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), a private group in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the columnist Ibrahim Sued of the Rio de Janeiro daily “O Globo” printed a reader’s letter: fishing near Ubatuba, the writer had seen a flying disk explode in flames and had picked up fragments “as light as paper”, a sample of which he enclosed. “The signature was not legible.” The only papers on the event in the Project Blue Book files are a Blue Book list that names it among “NOT CASES”, APRO’s bulletins of 1960, which report analyses in Brazil that found magnesium “of a high degree of purity”, and the correspondence of 1960 in which the Air Force asked APRO for a sample. No laboratory report and no analysis by the Air Force is in the files.", "eventType": "trace", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book list “1 - 17 SEPTEMBER 1957 SIGHTINGS”, under “ADDITIONAL REPORTED SIGHTINGS (NOT CASES)”: “Early Sep / Ubatuba Beach / APRO Bulletin”, evaluation left blank (NAID 28971479, image 20)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28971479?objectPage=20", "notes": "Filed in the unit titled “Palm Springs, California, August 1957”. A second copy of the list, with handwritten numbers, is image 171 of the unit NAID 28921348. The link opens the image in the National Archives catalogue." }, { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center to SAFOI-3d (Maj. Tacker), “Aerial Phenomena Research Organization”, 4 May 1960, signed for the commander by Col. Philip G. Evans (Project Blue Book, NAID 28956049, image 37)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28956049?objectPage=37", "notes": "Filed in the unit titled “Peoria, Illinois, August 1953”." }, { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, Alamogordo, to the Air Technical Intelligence Center, 20 April 1960, signed by its director, name redacted (Project Blue Book, NAID 28956049, image 36)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28956049?objectPage=36" }, { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s4", "type": "news_article", "title": "The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, March 1960, p. 1, “Physical Evidence”: the letter from Ibrahim Sued’s column in “O Globo” of 14 September 1957, as APRO reproduces it (Project Blue Book, NAID 28976909, image 27)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28976909?objectPage=27", "notes": "“The signature was not legible.” The column itself is not in the files." }, { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s5", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, March 1960, p. 3: the analyses as APRO reports them (Project Blue Book, NAID 28976909, image 29)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28976909?objectPage=29", "notes": "No laboratory report is in the files; by the bulletin, the reports are “on file at APRO’s headquarters”." }, { "sourceId": "ubatuba-1957-s6", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, May 1960, p. 3: Maj. Lawrence J. Tacker’s letter asking for a sample, as APRO prints it, and APRO’s answer (Project Blue Book, NAID 28976909, image 36)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28976909?objectPage=36", "notes": "Filed in the unit titled “Albuquerque, N.M., January 1958”, like the issue of March." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Project Blue Book entered the event on its list “1 - 17 SEPTEMBER 1957 SIGHTINGS” under “ADDITIONAL REPORTED SIGHTINGS (NOT CASES)”, as “Early Sep / Ubatuba Beach”, source “APRO Bulletin”, and left the evaluation blank. On 4 May 1960 the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center suggested that APRO “be requested to forward a sample of the material and the technical report concerning the Ubatuba Beach case to ATIC”, and added: “For your information, the details of the Ubatuba Beach sighting closely parallel the circumstances of a case which took place near Maury Island, Washington 21 June 1947. … The Air Force conclusion is that the Maury Island case was probably a hoax.” No analysis by the Air Force is in the files.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The unknown writer of a letter to a newspaper columnist, who says he was fishing “together with some friends”. As APRO reports it, “The signature was not legible.” No document names a witness" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ubatuba-1957" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ubatuba-1957" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "trace" ], "axes": { "S": 0, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 0, "T": 2, "X": 1, "D": 1 }, "overall": 0.6, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T4", "T5", "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 6, "claims": [ "ubatuba-extraterrestrial-metal" ], "titlePl": "Magnez z Ubatuby", "summaryPl": "Według Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), prywatnej grupy z Alamogordo w Nowym Meksyku, 14 września 1957 r. felietonista Ibrahim Sued z dziennika „O Globo” z Rio de Janeiro wydrukował list czytelnika: autor, łowiąc ryby koło Ubatuby, zobaczył latający dysk, który wybuchł w płomieniach, i zebrał odłamki „as light as paper” (lekkie jak papier), których próbkę załączył. „The signature was not legible.” (podpis był nieczytelny). Jedyne papiery o tym zdarzeniu w aktach Project Blue Book to wykaz Blue Book, który umieszcza je wśród „NOT CASES” (zgłoszeń, które nie są sprawami), biuletyny APRO z 1960 r., które relacjonują analizy w Brazylii, według których był to magnez „of a high degree of purity” (o wysokim stopniu czystości), oraz korespondencja z 1960 r., w której lotnictwo prosiło APRO o próbkę. W aktach nie ma żadnego raportu laboratoryjnego ani analizy lotnictwa." } }, "description": "An unsigned letter, analyses known only from a private bulletin, and an Air Force request for a sample" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:levelland-1957", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1957-11-02", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 3 hours, a series of events" }, "location": { "id": "levelland-1957-loc", "name": "Levelland and surrounding area, Texas", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -102.36, "latitude": 33.59, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Within a single night more than a dozen independent drivers reported a large glowing object on the road, in whose presence their engines and lights failed. Once the object moved away, the vehicles restarted normally.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "levelland-1957-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Levelland case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos", "notes": "The investigation covered only a fraction of the reporters — the most common criticism levelled at Blue Book." }, { "sourceId": "levelland-1957-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Hockley County sheriff’s office reports", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book closed the case as an electrical storm or ball lightning, based on interviews with a small fraction of the witnesses.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "More than a dozen independent drivers, a sheriff’s deputy" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/levelland-1957" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/levelland-1957" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 4, "D": 2 }, "overall": 2.1, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "uap-em-vehicle-interference" ], "titlePl": "Levelland", "summaryPl": "W ciągu jednej nocy kilkunastu niezależnych kierowców zgłosiło duży świecący obiekt na drodze, przy którym gaśnie silnik i światła pojazdu. Po oddaleniu się obiektu pojazdy uruchamiały się normalnie." } }, "description": "Fifteen independent reports of vehicle power failure in a single night" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:trindade-1958", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1958-01-16", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 15 seconds" }, "location": { "id": "trindade-1958-loc", "name": "Trindade Island, South Atlantic; deck of the NE Almirante Saldanha", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -29.32, "latitude": -20.51, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A photographer aboard a Brazilian Navy vessel took four photographs of a Saturn-shaped object passing the island. The Navy examined the negatives and the images were released publicly with the endorsement of the President of Brazil — an unusually high-level intervention.", "eventType": "photo + visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "trindade-1958-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Brazilian Navy examination of the original negatives, 1958", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://dibrarq.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/objeto-voador-nao-identificado-ovni" }, { "sourceId": "trindade-1958-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Public release endorsed by the President of Brazil", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "trindade-1958-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later analyses disputing the photographs' authenticity", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://dibrarq.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/objeto-voador-nao-identificado-ovni" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Brazilian Navy stated it saw no reason to doubt the photographs. No identification was made.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Ship’s crew and civilian expedition members; the photographer was a professional" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/trindade-1958" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/trindade-1958" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "photo", "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "trindade-photos" ], "titlePl": "Wyspa Trindade", "summaryPl": "Fotograf na pokładzie okrętu brazylijskiej marynarki wykonał cztery zdjęcia obiektu w kształcie Saturna mijającego wyspę. Marynarka zbadała negatywy, a zdjęcia ujawniono publicznie z poparciem prezydenta Brazylii: to niezwykle wysoki szczebel interwencji." } }, "description": "Photographs taken from the deck of a Brazilian Navy ship, released by the President" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:boianai-1959", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1959-06-26", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "On 26 June from 6:45 p.m., by Gill’s data sheet “6:45 - 11:4 p.m.”, which he called “about 4 hours of UFO activity”; on 27 June from 6 p.m. until the observers went to church at 7 p.m." }, "location": { "id": "boianai-1959-loc", "name": "The mission at Boianai, in what the documents call the Territory of Papua and New Guinea; the mission’s name is redacted. The pin is the position the attaché’s report gives for the village, 10° 02′ S, 149° 53′ E, converted by us", "country": "Papua New Guinea", "countryCode": "PG", "longitude": 149.88, "latitude": -10.03, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On the evening of 26 June 1959 Reverend W. Gill and people of the mission at Boianai watched a bright white light in the north-west, and on it what his data sheet records as “Now three men - moving, glowing, doing something on deck.” That night 38 of them were gathered in one room, three drew what they had seen, and “27 observers of a total of 38 voluntarily signed”. The next evening Gill waved, and “all four now seemed to wave back.” The papers are in a Project Blue Book file: a report of the US Air Attaché in Australia of January 1960, with a civilian society’s report, copies of Gill’s notes and an evaluation by “an interested local agency”, which put at least some of the lights down to the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The attaché concurred.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "US Air Attaché, Australia, Air Intelligence Information Report No. 1,403,022, “(C) Report on Investigation UFO Activity in New Guinea”, prepared by Maj. Mance C. Smith, 21 January 1960 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, image 2)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=2", "notes": "The cover sheet of a report of 15 pages, images 2–16. The link opens the image in the National Archives catalogue." }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Project Blue Book record card, “June-July 59”, “New Guinea”, conclusion “Misinterpretation of Astro Bodies” (NAID 28983630, image 1)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Victorian Flying Saucer Research Society, Melbourne, report based on Gill’s letters, copied into the attaché’s report (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, images 3 and 4)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=3", "notes": "A civilian society’s reading; it concludes that the objects “are advanced craft, manned by humanoid beings” (image 4)." }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Gill’s “Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, Boianai, Territory of Papua and New Guinea, 1959”, dated at Boianai on 14 July 1959: how the sketches were drawn and the signatures collected (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, images 4–6)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=6", "notes": "The link opens image 6, with “27 observers of a total of 38 voluntarily signed”." }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "Gill’s undated letter of the next day and his data sheet of 26 June 1959, “U.F.O. Boianai DATA (1)” (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, images 7–9)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=8", "notes": "By the report, “a copy of the original recorded during the actual time of observation by the reporter” (image 6). The link opens image 8, where the data sheet begins." }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "Sketch of the object “A” as observed on 26 June 1959 “by 38 witnesses”, and the start of Gill’s notes of Saturday 27 June (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, image 11)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=11" }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "Gill’s notes of 27 and 28 June 1959 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, image 12)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=12" }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s8", "type": "official_report", "title": "“PAPER SIGNED BY MAJORITY OF WITNESSES AT 7:45 p.m. - June 26, 1959”, names redacted (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, image 14)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=14" }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s9", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Evaluation by “an interested local agency” after a visit to Gill on 29 December 1959, and the comments of the reporting officer (Project Blue Book, NAID 28983630, images 15 and 16)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28983630?objectPage=16", "notes": "The agency is not named. The link opens image 16, with the conclusions and the attaché’s comment." }, { "sourceId": "boianai-1959-s10", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, March 1960, p. 2, “RAAF Statement on Gill Sightings”, with the letter of Squadron Leader F. A. Lang of 22 February 1960 (Project Blue Book, NAID 28976909, image 26)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28976909?objectPage=26", "notes": "Filed in the unit titled “Albuquerque, N.M., January 1958”. The bulletin names the writer “F. A. Lang” and signs the letter “F. S. Lang”. A clipping of the same article, with the names redacted, is image 17 of the New Guinea file; only that copy keeps the words “(22) dated 14th February, 1957, such”." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Project Blue Book record card gives the conclusion “Other”: “Misinterpretation of Astro Bodies”. The evaluation in the US Air Attaché’s report of 21 January 1960 finds that “an analysis of rough bearings and angles above the horizon does suggest that at least some of the lights observed were the planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars”, and the attaché wrote: “This office concurs with the conclusions drawn in paragraph h above.” A letter of 22 February 1960 from Squadron Leader F. A. Lang, which the APRO Bulletin printed as the “RAAF Statement on Gill Sightings”, says that “An officer of this Directorate has investigated” Gill’s report, that “such reports are not releasable to the public”, and that “at least three of the lights were planets, e.g., Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.”", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Reverend W. Gill, by his own words “chief observer and sole recorder and reporter”, and “up to a total of 38 persons”, Papuans, several of them teachers and medical assistants; “27 observers of a total of 38 voluntarily signed”. Gill’s name is redacted in the Blue Book copy of the report; it appears in a letter of the RAAF as the APRO Bulletin printed it" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/boianai-1959" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/boianai-1959" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.4, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 10, "claims": [ "boianai-signed-testimony" ], "titlePl": "Boianai", "summaryPl": "Wieczorem 26 czerwca 1959 r. Gill i ludzie z misji w Boianai obserwowali jasne białe światło na północnym zachodzie, a na nim to, co jego arkusz zapisuje jako „Now three men - moving, glowing, doing something on deck.” (teraz trzech ludzi, ruszają się, świecą, coś robią na pokładzie). Tej nocy 38 osób zebrano w jednym pokoju, trzy narysowały, co widziały, a „27 observers of a total of 38 voluntarily signed” (27 obserwatorów z 38 dobrowolnie się podpisało). Następnego wieczoru Gill pomachał, a „all four now seemed to wave back.” (wszyscy czterej zdawali się teraz odmachiwać). Papiery leżą w teczce Project Blue Book: raport attaché lotniczego USA w Australii ze stycznia 1960 r. z raportem cywilnego stowarzyszenia, kopiami notatek Gilla i oceną „an interested local agency” (zainteresowanej miejscowej agencji), według której przynajmniej część świateł to planety Jowisz, Saturn i Mars. Biuro attaché przyjęło ten wniosek." } }, "description": "Lights and figures over a mission on two June nights in 1959, in a missionary’s notes as the US Air Attaché sent them on" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:maralinga-1960", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1960-05-01", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several minutes" }, "location": { "id": "maralinga-1960-loc", "name": "Maralinga range area, South Australia", "country": "Australia", "countryCode": "AU", "longitude": 131.62, "latitude": -30.16, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A formal sighting report filed on the standard RAAF form, working sequentially through meteor, static electricity effects, satellite and “flying saucer” — without resolution.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "maralinga-1960-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "RAAF sighting report form, National Archives of Australia", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.naa.gov.au/blog/flying-saucers-fact-or-fiction" }, { "sourceId": "maralinga-1960-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Woomera range records", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/student-research-portal/learning-resource-themes/war/defence-equipment-and-weapons/ufo-sightings-weapons-testing-site-woomera" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The report was closed without identification.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Range military personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/maralinga-1960" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/maralinga-1960" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.6, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "uap-nuclear-affinity" ], "titlePl": "Maralinga / Wewak", "summaryPl": "Formalny raport obserwacji sporządzony na standardowym formularzu RAAF, w którym analizowano kolejno meteor, efekty elektrostatyczne, satelitę i „flying saucer”, bez rozstrzygnięcia." } }, "description": "An RAAF sighting over Australia’s nuclear test range" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:hill-1961", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1961-09-19", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a drive of about two hours, with a reported gap" }, "location": { "id": "hill-1961-loc", "name": "US Route 3 near Lincoln, New Hampshire", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -71.67, "latitude": 44.05, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A married couple driving at night reported a light that appeared to follow them, and later a period they could not account for. Under hypnosis two years afterwards they produced detailed accounts of being taken aboard a craft and examined. It became the founding template for abduction reporting worldwide.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "hill-1961-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Air Force report on the initial sighting, September 1961", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "hill-1961-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Transcripts of hypnosis sessions conducted from 1964", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821", "notes": "The source of the abduction narrative. Produced two years after the event, under a technique now known to generate false memories." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No investigation beyond an initial Air Force report attributing the light to a planet or aircraft.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "2 (Betty and Barney Hill)" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hill-1961" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hill-1961" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 1, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.7, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "hill-hypnosis", "abduction-genre-evidence" ], "titlePl": "Betty i Barney Hill", "summaryPl": "Małżeństwo jadące nocą zgłosiło światło, które zdawało się za nimi podążać, a później okres, którego nie potrafili wytłumaczyć. Pod hipnozą dwa lata po zdarzeniu przedstawili szczegółowe relacje o zabraniu na pokład i badaniu. Stało się to założycielskim szablonem raportowania uprowadzeń na całym świecie." } }, "description": "The case that created the abduction genre — and the reason the genre has no evidence" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:conde-1963", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1963-11-08", "dateCertainty": "exact" }, "location": { "id": "conde-1963-loc", "name": "Conde, Bahia. The radio report puts the sphere in the centre of the town; the embassy’s first telegram says “vicinity Salvador”. The pin marks OpenStreetMap’s point for the town of Conde", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -37.61, "latitude": -11.81, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On 8 November 1963 Radio Tupi in Rio de Janeiro reported that a large metal sphere with windows had fallen in the centre of Conde, in Bahia, gouging a hole four metres deep, with a human body inside. The Foreign Broadcast Information Service took the report down, and a note on its transcript dated 13 November records a request to the State Department to say whether the embassy had anything more. The embassy in Rio asked its consulate in Salvador. On 20 November it sent the Department an airgram titled “Negative Report on UFO”: the consul wrote that no one in the area had seen such an object and called the story “apparently fabricated in Rio”, and two Salvador papers had carried a denial by the Ministry of Aeronautics and a piece called “The Airship that wasn’t there”. The Department marked the airgram “NOTED - NO ACTION” and filed it.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s1", "type": "news_article", "title": "Radio Tupi, Rio de Janeiro, broadcast in Portuguese, 8 November 1963, as taken down by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (EOP-UAP-D001)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/EOP-UAP-D001_NASC-Inquiry-into-Bahia-Brazil-Incident_November-13-1963.pdf", "notes": "Headed “FBIS 03” and “RIO DE JANEIRO RADIO TUPI IN PORTUGUESE 2330 8 NOV 63 W”. A one-page summary of a radio report; it names no witness and no official, and it does not say when the sphere fell." }, { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Handwritten notes of 13 November 1963 on the same transcript (EOP-UAP-D001)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/EOP-UAP-D001_NASC-Inquiry-into-Bahia-Brazil-Incident_November-13-1963.pdf", "notes": "“asked State (Nesbitt) to let us know if Embassy follows with any info”, signed with a name we cannot read and dated “11/13”; at the top, “SHELDON” struck through, “a Curious report. Please return to me.” with initials we read as ECW, and “CSS”." }, { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, telegram 94 to the consulate in Salvador, repeated to the Department as 1054, 14 November 1963 (DOS-UAP-D001)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/DOS-UAP-D001_Diplomatic-Cable_Brazil_November-14-1963.pdf", "notes": "From the scientific attaché, Simonpietri, signed “GORDON”. Filed under “SP 12-3 BRAZ”; the Department noted “PASSED DEFENSE AND NASA AT 2:20 PM 11/14/63”." }, { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, airgram A-628 to the Department, 20 November 1963 (DOS-UAP-D002)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/DOS-UAP-D002_Diplomatic-Cable_Brazil_November-20-1963.pdf", "notes": "Quotes the reply of the consul in Salvador, Harold Midkiff, telegram 157 of 14 November, which is not in the release. Drafted by André C. Simonpietri, scientific attaché, and signed by him for the Ambassador; filed under “SP 16 BRAZ”, stamped “NOV 26 1963” and marked “NOTED - NO ACTION”." }, { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s5", "type": "news_article", "title": "Diario de Noticias, Salvador, 9 November 1963, and Jornal da Bahia, 11 November 1963, as summarised in airgram A-628 (DOS-UAP-D002)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_05/Aug_07/documents/DOS-UAP-D002_Diplomatic-Cable_Brazil_November-20-1963.pdf", "notes": "The consul sent the two clippings to the Department by pouch on 14 November; they are not in the release." }, { "sourceId": "conde-1963-s6", "type": "official_statement", "title": "uap-data.csv, the publisher’s listing behind the release page", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/Portals/1/Interactive/2026/UFO/uap-data.csv", "notes": "Titles EOP-UAP-D001 “NASC Inquiry into Bahia, Brazil Incident, November 13, 1963” and says it is excerpted from the files of Edward C. Welsh of the National Aeronautics and Space Council; the page itself names neither. Its descriptions of the two cables misplace the negative and the attaché." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The consul in Salvador, Harold Midkiff, in his telegram 157 of 14 November 1963 as the embassy quotes it in airgram A-628: “Story of strange object descending in region of Conde Bahia apparently fabricated in Rio no such objects seen by anyone in the area according to newspaper reporters and others who rushed there before investigation reports were received Secretary Public Security speculated object might be weather balloon but no such sighting verified.” The embassy titled the airgram “Negative Report on UFO (Unidentified Flying Object)”. The Department marked it “NOTED - NO ACTION” on 26 November and filed it. The denial by the Ministry of Aeronautics is known only from the airgram’s summary of a newspaper.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "None named. The radio report cites “reports from the municipality of Conde”, and the embassy paraphrases a local newspaper without naming it. The consul in Salvador wrote that no such objects were seen by anyone in the area" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/conde-1963" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/conde-1963" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 0, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 0, "D": 2 }, "overall": 0.7, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T5", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T5", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 6, "claims": [ "conde-sphere-crash" ], "titlePl": "Kula z Conde", "summaryPl": "8 listopada 1963 r. Radio Tupi z Rio de Janeiro podało, że w centrum Conde w Bahii spadła duża metalowa kula z oknami, wybijając dół głęboki na cztery metry, a w środku jest ludzkie ciało. Foreign Broadcast Information Service spisał tę audycję, a dopisek na jego wydruku z 13 listopada odnotowuje prośbę do Departamentu Stanu, by dał znać, czy ambasada ma coś więcej. Ambasada w Rio zapytała swój konsulat w Salwadorze. 20 listopada wysłała do Departamentu airgram zatytułowany „Negative Report on UFO” (raport przeczący w sprawie UFO): konsul napisał, że nikt w okolicy takiego obiektu nie widział, a historię nazwał „apparently fabricated in Rio” (najwyraźniej zmyśloną w Rio), dwie gazety z Salwadoru zamieściły zaś zaprzeczenie Ministerstwa Lotnictwa i tekst pod tytułem „The Airship that wasn’t there” (statek powietrzny, którego nie było). Departament oznaczył airgram „NOTED - NO ACTION” (przyjęto do wiadomości, bez działań) i odłożył do akt." } }, "description": "A Rio radio report of a metal sphere with a body inside, in a Bahia town that, by the U.S. consul’s account, had seen nothing" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:socorro-1964", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1964-04-24", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 2 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "socorro-1964-loc", "name": "An arroyo south of Socorro, New Mexico", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -106.9, "latitude": 34.05, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Police officer Lonnie Zamora, pursuing a speeding car, saw a white ovoid object on the ground and two small figures beside it. The object departed with a roar and a flame. The ground was left with indentations, burns and scorched vegetation.", "eventType": "visual + trace + photo", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "socorro-1964-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Socorro case (trace documentation, sketches, photographs)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "socorro-1964-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI Albuquerque report of 8 May 1964 by Special Agent D. Arthur Byrnes, Jr., with Officer Zamora’s account (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Serial 438)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_serial_438.pdf", "notes": "Forty pages: the agent’s report pp. 2–3, Zamora’s account as he gave it the night of 24–25 April pp. 8–17, two hand-drawn sketches of the site with measurements pp. 38 and 40; the rest are copies." }, { "sourceId": "socorro-1964-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "FBI teletype of 25 April and airtel of 28 April 1964 from Albuquerque to the Director (FBI file 62-HQ-83894, Section 9, pp. 221–263)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_9.pdf", "notes": "The Socorro teletype is pp. 226–228, with a copy at pp. 229–231; the airtel pp. 232–236; later letters to the Bureau that mention the case follow." }, { "sourceId": "socorro-1964-s4", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Lonnie Zamora’s statements given within hours of the event", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book left the case unidentified — it is the best-known “unidentified” in the entire programme.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "1 police officer (direct observation); witnesses to the traces within hours" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/socorro-1964" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/socorro-1964" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "photo" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 0, "O": 2, "P": 4, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 4, "D": 4 }, "overall": 3.1, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T3" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "socorro-landing-traces", "socorro-hoax" ], "titlePl": "Socorro", "summaryPl": "Funkcjonariusz policji Lonnie Zamora, ścigając pojazd, zauważył biały owalny obiekt na ziemi oraz dwie niewielkie postacie obok niego. Obiekt wystartował z rykiem i płomieniem. W gruncie pozostały wgniecenia, wypalenia i śladowa roślinność w stanie zwęglenia." } }, "description": "A police officer, a landed object and ground traces — the best-documented close encounter in Blue Book" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:valensole-1965", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1965-07-01", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several minutes" }, "location": { "id": "valensole-1965-loc", "name": "A lavender field at Valensole, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence", "country": "France", "countryCode": "FR", "longitude": 5.98, "latitude": 43.84, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A lavender farmer reported an ovoid object landed in his field with two small figures beside it. Gendarmes documented ground marks the same day. The affected patch of lavender reportedly failed to grow normally for years afterwards.", "eventType": "visual + trace", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "valensole-1965-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "French gendarmerie protocol of 1 July 1965, held in the GEIPAN archive", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.geipan.fr/" }, { "sourceId": "valensole-1965-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later agronomic observations of the affected patch", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab", "notes": "Reported over subsequent years; no controlled study was conducted at the time." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Investigated by the gendarmerie; later absorbed into the GEIPAN archive. Unresolved.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "1 (farmer Maurice Masse); gendarmes documented the site within hours" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/valensole-1965" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/valensole-1965" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 1, "P": 3, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.5, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "valensole-soil-effect" ], "titlePl": "Valensole", "summaryPl": "Plantator lawendy zgłosił owalny obiekt, który wylądował na jego polu, oraz dwie małe postacie obok niego. Żandarmi udokumentowali ślady w gruncie tego samego dnia. Dotknięty fragment lawendy miał przez lata nie rosnąć normalnie." } }, "description": "A lavender farmer, a gendarmerie protocol filed the same day, and a field that stopped growing" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:exeter-1965", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1965-09-03", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 15 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "exeter-1965-loc", "name": "Exeter, New Hampshire", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -70.95, "latitude": 42.98, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Norman Muscarello and two responding police officers observed at close range a large, silent object with a row of pulsing red lights moving along a transmission line.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "exeter-1965-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book files, Exeter case, with the later corrective correspondence", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos" }, { "sourceId": "exeter-1965-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Exeter police reports", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book initially cited the Operation Big Blast exercise and stars; the explanation was challenged on timing — the exercise had ended before the sighting.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A civilian and two police officers observing independently" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/exeter-1965" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/exeter-1965" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Exeter", "summaryPl": "Norman Muscarello i dwaj wezwani policjanci obserwowali z bliska duży, cichy obiekt z rzędem pulsujących czerwonych świateł, poruszający się wzdłuż linii przesyłowej." } }, "description": "A teenager, two police officers and a large object over a power line" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:westall-1966", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1966-04-06", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 20 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "westall-1966-loc", "name": "Westall High School, Clayton South, Melbourne, Victoria", "country": "Australia", "countryCode": "AU", "longitude": 145.13, "latitude": -37.94, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "In daylight, hundreds of pupils and teachers watched a grey disc-shaped object said to descend over nearby ground and then depart. Accounts of the site being secured by the military and of pupils being told to stay silent are not corroborated by any document.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + trace", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "westall-1966-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Participant accounts collected chiefly from the 2000s (documentation project)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.naa.gov.au/blog/flying-saucers-fact-or-fiction" }, { "sourceId": "westall-1966-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "HIBAL balloon programme documentation, National Archives of Australia", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No formal resolution. A HIBAL experimental balloon was indicated as a possible source.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "About 200 pupils and a dozen teachers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/westall-1966" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/westall-1966" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "trace" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 3, "T": 3, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "westall-military-cover" ], "titlePl": "Westall High School", "summaryPl": "W biały dzień setki uczniów i nauczycieli obserwowały szary, dyskoidalny obiekt, który miał zniżyć się nad pobliskim terenem, a następnie odlecieć. Relacje o zabezpieczeniu terenu przez wojsko i o nakazie milczenia wobec uczniów nie zostały niezależnie potwierdzone dokumentami." } }, "description": "Around two hundred pupils and teachers watch an object descend in broad daylight" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:malmstrom-1967", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1967-03-16", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several tens of minutes" }, "location": { "id": "malmstrom-1967-loc", "name": "Malmstrom AFB, Echo and Oscar launch complexes, Montana", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -111.18, "latitude": 47.5, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "According to officer accounts, in March 1967 a series of Minuteman missiles went to a “no-go” state within a short interval, while security personnel simultaneously reported UAP sightings. This is the most frequently cited argument for UAP interest in nuclear weapons.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "malmstrom-1967-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Duty officer testimony given publicly from the 1990s onward", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/AARO_Historical_Record_Report_Vol_1_2024.pdf", "notes": "The main source of the narrative. A secondary layer, decades after the event." }, { "sourceId": "malmstrom-1967-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "USAF technical documentation on the March 1967 “no-go” events", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/", "notes": "The publicly available documentation is limited and contains no correlation with sightings." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The USAF pointed to technical causes, including logic-bus transients during maintenance work. No public document links the faults to any sighting.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Launch control duty officers, ground security personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/malmstrom-1967" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/malmstrom-1967" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 2, "T": 2, "X": 4, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.7, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "malmstrom-missile-shutdown" ], "titlePl": "Malmstrom AFB", "summaryPl": "Według relacji oficerów, w marcu 1967 r. seria pocisków Minuteman przeszła w stan „no-go” w krótkim odstępie czasu, przy jednoczesnych zgłoszeniach obserwacji UAP przez personel ochrony. To najczęściej przywoływany argument za tezą o zainteresowaniu UAP bronią jądrową." } }, "description": "Alleged Minuteman shutdowns during concurrent UAP sightings" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:falcon-lake-1967", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1967-05-20", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "“approximately one half hour”, in the report Training Command sent to CFHQ; “A good 45 minutes” in his interview of 24 May" }, "location": { "id": "falcon-lake-1967-loc", "name": "In the bush north of the Trans-Canada Highway at Falcon Beach, Manitoba; the RCMP put the site it was shown in July “about 2½ miles due north of the Trans-Canada Highway at Falcon Beach”. The pin is the position Annex A gives, 49°41′ N, 95°15′ W, converted by us", "country": "Canada", "countryCode": "CA", "longitude": -95.25, "latitude": 49.68, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Stefan Michalak, an industrial mechanic from Winnipeg, said that on 20 May 1967, while prospecting north of Falcon Beach, he saw two objects come down, that one landed, and that it burned him as it rose when he had touched it. He was treated for burns that night and his doctor recorded “first degree burns to the upper abdominal wall”; an RCMP constable who saw him that afternoon thought the marks on his chest “looked like marks that were caused by rubbing ash onto the skin”. No radioactivity was found on him or his clothes in May. In June Michalak and a partner brought soil, moss, a steel tape and remnants of his shirt from the site they had found; those samples were radioactive, and in July a federal radiation officer found a smear of radium-226 contamination no larger than 100 square inches in a crack of the rock there. In 1969 a scientist of the National Research Council judged it “highly probable” that crushed uranium ore produced all the radioactivity reported. The RCMP closed its file unable to resolve the burns, his illness and the circle on the rock.", "eventType": "visual + trace + lab", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "RCMP, “D” Division, Winnipeg G.I.S.: report by Cpl. G. J. Davis on Stefan Michalak, 26 May 1967, p. 1 (file HQ-400-Q-5)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8332&record_id=37024-8332-6343", "notes": "Five pages in the UFO database of Library and Archives Canada; this link opens p. 1, with Cst. Solotki’s account. The next two links open pp. 2 and 4." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. 2: his interview, the hospital, the burns as the RCMP saw them on 23 May", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8333&record_id=37024-8333-6344" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. 4: Dr. Oatway, the radioactivity check, the undershirt and cap", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8335&record_id=37024-8335-6346" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "RCMP transcript of the interview with Stefan Michalak at his home, 24 May 1967, p. 1", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8313&record_id=37024-8314-6326", "notes": "17 pages. Quoted here from pp. 3, 5, 9, 12 and 13." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "RCMP, “D” Division, G.I.S.: report by Cpl. G. J. Davis, 10 August 1967, p. 1", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8287&record_id=37024-8287-6307", "notes": "Eight pages; the RCMP reopened its file when Michalak said he had found the site. The next four links open pp. 3, 5, 6 and 8." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. 3: the RCMP leaves the case to the RCAF; the telex of 24 July on “highly radio-active” samples", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8289&record_id=37024-8289-6309" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. “5”: samples sent to APRO in Tucson; the soil in Michalak’s house", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8291&record_id=37024-8291-6311" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s8", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. 6: the site, the bearing, radiation in the crack of the rock", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8292&record_id=37024-8292-18", "notes": "The text continues on p. 7 (radium-226, luminous paint, the discrepancies), the next page in the database." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s9", "type": "official_report", "title": "The same report, p. 8: what the RCMP could not resolve", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8294&record_id=37024-8294-6314" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s10", "type": "official_report", "title": "S. E. Hunt, Radiation Protection Division, Department of Health and Welfare: memorandum to Dr. A. K. DasGupta, 13 September 1967, p. 1", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=37024&page_id_nbr=8280&record_id=37024-8280-13029", "notes": "Five pages, in the RCMP file; quoted here from all five." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s11", "type": "official_report", "title": "S/L P. Bissky, “Report of an Investigation into the Reported UFO Sighting by Mr. Stephen Michalak on 20 May 67 in the Falcon Lake Area”, undated, p. 1 (NRC file, RG 77, Vol. 311)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3791&record_id=4731-3789-9918", "notes": "Four pages; the last contact it records is of 6 June. An addendum on the finding of the site in June precedes it in the file." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s12", "type": "official_report", "title": "Annex A to CFHQ file V 2000-4 (DOps), June 1967: the UFO report received from Training Command Headquarters, Winnipeg", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3797&record_id=4731-3797-9924" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s13", "type": "official_report", "title": "Canadian Forces Headquarters to the Defence Research Board, 29 June 1967: clothing and samples sent for analysis", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3795&record_id=4731-3789-9918" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s14", "type": "official_report", "title": "Dr. R. D. Oatway to Capt. E. P. Cardera, Deputy Base Surgeon, CFB Winnipeg, 19 September 1967", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.01-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3831&record_id=4731-3831-9942" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s15", "type": "official_report", "title": "Canadian Forces Training Command to CFHQ, telex of 22 May 1968, “UFO Report Michalak”, p. 1", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3865&record_id=4731-3863-13768", "notes": "Three pages; CFHQ’s reply of the same day follows." }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s16", "type": "official_report", "title": "R. J. Traill, Head, Mineralogy Section: memorandum to Dr. S. C. Robinson, “Examination of radioactive metallic specimens submitted by Dr. Millman”, 13 June 1968, p. 1", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3873&record_id=4731-3874-13778" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s17", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Peter M. Millman, Head of Upper Atmosphere Research, National Research Council: abstract of a letter to Brian C. Cannon, 4 February 1969", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-119.02-e.php?isn_id_nbr=4731&page_id_nbr=3876&record_id=4731-3874-13778" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s18", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Library and Archives Canada podcast “UFOs at LAC: The Falcon Lake incident, part 1” (15 May 2019): a conversation with Stan Michalak and the researchers Chris Rutkowski and Palmiro Campagna", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/engage-learn/podcasts/discover/episode-053.html" }, { "sourceId": "falcon-lake-1967-s19", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Library and Archives Canada podcast “UFOs at LAC: The Falcon Lake incident, part 2” (29 May 2019)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.canada.ca/en/library-archives/collection/engage-learn/podcasts/discover/episode-054.html", "notes": "The source of the sentence that the Department of National Defence still identifies the case as unsolved: the host’s narration, not a document." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The RCMP, 10 August 1967: “On the other hand, there are certain facts that cannot be denied and cannot be accounted for or explained away. These include his illness, headache and loss of weight during a two week period immediately after the alleged sighting; a fluctuation in his blood cell count that occurred at the same time; the burns to his chest, abdomen and clothing as well as the circle on the rock where he alleges the UFO landed. Our investigation has not been able to resolve any of these points mentioned and we have not been able to account for the inconsistent actions of MICHALAK.” S. E. Hunt of the Radiation Protection Division, 13 September 1967: “The origin of this contamination has yet to be determined.” Peter M. Millman of the National Research Council, 4 February 1969: “all the radioactivity observed could well have been produced by finely crushed uranium ore of the type common at certain uranium mines in Canada. Certainly this was what produced the radioactivity in the metallic specimens, and it is highly probable that the same source produced all the other radioactivity reported.”", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "One: Stefan Michalak, an industrial mechanic from Winnipeg who was prospecting in the area. The files name no other witness of the objects. An RCMP constable, his doctors, RCMP investigators, the RCAF and a radiation officer of the federal Department of Health and Welfare later examined him, his clothing and the site" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/falcon-lake-1967" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/falcon-lake-1967" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "lab" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 1, "P": 3, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T2", "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 19, "claims": [ "falcon-lake-burns", "falcon-lake-radiation" ], "titlePl": "Falcon Lake", "summaryPl": "Stefan Michalak, mechanik przemysłowy z Winnipeg, mówił, że 20 maja 1967 r., gdy szukał złóż na północ od Falcon Beach, zobaczył dwa obiekty, z których jeden wylądował, i że ten, którego dotknął, poparzył go przy starcie. Tej nocy był leczony z oparzeń, a jego lekarz zapisał „first degree burns to the upper abdominal wall” (oparzenia pierwszego stopnia górnej części powłok brzucha); funkcjonariusz RCMP, który widział go po południu, uznał, że ślady na jego klatce piersiowej „looked like marks that were caused by rubbing ash onto the skin” (wyglądały jak ślady po wcieraniu popiołu w skórę). W maju nie wykryto promieniotwórczości ani na nim, ani na jego ubraniu. W czerwcu Michalak i jego wspólnik przywieźli z odnalezionego miejsca ziemię, mech, stalową taśmę i resztki koszuli; te próbki były promieniotwórcze, a w lipcu federalny specjalista od promieniowania znalazł tam w szczelinie skały smugę skażenia radem-226 nie większą niż 100 cali kwadratowych. W 1969 r. naukowiec National Research Council uznał za „highly probable” (wysoce prawdopodobne), że całą zgłoszoną promieniotwórczość wytworzyła pokruszona ruda uranu. RCMP zamknęła teczkę, nie potrafiąc wyjaśnić oparzeń, jego choroby ani okręgu na skale." } }, "description": "A prospector’s burns, a circle on a rock and radioactive traces, as the RCMP, the RCAF and federal scientists recorded them in 1967–69" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:cussac-1967", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1967-08-29", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 1 minute" }, "location": { "id": "cussac-1967-loc", "name": "Cussac, Cantal, Auvergne", "country": "France", "countryCode": "FR", "longitude": 3.05, "latitude": 45.05, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Two siblings reported a bright sphere and four small figures in a meadow. The gendarmerie investigated the same day, producing a protocol that later became part of the GEIPAN archive.", "eventType": "visual + trace + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "cussac-1967-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "French gendarmerie protocol of 29 August 1967, in the GEIPAN files", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://geipan.fr/en/recherche/cas/tab" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "GEIPAN retains the case in the category of unexplained after investigation.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Two children herding cattle; independent witnesses to associated effects" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/cussac-1967" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/cussac-1967" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 2, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Cussac", "summaryPl": "Rodzeństwo zgłosiło jasną sferę i cztery niewielkie postacie na łące. Żandarmeria przeprowadziła dochodzenie tego samego dnia, sporządzając protokół, który stał się później częścią archiwum GEIPAN." } }, "description": "Two children, the gendarmerie, and one of the best-documented French cases" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:shag-harbour-1967", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1967-10-04", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "sighting a few minutes; search operation many hours" }, "location": { "id": "shag-harbour-1967-loc", "name": "Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia", "country": "Canada", "countryCode": "CA", "longitude": -65.71, "latitude": 43.5, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Residents and RCMP officers watched an object descend into the water near shore. A Coast Guard search was launched on the assumption of an air crash. No missing aircraft was ever identified.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "shag-harbour-1967-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Canadian government files on the sightings of 4 October 1967 in the UFO database of Library and Archives Canada: witness reports in the National Research Council records and correspondence in the RCMP records", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/ufo/001057-110.01-e.php?interval=50&q2=10/4/1967" }, { "sourceId": "shag-harbour-1967-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Coast Guard search operation logs", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Canadian government closed the case without identification. No missing aircraft or accident was recorded.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A dozen residents, a fishing boat crew, RCMP officers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/shag-harbour-1967" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/shag-harbour-1967" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 3, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.5, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "shag-harbour-recovery" ], "titlePl": "Shag Harbour", "summaryPl": "Mieszkańcy i policja RCMP obserwowali obiekt schodzący do wody w pobliżu brzegu. Uruchomiono akcję poszukiwawczą Straży Wybrzeża, zakładając wypadek lotniczy. Nie stwierdzono zaginionego statku powietrznego." } }, "description": "An object on the water, a Coast Guard search, and the files of the Canadian government" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:himalaya-1968", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1968-02-19", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "not given for any entry" }, "location": { "id": "himalaya-1968-loc", "name": "Seven places from south Ladakh to the Kaski region of Nepal. The map pin stands five miles north-east of Pokhara, computed from the report's “five miles NE of Pokhara” with Pokhara at 28.21 N, 83.99 E; it is not an established location of Baltichaur", "country": "Nepal / India / Bhutan", "countryCode": "NP", "longitude": 84.05, "latitude": 28.26, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A CIA information report distributed on 11 April 1968 lists seven sightings of bright objects between 19 February and 25 March 1968, over south Ladakh, north-east Nepal, north Sikkim, western Bhutan and the Kaski region of Nepal. The last entry adds, in one sentence, that a huge metallic disc-shaped object was found in a crater at Baltichaur, five miles north-east of Pokhara. The report is marked not finally evaluated, its source is blacked out, and it says nothing more about the object.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "himalaya-1968-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA information report, “Sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan”, distributed 11 April 1968 (CIA-UAP-016)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-016-Sightings_of_Unidentified_Flying_Ojbects_in_Ladakh_Nepal_Sikkim_and_Bhutan.pdf", "notes": "Four pages marked “NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE” (PDF pp. 3–6). The report number, the source, the acquisition, the introduction and paragraph 2 are blacked out. The file also holds an undated press clipping with photographs of Donald Keyhoe and Edward Condon (p. 1) and one page of an index printout from HQ FTD at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, dated 18 June 1974, that lists this report (p. 2)." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "None named. The report lists places, not observers, and its source is blacked out" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/himalaya-1968" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/himalaya-1968" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 2, "D": 1 }, "overall": 1, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Krater w Baltichaur", "summaryPl": "Raport informacyjny CIA rozesłany 11 kwietnia 1968 r. wymienia siedem obserwacji jasnych obiektów z okresu od 19 lutego do 25 marca 1968 r. nad południowym Ladakhiem, północno-wschodnim Nepalem, północnym Sikkimem, zachodnim Bhutanem i regionem Kaski w Nepalu. Ostatni wpis dodaje jednym zdaniem, że w kraterze w Baltichaur, pięć mil na północny wschód od Pokhary, znaleziono ogromny metalowy obiekt w kształcie dysku. Raport jest oznaczony jako nieoceniony, jego źródło jest zaczernione, a o obiekcie nie mówi nic więcej." } }, "description": "Seven sightings along the Himalaya in an unevaluated CIA report, and a metal disc in a crater it mentions in one sentence" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:minot-afb-1968", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1968-10-24", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 3 hours" }, "location": { "id": "minot-afb-1968-loc", "name": "Minot AFB and surrounding missile fields, North Dakota", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -101.36, "latitude": 48.42, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Over several hours, missile security teams reported a luminous object near launch facilities, ground radar tracked a target, and a returning B-52 both saw the object and recorded it on its own radar — with a documented radio and radar interference episode as it passed.", "eventType": "radar + visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "minot-afb-1968-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Blue Book file, Minot AFB case, October 1968 (extensive)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos", "notes": "One of the largest single case files in the programme, including crew statements and radar data." }, { "sourceId": "minot-afb-1968-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "B-52 crew statements and maintenance records", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597821" }, { "sourceId": "minot-afb-1968-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later reconstructions from the case file", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Blue Book classified the case as probable plasma and stars. The classification is widely regarded as a poor fit for the radar component.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "B-52 crew, ground radar operators, more than a dozen missile security personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/minot-afb-1968" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/minot-afb-1968" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.5, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "minot-b52-radar", "uap-nuclear-affinity" ], "titlePl": "Minot AFB", "summaryPl": "Przez kilka godzin zespoły ochrony silosów zgłaszały świetlisty obiekt w pobliżu stanowisk startowych, radar naziemny śledził cel, a wracający B-52 zarówno zobaczył obiekt, jak i zarejestrował go własnym radarem, z udokumentowanym epizodem zakłóceń radiowych i radarowych przy przelocie." } }, "description": "A B-52 crew, ground radar, missile security teams — the strongest USAF radar-visual case" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:lago-cote-1971", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1971-09-04", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a single frame from an automatic sequence" }, "location": { "id": "lago-cote-1971-loc", "name": "Lago de Cote, Guanacaste", "country": "Costa Rica", "countryCode": "CR", "longitude": -84.98, "latitude": 10.58, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "During a government aerial survey for a hydroelectric project, a cartographic camera firing automatically every 13 seconds recorded a sharp disc-shaped object over Lago de Cote. Nobody on board saw anything; the object was noticed in processing, and it appears on one frame and on neither neighbour.", "eventType": "photo + instrument", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "lago-cote-1971-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Frame 300 of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional aerial survey, 4 September 1971", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "Shot on an RMK 15/23 cartographic camera at roughly 10,000 ft. The original negative is retained by the Costa Rican state." }, { "sourceId": "lago-cote-1971-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Independent photographic examinations of the frame", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "Reviewers including Ground Saucer Watch reported no evidence of montage, emulsion defect or optical artefact." }, { "sourceId": "lago-cote-1971-s3", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Survey flight record: aircraft, crew, altitude and camera interval", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "Establishes that exposures were automatic at 13-second intervals, which is what makes the absence of the object on adjacent frames meaningful." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "None. The Instituto Geográfico Nacional made no determination. The negative was retained in state custody.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "None. The object was found during post-flight processing; the crew reported seeing nothing" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lago-cote-1971" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/lago-cote-1971" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "photo", "instrument" ], "axes": { "S": 0, "R": 0, "O": 5, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.1, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Zdjęcie znad Lago de Cote", "summaryPl": "Podczas rządowego nalotu fotogrametrycznego na potrzeby projektu hydroenergetycznego kamera kartograficzna wyzwalana automatycznie co 13 sekund zarejestrowała ostry, dyskoidalny obiekt nad Lago de Cote. Nikt na pokładzie nic nie widział, obiekt zauważono dopiero przy obróbce, a widnieje on na jednej klatce i na żadnej sąsiedniej." } }, "description": "A state mapping camera firing on a timer, and one frame nobody has been able to account for" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:tehran-1976", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1976-09-19", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 2 hours" }, "location": { "id": "tehran-1976-loc", "name": "Airspace over Tehran and to the south of the city", "country": "Iran", "countryCode": "IR", "longitude": 51.39, "latitude": 35.69, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "After a series of civilian reports, the Iranian air force scrambled two F-4s. According to a Defense Intelligence Agency report, the first aircraft lost instruments and communications on approach; the second obtained radar contact at about 27 nautical miles, and on attempting to use its weapons suffered a panel failure and loss of communications.", "eventType": "radar + visual + intercept + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "tehran-1976-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Defense Intelligence Agency / Joint Chiefs of Staff report, September 1976 (declassified)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.dia.mil/FOIA/FOIA-Electronic-Reading-Room/FOIA-Reading-Room-Iran/", "notes": "An operational document written within days of the event — the highest class of source in this corpus." }, { "sourceId": "tehran-1976-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later interviews with Gen. Parviz Jafari and other participants", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01315R000300070004-1.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "A DIA/JCS report was distributed to the CIA, NSA and the White House with an assessment rating the event highly. No formal resolution followed.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Civilian callers, the Iranian air force operations commander, two F-4 crews, control personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/tehran-1976" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/tehran-1976" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "intercept", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 4, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.8, "evidenceClass": "A", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "tehran-weapons-failure", "uap-em-interference" ], "titlePl": "Teheran", "summaryPl": "Po serii zgłoszeń cywilnych irańskie lotnictwo poderwało dwa F-4. Według raportu Defense Intelligence Agency pierwszy samolot utracił przyrządy i łączność przy zbliżeniu, drugi uzyskał kontakt radarowy na ok. 27 mil morskich, a przy próbie użycia uzbrojenia doszło do awarii panelu i utraty łączności." } }, "description": "Two F-4 Phantoms, radar, system failures — and the best-preserved military document in the corpus" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:petrozavodsk-1977", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1977-09-20", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 10–12 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "petrozavodsk-1977-loc", "name": "Petrozavodsk, Karelia; also observed in Finland", "country": "USSR / Russia", "countryCode": "RU", "longitude": 34.35, "latitude": 61.79, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A vast luminous phenomenon described as a “jellyfish” shedding rays toward the ground appeared over the city. The event produced a wave of reports across Karelia and led to the creation of a Soviet research programme.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + photo", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "petrozavodsk-1977-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Launch documentation from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, September 1977", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "petrozavodsk-1977-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Witness accounts and material from the Soviet research programme established after the event", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The phenomenon corresponds to a Soyuz launch from the Plesetsk cosmodrome — a propellant release in the upper atmosphere, lit by a Sun already below the horizon.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Thousands of residents, airport staff, observers in Finland" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/petrozavodsk-1977" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/petrozavodsk-1977" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "photo" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "petrozavodsk-jellyfish" ], "titlePl": "Pietrozawodsk", "summaryPl": "Nad miastem pojawiło się ogromne świetliste zjawisko opisywane jako „meduza” rozsyłająca promienie ku ziemi. Zdarzenie wywołało falę zgłoszeń w całej Karelii i doprowadziło do powstania radzieckiego programu badawczego." } }, "description": "The “jellyfish” over Karelia, and the case a classified programme explained completely" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:colares-1977", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1977-10-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "an operation lasting about four months" }, "location": { "id": "colares-1977-loc", "name": "Colares island, mouth of the Amazon, Pará", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -48.28, "latitude": -0.94, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Following a wave of reports of luminous objects and injuries among residents, the Brazilian Air Force deployed a detachment to the island tasked with documenting the phenomenon. An extensive body of reports, sketches and photographs resulted, declassified decades later.", "eventType": "visual + photo + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "colares-1977-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Declassified Operação Prato documentation, Força Aérea Brasileira", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://dibrarq.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/objeto-voador-nao-identificado-ovni", "notes": "An extensive holding: daily reports, sketches, photographs, statements." }, { "sourceId": "colares-1977-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later interviews with the officer who commanded the operation", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "http://imagem.sian.an.gov.br/acervo/derivadas/br_dfanbsb_v8/mic/gnc/kkk/83003252/br_dfanbsb_v8_mic_gnc_kkk_83003252_d0001de0001.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Materials declassified by the Brazilian Air Force; no official determination of the phenomenon’s character.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Island residents, medical staff, a Brazilian Air Force detachment" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colares-1977" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colares-1977" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "photo", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 2, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.6, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "colares-injuries" ], "titlePl": "Operação Prato", "summaryPl": "Po fali zgłoszeń o świetlistych obiektach i obrażeniach mieszkańców brazylijskie lotnictwo rozmieściło na wyspie oddział z zadaniem udokumentowania zjawiska. Powstał obszerny zbiór raportów, szkiców i fotografii, odtajniony dziesiątki lat później." } }, "description": "A Brazilian Air Force field operation in response to a wave of reports on Colares island" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:italy-1978", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1978-09-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a wave lasting several months" }, "location": { "id": "italy-1978-loc", "name": "Nationwide; concentrated in the north and Tuscany", "country": "Italy", "countryCode": "IT", "longitude": 11.26, "latitude": 43.77, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "An intensified wave of reports led to an administrative decision: the Aeronautica Militare was formally tasked with collecting and investigating UAP reports. Italy has therefore had an unbroken state documentary record from 1978 to the present.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + radar", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "italy-1978-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Aeronautica Militare sighting register (from 1978, published)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/en/ovni/" }, { "sourceId": "italy-1978-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Ministerial decision assigning UAP reporting to the air force", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/en/ovni/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Aeronautica Militare maintains a register and publishes investigation outcomes, including for contemporary cases.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Hundreds of civilian reporters, aviation personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/italy-1978" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/italy-1978" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "radar" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 2, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.4, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Włoska fala 1978", "summaryPl": "Nasilona fala zgłoszeń doprowadziła do decyzji administracyjnej: Aeronautica Militare otrzymała formalne zadanie zbierania i badania zgłoszeń UAP. Włochy mają dzięki temu nieprzerwany państwowy ciąg dokumentacyjny od 1978 r. do dziś." } }, "description": "The event after which Italy gave its air force a formal UAP mandate" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:valentich-1978", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1978-10-21", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 6 minutes of radio exchange" }, "location": { "id": "valentich-1978-loc", "name": "Bass Strait, off the Victorian coast", "country": "Australia", "countryCode": "AU", "longitude": 144.6, "latitude": -38.7, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A 20-year-old pilot on a night flight over Bass Strait reported an object with four bright lights above and around his Cessna, said it was “not an aircraft”, and reported engine trouble. The transmission ended with an unidentified metallic sound. Neither he nor the aircraft was ever found.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "valentich-1978-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Australian Department of Transport aircraft accident investigation file, 1978", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.naa.gov.au/blog/flying-saucers-fact-or-fiction" }, { "sourceId": "valentich-1978-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Verbatim transcript of the radio exchange with Melbourne Flight Service", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/", "notes": "The primary document. Everything else in this case is inference from it." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Australian Department of Transport accident investigation: cause unknown. The aircraft was never recovered.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The pilot (lost); Melbourne flight service officer; transcript preserved" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/valentich-1978" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/valentich-1978" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "valentich-disappearance" ], "titlePl": "Frederick Valentich", "summaryPl": "Dwudziestoletni pilot podczas nocnego lotu nad Cieśniną Bassa zgłosił obiekt z czterema jasnymi światłami nad i wokół swojej Cessny, powiedział, że „to nie jest samolot”, i zgłosił problemy z silnikiem. Transmisja zakończyła się niezidentyfikowanym metalicznym dźwiękiem. Ani pilota, ani samolotu nigdy nie odnaleziono." } }, "description": "A pilot describes an object above his aircraft, then the transmission ends" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:kaikoura-1978", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1978-12-31", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several minutes of footage" }, "location": { "id": "kaikoura-1978-loc", "name": "Kaikoura coast, South Island", "country": "New Zealand", "countryCode": "NZ", "longitude": 173.68, "latitude": -42.4, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "An Australian television crew filmed a series of bright lights from aboard an aircraft, correlated in time with returns on the Wellington radar. The footage circled the world as the first “UFO filmed from the cockpit”.", "eventType": "film + radar + visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "kaikoura-1978-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The film footage and Wellington ATC radar records", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "kaikoura-1978-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Optical and astronomical analyses conducted after the event", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Analysis indicated most probably the lights of fishing vessels refracted through an inversion layer, together with bright celestial bodies.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A cargo aircraft crew, a television crew aboard, radar controllers in Wellington" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/kaikoura-1978" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/kaikoura-1978" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "film", "radar", "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 3, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 4, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 3.1, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "kaikoura-radar-visual" ], "titlePl": "Kaikoura", "summaryPl": "Ekipa australijskiej telewizji nakręciła z pokładu samolotu serię jasnych świateł, skorelowanych czasowo ze śladami na radarze Wellington. Materiał obiegł świat jako pierwsze „nagranie UFO z pokładu”." } }, "description": "Lights over New Zealand filmed from the air by a television crew" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:manises-1979", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1979-11-11", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 30 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "manises-1979-loc", "name": "Airspace over the Mediterranean; landing at Manises, Valencia", "country": "Spain", "countryCode": "ES", "longitude": -0.47, "latitude": 39.49, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "The captain of a scheduled flight diverted to Valencia after bright red lights approached his aircraft. The Spanish air force scrambled a Mirage F1, whose pilot also reported a sighting.", "eventType": "visual + radar + intercept + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "manises-1979-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Declassified Ministerio de Defensa (Spain) files on the Manises incident", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://bibliotecavirtual.defensa.gob.es/BVMDefensa/exp_ovni/es/micrositios/inicio.do" }, { "sourceId": "manises-1979-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Air traffic control records and the captain’s report", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://bibliotecavirtual.defensa.gob.es/BVMDefensa/es/consulta/registro.do?control=BMDB20170010265" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Files declassified by the Spanish Ministry of Defence in the 1990s. No definitive resolution; a petrochemical flare and optical phenomena were among the explanations advanced.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The crew and passengers of a TAE Supercaravelle, controllers, a Mirage F1 pilot" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/manises-1979" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/manises-1979" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar", "intercept", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 3, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 4, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.7, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Manises", "summaryPl": "Kapitan lotu rejsowego zdecydował o lądowaniu awaryjnym w Walencji po tym, jak jasne czerwone światła zbliżyły się do samolotu. Hiszpańskie lotnictwo poderwało Mirage F1, którego pilot również raportował obserwację." } }, "description": "An airliner diverts after an encounter with lights, and a Mirage F1 is scrambled" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:arequipa-1980", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1980-04-11", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 30 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "arequipa-1980-loc", "name": "La Joya Air Base, near Arequipa", "country": "Peru", "countryCode": "PE", "longitude": -71.88, "latitude": -16.6, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Personnel at a Peruvian air base observed a stationary balloon-shaped object at dawn. A Su-22 was scrambled and, by the pilot’s account, fired a cannon burst that had no effect, after which the object climbed away from the pursuing aircraft.", "eventType": "visual + intercept + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "arequipa-1980-s1", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Public statements by the pilot, Oscar Santa María Huertas, including before international panels", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "arequipa-1980-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later corroborating accounts from base personnel", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No published official determination. The account comes from the pilot, later corroborated by other base personnel.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Base personnel at morning parade; the intercepting pilot" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/arequipa-1980" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/arequipa-1980" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "intercept", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 3, "X": 3, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.9, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T3", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "arequipa-cannon-fire" ], "titlePl": "Arequipa", "summaryPl": "Personel peruwiańskiej bazy lotniczej zaobserwował o świcie nieruchomy obiekt w kształcie balonu. Poderwano Su-22, który, według relacji pilota, oddał serię z działka bez żadnego efektu, po czym obiekt wzniósł się poza zasięg ścigającego samolotu." } }, "description": "A Peruvian Air Force Su-22 fires on a balloon-shaped object and cannot bring it down" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:rendlesham-1980", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1980-12-26", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "three consecutive nights" }, "location": { "id": "rendlesham-1980-loc", "name": "Rendlesham Forest, between RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk", "country": "United Kingdom", "countryCode": "GB", "longitude": 1.44, "latitude": 52.09, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Security personnel at the American bases in Suffolk reported lights in the forest and an object on the ground. The deputy base commander wrote an official memorandum and recorded audio during the field search. The case became the best-known European UAP incident.", "eventType": "visual + trace + multi-witness + instrument", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "rendlesham-1980-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Lt Col Charles Halt’s memorandum, 13 January 1981 (The National Archives, UK)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C10342055" }, { "sourceId": "rendlesham-1980-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "UK Ministry of Defence UFO files on Rendlesham", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/state-secrets/mysteries/defe-241948/" }, { "sourceId": "rendlesham-1980-s3", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Audio recorded in the field by Halt", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/" }, { "sourceId": "rendlesham-1980-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later, considerably expanded participant accounts", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "The most dramatic elements of the narrative come from this layer, not from the 1981 memorandum." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "UK Ministry of Defence: no defence significance, and no radar confirmation of an unidentified object. The Orford Ness lighthouse and bolide activity were indicated.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "USAF security personnel; deputy base commander Lt Col Charles Halt" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/rendlesham-1980" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/rendlesham-1980" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "multi-witness", "instrument" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 1, "P": 2, "M": 3, "T": 5, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.8, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T3", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "rendlesham-radar", "rendlesham-landing" ], "titlePl": "Rendlesham Forest", "summaryPl": "Personel bezpieczeństwa amerykańskich baz w Suffolk zgłosił światła w lesie i obiekt na ziemi. Zastępca dowódcy bazy sporządził oficjalne memorandum i nagrał audio z akcji w terenie. Sprawa stała się najbardziej znanym europejskim przypadkiem UAP." } }, "description": "Three nights, Lt Col Halt’s memorandum, and a “British Roswell” the documents see differently" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:trans-en-provence-1981", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1981-01-08", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "30–40 seconds" }, "location": { "id": "trans-en-provence-1981-loc", "name": "A property at Trans-en-Provence, Var, Provence", "country": "France", "countryCode": "FR", "longitude": 6.48, "latitude": 43.5, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A witness watched from about thirty metres as an object descended onto the terrace of his property, rested for several seconds and departed vertically. The gendarmerie secured the site the next day, and the GEPAN agency — now GEIPAN — ran the most extensive laboratory analysis programme in the history of UAP research.", "eventType": "visual + trace + lab + photo", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "trans-en-provence-1981-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The complete GEIPAN dossier: gendarmerie protocol, soil analyses, plant biochemistry (INRA), meteorological data, photographs", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.geipan.fr/", "notes": "One of the most complete documentary sets ever assembled for a single UAP case." }, { "sourceId": "trans-en-provence-1981-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "GEPAN technical note no. 5 (1983)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.geipan.fr/en/missions-methodes-et-resultats" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "GEIPAN classifies the case as D — unexplained after full investigation.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "1 (Renato Nicolaï), observing from about 30 m" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/trans-en-provence-1981" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/trans-en-provence-1981" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "lab", "photo" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 2, "P": 5, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 5, "D": 5 }, "overall": 3.4, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "trans-en-provence-plant-changes" ], "titlePl": "Trans-en-Provence", "summaryPl": "Świadek zaobserwował z odległości ok. 30 metrów obiekt schodzący na taras jego posesji, spoczywający kilka sekund i odlatujący pionowo. Żandarmeria zabezpieczyła miejsce następnego dnia, a agencja GEPAN (dziś GEIPAN) przeprowadziła najbardziej rozbudowany program analiz laboratoryjnych w historii badań UAP." } }, "description": "The best physically documented case in the world — the complete GEPAN laboratory dossier" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:hudson-valley-1983", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1983-03-24", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a wave lasting several years" }, "location": { "id": "hudson-valley-1983-loc", "name": "Hudson Valley, New York and western Connecticut", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -73.92, "latitude": 41.29, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "For several years thousands of people across the Hudson Valley reported a huge, silent, slow-moving boomerang of lights. A group of private pilots from a local airfield subsequently admitted flying formations of light aircraft with modified lighting, deliberately, on those nights.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + photo", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "hudson-valley-1983-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Admissions and interviews with the pilots who flew the formations", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "hudson-valley-1983-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Contemporary press reporting and researcher case collections", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No federal investigation. Local aviation authorities and the pilots themselves accounted for the formations.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Several thousand reporters, including police officers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hudson-valley-1983" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hudson-valley-1983" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "photo" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "hudson-valley-formation" ], "titlePl": "Fala z Hudson Valley", "summaryPl": "Przez kilka lat tysiące osób w Hudson Valley zgłaszało ogromny, cichy, wolno przemieszczający się bumerang świateł. Grupa prywatnych pilotów z lokalnego lotniska przyznała się później, że w te noce celowo latała w formacji lekkimi samolotami z przerobionym oświetleniem." } }, "description": "Thousands of reports of a silent boomerang — and a group of pilots who admitted causing them" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:hessdalen-1984", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1984-01-21", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a recurring phenomenon over more than four decades" }, "location": { "id": "hessdalen-1984-loc", "name": "Hessdalen valley, Holtålen, Trøndelag", "country": "Norway", "countryCode": "NO", "longitude": 11.19, "latitude": 62.78, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "research_facility" }, "summary": "Since 1981 the Hessdalen valley has produced recurring luminous phenomena — at peak, more than a dozen times a week. In 1984 an expedition deployed radar, a spectrograph, a magnetometer, a seismograph, a laser and a Geiger counter. An automatic monitoring station has operated since 1998.", "eventType": "visual + radar + photo + instrument + multi-witness + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "hessdalen-1984-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Project Hessdalen 1984 technical report — radar, spectrograph, magnetometer and seismograph results", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://old.hessdalen.org/reports/hpreport84.shtml", "notes": "The report openly lists its own limits: noise, monitoring gaps, instrument failures, insufficient staffing, and possible influence of the team’s own radar on some spectral records." }, { "sourceId": "hessdalen-1984-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Automatic measuring station data (from 1998)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.hessdalen.org/" }, { "sourceId": "hessdalen-1984-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Scientific publications and subsequent measurement campaigns", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://old.hessdalen.org/reports/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "None. This is the only case in the database investigated chiefly by civilian science rather than by the military.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Valley residents, research teams, an automatic measuring station" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hessdalen-1984" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hessdalen-1984" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "scientific", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar", "photo", "instrument", "multi-witness", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 4, "O": 5, "P": 0, "M": 4, "T": 5, "X": 4, "D": 5 }, "overall": 3.8, "evidenceClass": "A", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "hessdalen-repeatable", "hessdalen-plasma" ], "titlePl": "Hessdalen", "summaryPl": "W dolinie Hessdalen od 1981 r. obserwowane są powtarzalne zjawiska świetlne, w szczytowym okresie nawet kilkanaście razy tygodniowo. W 1984 r. przeprowadzono ekspedycję z radarem, spektrografem, magnetometrem, sejsmografem, laserem i licznikiem Geigera. Od 1998 r. działa automatyczna stacja monitorująca." } }, "description": "The only UAP phenomenon in the world that comes back — and can be measured with instruments" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:dalnegorsk-1986", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1986-01-29", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 1 hour" }, "location": { "id": "dalnegorsk-1986-loc", "name": "Height 611, Dalnegorsk, Primorsky Krai", "country": "USSR / Russia", "countryCode": "RU", "longitude": 135.57, "latitude": 44.55, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Residents watched a reddish sphere fly over the town and strike a rocky hillside, where it reportedly burned for about an hour. Investigators from the Soviet Academy of Sciences collected metallic residue, glassy droplets and mesh-like fragments from the site.", "eventType": "visual + trace + lab + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "dalnegorsk-1986-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Sampling and laboratory analyses conducted under the Soviet Academy of Sciences programme", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "Primary analytical documentation has not been comprehensively published in the West." }, { "sourceId": "dalnegorsk-1986-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later accounts from participating researchers", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Studied within the Soviet Academy of Sciences UAP programme. No determination was published.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Numerous town residents; academy scientists sampled the site days later" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/dalnegorsk-1986" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/dalnegorsk-1986" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "trace", "lab", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 1, "P": 3, "M": 3, "T": 3, "X": 3, "D": 2 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "dalnegorsk-residue" ], "titlePl": "Dalnegorsk", "summaryPl": "Mieszkańcy obserwowali czerwonawą sferę przelatującą nad miastem i uderzającą w skaliste zbocze, gdzie miała palić się przez około godzinę. Badacze z Akademii Nauk ZSRR zebrali z miejsca metaliczne pozostałości, szkliste kropelki i fragmenty przypominające siatkę." } }, "description": "Residue on a hillside, analysed by Soviet academy laboratories" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:noite-ovnis-1986", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1986-05-19", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 3 hours" }, "location": { "id": "noite-ovnis-1986-loc", "name": "São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, the Paraíba valley", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -45.9, "latitude": -23.2, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Brazilian air defence radars detected multiple unidentified targets simultaneously. Mirage III and F-5E fighters were scrambled; some crews reported radar and visual contact. The Air Minister confirmed the event at a press conference.", "eventType": "radar + visual + intercept + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "noite-ovnis-1986-s1", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Press conference by Brazil’s Air Minister, May 1986", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.gov.br/en/government-of-brazil/latest-news/2022/official-ufo-night-in-brazil", "notes": "A rare instance of immediate public confirmation at ministerial level." }, { "sourceId": "noite-ovnis-1986-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "CINDACTA documentation and crew reports, declassified by the FAB", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://dibrarq.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/objeto-voador-nao-identificado-ovni" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Brazilian Air Force publicly confirmed the detections and intercepts; the nature of the targets was never established.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "CINDACTA controllers, Mirage III and F-5E crews, airport personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/noite-ovnis-1986" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/noite-ovnis-1986" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "intercept", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 1, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.2, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T2", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "brazil-1986-multiple-intercepts" ], "titlePl": "Noite Oficial dos OVNIs", "summaryPl": "Radary brazylijskiej obrony powietrznej wykryły wiele niezidentyfikowanych celów jednocześnie. Poderwano myśliwce Mirage III i F-5E; część załóg raportowała kontakt radarowy i wzrokowy. Minister lotnictwa potwierdził zdarzenie na konferencji prasowej." } }, "description": "Brazil scrambles fighters against multiple targets in one night — and says so publicly" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:jal1628-1986", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1986-11-17", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "From 0219 to 0253 UTC on 18 November, by the Anchorage Center’s chronology; “approximately 50 minutes of flight time”, by the captain’s statement" }, "location": { "id": "jal1628-1986-loc", "name": "Over interior Alaska, along the route from the Canadian border past Fort Yukon and Fairbanks to about 40 miles north of Talkeetna; the FAA’s incident record gives the location as “Fort Yukon, Alaska”. The pin is OpenStreetMap’s point for the town of Fort Yukon, not a position of the aircraft or of the lights", "country": "United States (Alaska)", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -145.27, "latitude": 66.56, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On the evening of 17 November 1986 the crew of Japan Air Lines flight 1628, a Boeing 747 freighter bound from Iceland to Anchorage, reported lights near their aircraft over interior Alaska; the captain later wrote of “two spaceships and a Mother ship”. Controllers at the FAA’s Anchorage Center and at the military control centre at Elmendorf saw intermittent radar returns where the pilot reported traffic. The FAA released its file in March 1987: its Technical Center found that the second radar target was “a split radar return from the JAL Boeing 747”, the recorded radar data showed no other target, and the agency said it had not tried to determine what the crew saw. The file, 41 units in the National Archives, is public.", "eventType": "visual + radar + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region, “Information Releases Relating to Unidentified Flying Object”, 1986: the FAA’s file on JAL 1628 (National Archives, Record Group 237, series NAID 733667)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/733667", "notes": "41 file units with 1,569 digital objects, all online. The link opens the description of the series." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region, news release #87-09, “FAA Releases Documents on Reported UFO Sighting Last November”, 5 March 1987 (NAID 40587486, image 3)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587486?objectPage=3", "notes": "The same unit holds the notes of the crew interview released on 30 December 1986 (images 1–2) and the statements of 5 March 1987 (images 4–6). The link opens the image in the National Archives catalogue." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s3", "type": "official_statement", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region, “Lack of ‘Scientific’ Investigation”, statement of 5 March 1987 (NAID 40587486, image 6)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587486?objectPage=6" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s4", "type": "official_statement", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region, “Uncorrelated Radar Signals”, statement of 5 March 1987 (NAID 40587480, image 1)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587480?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "Dennis R. Simantel, Anchorage ARTCC, “Analysis of Uncorrelated Primary and Beacon Targets (JAL-1628, 11/17/86 AKST)”, 25 February 1987 (NAID 40587480, image 4)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587480?objectPage=4", "notes": "Sent to the public affairs officer with a memo of the Airway Facilities Division of 27 February 1987 (image 3)." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center, memorandum “Unidentified Traffic Sighting by Japan Airlines” with a chronology, 18 December 1986 (NAID 40587180, images 2–4)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587180?objectPage=2" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s7", "type": "official_statement", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region public affairs, chronological summary of the sighting, 29 December 1986 (NAID 40587537, images 30–31)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587537?objectPage=30", "notes": "The local time “(6:19 pm)” is added by hand next to 0219." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s8", "type": "official_report", "title": "FAA Form 8020-5, Aircraft Incident Record, JAL 1628, submitted on 26 January 1987 (NAID 40586906, images 1–3)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40586906?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s9", "type": "official_report", "title": "Personnel statements of the Anchorage ARTCC controllers and specialists, 19 November 1986 to 9 January 1987 (NAID 40587240, images 1–8)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587240?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s10", "type": "official_report", "title": "FAA Alaskan Region, “Information: Alert Report” to the Administrator, 31 December 1986 (NAID 40587497, image 2)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587497?objectPage=2" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s11", "type": "official_report", "title": "Handwritten FAA notes of calls with the Air Force, 2 January 1987 (NAID 40587497, image 3)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587497?objectPage=3" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s12", "type": "official_report", "title": "FAA Form 1600-32-1, notes of the crew interview at Anchorage by Special Agent James Derry, 17 November 1986 (NAID 40586960, images 3–4)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40586960?objectPage=3", "notes": "The same unit holds Agent Ronald E. Mickle’s notes of the interview (images 1–2) and the captain’s drawings." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s13", "type": "official_report", "title": "Captain Kenju Terauchi, written statement, translated by Sayoko Mimoto, received by the FAA on 2 January 1987 (NAID 40586988, images 1–13)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40586988?objectPage=1", "notes": "The Japanese original is NAID 40586968." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s14", "type": "official_report", "title": "Transcript of the FAA’s interview with Captain Terauchi by Dick Gordon, 2 January 1987 (NAID 40587003, image 11)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587003?objectPage=11" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s15", "type": "official_report", "title": "Transcript of the FAA’s interview with First Officer Takanori Tamefuji by Peter Beckner, 5 January 1987 (NAID 40587024, image 21)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587024?objectPage=21" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s16", "type": "official_report", "title": "Transcript of communications between air traffic control and JAL 1628 (NAID 40587205)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587205?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s17", "type": "official_report", "title": "Anchorage ARTCC, computer printout of the continuous data recording (radar tracking), 179 images (NAID 40587258)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587258?objectPage=1" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s18", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Philip J. Klass, “JAL UFO Incident: Summary White Paper”, 27 March 1987, in the FAA file (NAID 40586911, images 32–34)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40586911?objectPage=32", "notes": "A private analysis sent to the FAA, not an FAA finding." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s19", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Philip J. Klass to Paul Steucke, FAA, letter of 21 March 1987 (NAID 40586911, images 24–25)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40586911?objectPage=25", "notes": "The second page is headed “May 21, 1987”; the first is dated “March 21, 1987” and stamped as received on 27 March. The link opens the second page." }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s20", "type": "news_article", "title": "Associated Press, “Pilot’s UFO sighting called a bright image of the planet Jupiter”, as faxed to the FAA on 29 January 1987 (NAID 40587582, image 8)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587582?objectPage=8" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s21", "type": "news_article", "title": "United Press International photo caption “What was in the sky”, Anchorage Daily News, 1 January 1987, p. B3 (NAID 40587537, image 29)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40587537?objectPage=29" }, { "sourceId": "jal1628-1986-s22", "type": "news_article", "title": "Leslie Kean, “Pilot encounters with UFOs: Study challenges secrecy (and denial)”, The Providence Journal, 3 May 2001: clipping filed with the COMETA report in release 01 (RG 255 413270, p. 90)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/255_413270_ufo's_and_defense_what_should_we_prepare_for.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The FAA’s Alaskan Region released its documents on 5 March 1987, “saying it was unable to confirm the event”. Radar data of the flight was reviewed at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City: “They determined that a second radar target near the JAL flight at the time of the reported sighting was not another aircraft but rather a split radar return from the JAL Boeing 747.” A statement of the same day: “We have not tried to determine what the crew of Japan Airlines flight 1628 saw based on scientific analysis of the stars, planets, magnetic fields, angle of view, etc.” FAA notes of calls on 2 January 1987 record that the Air Force “INTERPRETED INCIDENT AS SPURIOUS SIGNALS ON A.F. RADAR”.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The captain, first officer and flight engineer of JAL 1628: “All three crew members reported seeing the lights.” Controllers at the FAA’s Anchorage Center and at the military Regional Operations Control Center reported intermittent radar returns. The crews of United 69 and an Air Force C-130 were asked to look, and neither reported any other traffic" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/jal1628-1986" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/jal1628-1986" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 2, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T2", "T2", "T1", "T1", "T2", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T4", "T4", "T5", "T5", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 21, "claims": [ "jal1628-radar-confirm" ], "titlePl": "JAL 1628", "summaryPl": "Wieczorem 17 listopada 1986 r. załoga lotu Japan Air Lines 1628, ładunkowego Boeinga 747 lecącego z Islandii do Anchorage, zgłosiła światła przy samolocie nad wnętrzem Alaski; kapitan napisał później o „two spaceships and a Mother ship” (dwóch statkach kosmicznych i statku-matce). Kontrolerzy centrum FAA w Anchorage i wojskowego ośrodka w Elmendorf widzieli sporadyczne echa radarowe tam, gdzie pilot zgłaszał ruch. FAA udostępniła teczkę w marcu 1987 r.: jej ośrodek techniczny uznał drugi cel radarowy za „a split radar return from the JAL Boeing 747” (rozdzielone echo radarowe samego Boeinga 747 JAL), zapisane dane radarowe nie pokazały żadnego innego celu, a agencja oświadczyła, że nie próbowała ustalić, co widziała załoga. Teczka, 41 jednostek w National Archives, jest publiczna." } }, "description": "A Japan Air Lines cargo 747 over Alaska, lights its crew watched for some fifty minutes, and an FAA file that put the second radar target down to the 747 itself" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:voronezh-1989", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1989-09-27", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several minutes" }, "location": { "id": "voronezh-1989-loc", "name": "A city park, Voronezh", "country": "USSR / Russia", "countryCode": "RU", "longitude": 39.21, "latitude": 51.67, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "The TASS agency issued a dispatch reporting the landing of an object and the emergence of a being from it. The report circulated worldwide as the first such statement from an official Soviet agency.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + trace", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "voronezh-1989-s1", "type": "news_article", "title": "TASS agency dispatch, September 1989", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "A press agency dispatch is not an investigative document — this is a T5 source despite the agency’s state character." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No state investigation. The TASS dispatch was not the product of an inquiry.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A group of children and several adults" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/voronezh-1989" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/voronezh-1989" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "trace" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.1, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "voronezh-tass" ], "titlePl": "Woroneż", "summaryPl": "Agencja TASS opublikowała depeszę o lądowaniu obiektu i wyjściu z niego istoty. Doniesienie obiegło światowe media jako pierwszy taki komunikat oficjalnej agencji ZSRR." } }, "description": "The Soviet news agency TASS announces a UFO landing in a city park" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:belgian-wave-1990", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1990-03-30", "dateCertainty": "approximate" }, "location": { "id": "belgian-wave-1990-loc", "name": "Belgium; the radar contact was reported over central Belgium. The pin marks OpenStreetMap’s point for Belgium, not the place of any sighting", "country": "Belgium", "countryCode": "BE", "longitude": 4.67, "latitude": 50.64, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "According to a summary by The National Archives (UK), on 30–31 March 1990 ‘large, unknown triangular-shaped objects were reported’ over Belgium after months of sightings; radar ‘reportedly tracked an unknown object over central Belgium’, the Belgian Air Force scrambled two F-16s, and ‘The pilots reported no sightings, and the object was not identified.’ A newspaper article of 2000, filed in the release, says the F-16s were ‘armed with missiles’.", "eventType": "visual + radar + intercept", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "belgian-wave-1990-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The National Archives (UK), “UFO reports”: a paragraph on the events in Belgium of 30–31 March 1990", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/", "notes": "A British archive’s summary, not a Belgian document. It stands beside the Ministry of Defence file DEFE 24/1958/1 (UFO policy, 1985–1995); the file itself was not read for this case." }, { "sourceId": "belgian-wave-1990-s2", "type": "news_article", "title": "Leslie Kean, “UFO theorists gain support abroad, but repression at home”, The Boston Sunday Globe, 21 May 2000, p. E3, filed in the release with the English translation of the COMETA report (p. 91 of the file)", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/255_413270_ufo's_and_defense_what_should_we_prepare_for.pdf", "notes": "A newspaper article, not the COMETA report. It gives no source for its sentence on Belgium." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The only official account found is British. The National Archives: “The pilots reported no sightings, and the object was not identified.” It adds that the UK “was not informed at the time as there was no evidence of any threat” and that “There were no investigations by the Ministry”. No Belgian document is in the releases or on any official page we could find.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "None named. The summary says only that objects ‘were reported’; the pilots of the two F-16s ‘reported no sightings’" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/belgian-wave-1990" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/belgian-wave-1990" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar", "intercept" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 1, "X": 1, "D": 0 }, "overall": 0.6, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Fala belgijska", "summaryPl": "Według streszczenia The National Archives (Wielka Brytania) 30–31 marca 1990 r. nad Belgią „large, unknown triangular-shaped objects were reported”, czyli zgłoszono duże, nieznane obiekty w kształcie trójkąta, po miesiącach obserwacji; radar „reportedly tracked an unknown object over central Belgium” (podobno śledził nieznany obiekt nad środkową Belgią), belgijskie lotnictwo poderwało dwa F-16, a „The pilots reported no sightings, and the object was not identified”, czyli piloci niczego nie zobaczyli i obiektu nie zidentyfikowano. Artykuł prasowy z 2000 r., złożony w wydaniu, podaje, że F-16 były „armed with missiles” (uzbrojone w pociski)." } }, "description": "Triangles reported over Belgium and two F-16s scrambled on 30–31 March 1990, known only from two later accounts" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:calvine-1990", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1990-08-04", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 10 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "calvine-1990-loc", "name": "Near Calvine, Perthshire, Scotland", "country": "United Kingdom", "countryCode": "GB", "longitude": -3.83, "latitude": 56.75, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Two young men took six photographs of a large, static diamond-shaped object, near which a military aircraft passed. The negatives were passed to the Ministry of Defence and lost; a single copy surfaced only in 2022.", "eventType": "photo + visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "calvine-1990-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "A copy of the photograph and MOD correspondence, released publicly in 2022", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/" }, { "sourceId": "calvine-1990-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Accounts of how the negatives were handed over and lost", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The MOD has not disclosed a determination. The original negatives remain unlocated.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "2 (seasonal workers)" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/calvine-1990" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/calvine-1990" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "photo", "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "calvine-negatives-lost" ], "titlePl": "Calvine", "summaryPl": "Dwóch młodych mężczyzn wykonało sześć fotografii dużego, statycznego obiektu w kształcie diamentu, w pobliżu którego przelatywał samolot wojskowy. Negatywy trafiły do Ministerstwa Obrony i zaginęły; jedna kopia ujawniona została dopiero w 2022 r." } }, "description": "Six photographs, one Harrier, and a file the Ministry of Defence returned thirty years later" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:cosford-1993", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1993-03-30", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several hours" }, "location": { "id": "cosford-1993-loc", "name": "RAF Cosford, RAF Shawbury and a corridor across England and Wales", "country": "United Kingdom", "countryCode": "GB", "longitude": -2.31, "latitude": 52.64, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Over one night, RAF personnel at two bases, police and dozens of civilians reported a large triangular craft and a beam of light sweeping the ground. The MOD’s UFO desk escalated the case internally as one of the most significant it had handled.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "cosford-1993-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "MOD UFO desk file on the Cosford incident, The National Archives", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/ufo-reports/", "notes": "Includes the internal assessment describing the case as one of the most significant reported." }, { "sourceId": "cosford-1993-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "The National Archives UFO research guide", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/ufo-research-guide-2013.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "MOD assessment concluded the reports were largely accounted for by the re-entry of a Russian rocket body earlier that night, together with an aircraft refuelling operation.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "RAF personnel at two bases, police officers, dozens of civilians" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/cosford-1993" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/cosford-1993" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 5, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "cosford-triangle" ], "titlePl": "Incydent w Cosford", "summaryPl": "W ciągu jednej nocy personel RAF w dwóch bazach, policja i dziesiątki cywilów zgłosiły duży trójkątny obiekt oraz snop światła omiatający ziemię. Komórka UFO w MOD eskalowała sprawę wewnętrznie jako jedną z najpoważniejszych, jakimi się zajmowała." } }, "description": "A wave across British airspace that the Ministry of Defence took seriously enough to escalate" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:ariel-school-1994", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1994-09-16", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 15 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "ariel-school-1994-loc", "name": "Ariel School, Ruwa, near Harare", "country": "Zimbabwe", "countryCode": "ZW", "longitude": 31.24, "latitude": -17.89, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "During a break, a group of children reported an object landing and the presence of beings at the edge of the school grounds. Interviews were conducted within days and partly recorded, including by a Harvard psychiatrist’s team.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "ariel-school-1994-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Recordings of interviews with the children conducted within days of the event", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "Valuable material, but some questions are leading, which lowers its evidential weight." }, { "sourceId": "ariel-school-1994-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Later interviews with the same people as adults", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "No state investigation.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "About 60 children aged 6–12" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ariel-school-1994" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ariel-school-1994" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 1.8, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "ariel-school-mass-testimony" ], "titlePl": "Ariel School", "summaryPl": "Podczas przerwy grupa dzieci zgłosiła lądowanie obiektu i obecność istot na skraju szkolnego terenu. Wywiady przeprowadzono w ciągu dni, a część z nich nagrano, w tym przez zespół psychiatry z Harvardu." } }, "description": "Sixty children in Zimbabwe and the best-recorded case of collective testimony" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:bariloche-1995", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1995-07-31", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 17 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "bariloche-1995-loc", "name": "San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro", "country": "Argentina", "countryCode": "AR", "longitude": -71.16, "latitude": -41.15, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On a night approach into Bariloche, the crew of a scheduled Boeing 727 reported a light that paced the aircraft, stopped, climbed vertically and repositioned ahead of them. The approach was held because the town and the airport had lost power. A second crew, the tower and people on the ground reported the same light.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "bariloche-1995-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Argentine Air Force investigation file on the approach of 31 July 1995", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "The source of the official conclusion. Not published in full." }, { "sourceId": "bariloche-1995-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Argentine daily press, 1 and 2 August 1995", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "Carried crew and tower accounts within 48 hours of the event, which is what makes this more than a recollection." }, { "sourceId": "bariloche-1995-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "The COMETA report (France, 1999), which cites the case", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/255_413270_ufo's_and_defense_what_should_we_prepare_for.pdf", "notes": "A report by a French association, first published, according to its own title page, in the magazine VSD in July 1999; cited here in the English translation filed in PURSUE release 01. The case is section 2.5 of the report, on p. 21 of the file, headed “Source SEPRA”. The report transmits the case rather than investigating it." }, { "sourceId": "bariloche-1995-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Power distribution records for Bariloche for the night of 31 July 1995", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "Would establish whether the outage was coincident with the sighting or merely adjacent to it. Not known to have been examined." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Argentine Air Force investigated and concluded that there was no evidence the object was a craft of unknown origin presenting a concrete risk.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The crew of Aerolíneas Argentinas flight 674 (Boeing 727, 102 passengers), the crew of a second aircraft holding nearby, airport tower staff and residents on the ground" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/bariloche-1995" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/bariloche-1995" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 3, "X": 3, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.7, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Podejście do Bariloche", "summaryPl": "Podczas nocnego podejścia do Bariloche załoga rejsowego Boeinga 727 zgłosiła światło, które towarzyszyło maszynie, zatrzymało się, wzniosło pionowo i ustawiło się przed nią. Podejście wstrzymano, bo miasto i lotnisko straciły zasilanie. To samo światło zgłosili druga załoga, wieża i ludzie na ziemi." } }, "description": "An airliner on final, a town in darkness, and an official report that answered a question nobody had asked" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:varginha-1996", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1996-01-20", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a series of events over several days" }, "location": { "id": "varginha-1996-loc", "name": "Varginha, Minas Gerais", "country": "Brazil", "countryCode": "BR", "longitude": -45.43, "latitude": -21.55, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Three young women reported seeing an unusual creature in the town. An elaborate narrative grew around the account, involving a military capture operation, transport to a hospital, and the death of the captured being.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "varginha-1996-s1", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Accounts of the three primary witnesses", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "http://imagem.sian.an.gov.br/acervo/derivadas/BR_DFANBSB_ARX/0/0/0443/BR_DFANBSB_ARX_0_0_0443_d0001de0001.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "varginha-1996-s2", "type": "news_article", "title": "The elaborated narrative of a military operation and transport of a body", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://dibrarq.arquivonacional.gov.br/index.php/objeto-voador-nao-identificado-ovni", "notes": "Based almost entirely on second- and third-hand sources." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Brazilian armed forces denied conducting any such operation. No documentation supports it.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Three young women (primary account); numerous witnesses to secondary accounts" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/varginha-1996" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/varginha-1996" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.1, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T4", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "varginha-creature-captured" ], "titlePl": "Varginha", "summaryPl": "Trzy młode kobiety zgłosiły, że widziały nietypową istotę w mieście. Wokół relacji narosła rozbudowana narracja o wojskowej operacji przechwycenia, transporcie do szpitala i śmierci schwytanego stworzenia." } }, "description": "A Brazilian legend of a captured being, and a case almost entirely second-hand" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:phoenix-lights-1997", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "1997-03-13", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "two episodes: about 21:00 and about 22:00" }, "location": { "id": "phoenix-lights-1997-loc", "name": "Arizona: from Henderson through Phoenix to Tucson", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -112.07, "latitude": 33.45, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "On the evening of 13 March 1997 Arizona residents first watched a V-shaped formation of lights transit the state, and about an hour later a stationary arc of bright lights over the city. Both episodes now travel under a single name.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + film + photo", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "phoenix-lights-1997-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "National Guard exercise documentation, Barry M. Goldwater range, March 1997", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "phoenix-lights-1997-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Video material from both episodes, recorded by many independent witnesses", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "phoenix-lights-1997-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Witness accounts of the ~21:00 episode", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The second episode, around 22:00, was identified as illumination flares dropped during a National Guard exercise on the Barry M. Goldwater range.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Thousands of residents, including the state governor of the time" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/phoenix-lights-1997" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/phoenix-lights-1997" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "film", "photo" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.4, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "phoenix-single-craft", "phoenix-flares" ], "titlePl": "Phoenix Lights", "summaryPl": "Wieczorem 13 marca 1997 r. mieszkańcy Arizony obserwowali najpierw przelot formacji świateł w układzie litery V, a około godziny później stacjonarny łuk jasnych świateł nad miastem. Oba epizody funkcjonują dziś pod jedną nazwą." } }, "description": "Two different events in one night, consistently conflated for thirty years" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:mexico-2004", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2004-03-05", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 20 minutes of footage" }, "location": { "id": "mexico-2004-loc", "name": "Airspace over Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico", "country": "Mexico", "countryCode": "MX", "longitude": -91.1, "latitude": 18.83, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A Mexican Air Force surveillance aircraft on an anti-narcotics patrol recorded eleven objects on infrared that appeared to surround it. The Defence Ministry released the footage publicly. Analysis subsequently matched the objects to burning gas flares at the Cantarell offshore oil field.", "eventType": "ir + film + radar", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "mexico-2004-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Infrared footage released by the Mexican Secretariat of National Defence, 2004", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "mexico-2004-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Public release and briefing by the Defence Ministry", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "mexico-2004-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Independent geometric analysis matching the objects to the Cantarell flares", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Released by the Mexican Secretariat of National Defence. Independent analysis identified the sources as oil platform flares; the identification is widely accepted.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Merlin C26A surveillance aircraft crew" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mexico-2004" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mexico-2004" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "ir", "film", "radar" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 3, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 5, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 3.1, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "mexico-2004-flir" ], "titlePl": "FLIR meksykańskich sił powietrznych", "summaryPl": "Samolot dozoru meksykańskich sił powietrznych podczas patrolu antynarkotykowego zarejestrował w podczerwieni jedenaście obiektów, które zdawały się go otaczać. Ministerstwo obrony ujawniło nagranie publicznie. Analiza przypisała później obiekty płomieniom gazowym na polu naftowym Cantarell." } }, "description": "Eleven objects on infrared, released by the Defence Ministry — and resolved by oil wells" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:nimitz-2004", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2004-11-14", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "minutes of visual contact; radar traces across several days" }, "location": { "id": "nimitz-2004-loc", "name": "Pacific, Carrier Strike Group 11 exercise area, west of California", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -117.9, "latitude": 32.6, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "During carrier strike group exercises, SPY-1 radar operators aboard USS Princeton tracked unusual contacts over several days. On 14 November two F/A-18Fs were vectored to one of them. Four aviators observed a white object with no visible lifting surfaces above an area of disturbed water. A subsequent sortie recorded the infrared footage known as FLIR1.", "eventType": "radar + visual + ir + multi-witness + intercept", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "nimitz-2004-s1", "type": "official_statement", "title": "US Department of Defense statement of 27 April 2020 on the authenticity of three Navy recordings", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/" }, { "sourceId": "nimitz-2004-s2", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "Sworn testimony of Cdr. David Fravor before the US Congress (2023)", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-implications-on-national-security-public-safety-and-government-transparency/" }, { "sourceId": "nimitz-2004-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "The FLIR1 recording (US Navy material)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.secnav.navy.mil/foia/readingroom/CaseFiles/UAP%20INFO/UAP%20DOCUMENTS/PAO%20Briefing%20Card%202020-012022%20and%202022-006563.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "nimitz-2004-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Accounts of SPY-1 operator Kevin Day and the analyses built on them", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "The source of the claims about a descent from 80,000 ft. No raw SPY-1 record exists publicly." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The US Department of Defense confirmed in 2020 that the footage is authentic Navy material and classified the event as unidentified. Confirming a video’s authenticity is not identifying the object.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "4 aviators in two F/A-18Fs, SPY-1 operators aboard USS Princeton, an E-2C crew" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/nimitz-2004" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/nimitz-2004" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "ir", "multi-witness", "intercept" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 4, "D": 2 }, "overall": 3.7, "evidenceClass": "A", "sourceTiers": [ "T2", "T3", "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "nimitz-60-miles", "nimitz-flir-is-fravor", "nimitz-transmedium", "nimitz-radar-jamming", "nimitz-80000ft-drop" ], "titlePl": "USS Nimitz / Tic Tac", "summaryPl": "Podczas ćwiczeń grupy lotniskowcowej operatorzy radaru SPY-1 na USS Princeton śledzili przez kilka dni nietypowe kontakty. 14 listopada skierowano do jednego z nich dwa F/A-18F. Czterech lotników zaobserwowało biały obiekt bez widocznych powierzchni nośnych nad obszarem zaburzonej wody. Kolejny lot zarejestrował materiał w podczerwieni znany jako FLIR1." } }, "description": "The most important modern UAP case — and the clearest illustration of the line between testimony and measurement" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:ohare-2006", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2006-11-07", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 5 minutes" }, "location": { "id": "ohare-2006-loc", "name": "Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Gate C17", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -87.9, "latitude": 41.98, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A dozen airport employees reported a grey disc-shaped object hovering over Gate C17, which then departed vertically at speed, said to leave a hole in the cloud layer.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "ohare-2006-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "United Airlines employee reports and FAA correspondence released under FOIA", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "ohare-2006-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Witness accounts collected by the press", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The FAA conducted no formal investigation, treating the event as a weather phenomenon (a hole-punch cloud).", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A dozen United Airlines employees: mechanics, ground staff, a pilot" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ohare-2006" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ohare-2006" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 1.6, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "ohare-cloud-hole" ], "titlePl": "O'Hare", "summaryPl": "Kilkunastu pracowników lotniska zgłosiło szary, dyskoidalny obiekt zawieszony nad bramą C17, który następnie miał gwałtownie odlecieć w górę, pozostawiając otwór w warstwie chmur." } }, "description": "Airport staff watch a disc over Terminal C — with no radar check and no investigation" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:stephenville-2008", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2008-01-08", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several tens of minutes" }, "location": { "id": "stephenville-2008-loc", "name": "Stephenville, Erath County, Texas", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -98.2, "latitude": 32.22, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "After a wave of reports of a large, silent object with lights, independent researchers obtained FAA radar data under FOIA, which showed an unidentified track in the area together with F-16 activity the air base had previously denied.", "eventType": "visual + radar + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "stephenville-2008-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "FAA radar data obtained under FOIA (January 2008)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "stephenville-2008-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "The air base’s corrected statement confirming the F-16 flights", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The air base initially denied its aircraft were present, then corrected its position, confirming F-16 training flights that evening.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Several dozen residents, including a pilot and a law enforcement officer" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/stephenville-2008" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/stephenville-2008" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "radar", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 3, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "stephenville-radar-foia", "stephenville-f16-denial" ], "titlePl": "Stephenville", "summaryPl": "Po fali zgłoszeń o dużym, cichym obiekcie ze światłami niezależni badacze uzyskali w trybie FOIA dane radarowe FAA, które wykazały niezidentyfikowany ślad w rejonie oraz aktywność myśliwców F-16, wcześniej zaprzeczaną przez bazę." } }, "description": "Texas reports set against FAA radar data obtained under freedom of information" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:harare-2008", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2008-07-02", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "not stated; “a period under observation from the ground”" }, "location": { "id": "harare-2008-loc", "name": "Over Harare International Airport", "country": "Zimbabwe", "countryCode": "ZW", "longitude": 31.09, "latitude": -17.93, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "A CIA information report sent on 3 July 2008 to forty-seven named addressees says that on the afternoon of 2 July an unidentified object hovered over Harare International Airport and was observed, “possibly by both radar and optical means”. Observers on the ground described a disc with a hollow centre and rotating lights that changed colour before it climbed quickly out of sight. People who knew of the incident debated whether it was a foreign reconnaissance device or of extraterrestrial origin. According to the report, the incident led to a decision to place a Zimbabwean unit, whose name is blacked out, on high alert. The report is marked not finally evaluated, and about two thirds of it is blacked out.", "eventType": "visual", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "harare-2008-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "CIA information report, cable 455482, distributed 3 July 2008 (CIA-UAP-017)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/CIA-UAP-017_Placement_on_High_Alert_Due_to_Perceived_Aggressive_Foreign_Posturing.pdf", "notes": "Three pages printed from the CIA's internal Trident system on 15 June 2009 and marked “NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE”. About two thirds of the text is blacked out, including paragraph 1, the source and the unit placed on alert." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Unnamed “observers” and “Individuals … who were aware of the incident”; who they were is blacked out" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/harare-2008" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/harare-2008" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual" ], "axes": { "S": 1, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 2, "D": 1 }, "overall": 1, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Alarm w Harare", "summaryPl": "Raport informacyjny CIA wysłany 3 lipca 2008 r. do czterdziestu siedmiu wymienionych adresatów podaje, że po południu 2 lipca nad Harare International Airport zawisł niezidentyfikowany obiekt, obserwowany „possibly by both radar and optical means”, czyli być może zarówno radarem, jak i środkami optycznymi. Obserwatorzy na ziemi opisali dysk z pustym środkiem i obracającymi się światłami, które zmieniły barwę, zanim obiekt szybko wzniósł się poza zasięg wzroku. Osoby, które wiedziały o incydencie, spierały się, czy było to zagraniczne urządzenie rozpoznawcze, czy obiekt pozaziemskiego pochodzenia. Według raportu incydent doprowadził do decyzji o postawieniu w stan wysokiej gotowości zimbabweńskiej jednostki, której nazwa jest zaczerniona. Raport jest oznaczony jako nieoceniony, a około dwóch trzecich jego tekstu jest zaczernione." } }, "description": "An object over the airport, a radar that is only “possibly”, and a Zimbabwean alert whose unit is blacked out" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:hangzhou-2010", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2010-07-07", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 1 hour of disruption" }, "location": { "id": "hangzhou-2010-loc", "name": "Xiaoshan International Airport, Hangzhou, Zhejiang", "country": "China", "countryCode": "CN", "longitude": 120.43, "latitude": 30.23, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "Xiaoshan International Airport suspended operations for roughly an hour after an unidentified object was reported in its airspace. Flights were diverted and delayed. Chinese authorities later indicated a military connection but released no detail.", "eventType": "visual + photo + radar", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "hangzhou-2010-s1", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Airport and civil aviation statements confirming the suspension of operations", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "hangzhou-2010-s2", "type": "news_article", "title": "Press reporting of an official indication of a military cause", "credibility": "unverified", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "No primary document was released; the military attribution rests on paraphrased statements." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "Airport operations were confirmed suspended. Authorities indicated the object had a military explanation and declined to elaborate.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Airport staff, air traffic control, passengers; photographs taken from the ground" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hangzhou-2010" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/hangzhou-2010" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "photo", "radar" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 2, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T2", "T5" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "hangzhou-airport-closure" ], "titlePl": "Lotnisko Hangzhou", "summaryPl": "Port lotniczy Xiaoshan wstrzymał operacje na około godzinę po zgłoszeniu niezidentyfikowanego obiektu w swojej przestrzeni. Loty przekierowano i opóźniono. Chińskie władze wskazały później na związek wojskowy, nie podając szczegółów." } }, "description": "A major Chinese airport closes for an hour over an unidentified object" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:ladakh-2012", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2012-08-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "hundreds of observations over six months" }, "location": { "id": "ladakh-2012-loc", "name": "Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control", "country": "India", "countryCode": "IN", "longitude": 77.58, "latitude": 34.15, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Army and border police units in Ladakh logged several hundred sightings of luminous objects over six months, initially suspected to be Chinese surveillance drones. A scientific team was sent to investigate.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness + instrument", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "ladakh-2012-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Indian Army and ITBP observation logs, 2012–2013", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "ladakh-2012-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Findings of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics / DRDO investigation team", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "A team from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the DRDO concluded the objects were Jupiter, Venus and bright stars, with atmospheric refraction accounting for the apparent motion.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police units" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ladakh-2012" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/ladakh-2012" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness", "instrument" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 2, "O": 1, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "ladakh-planets", "uap-nuclear-affinity" ], "titlePl": "Ladakh", "summaryPl": "Jednostki wojska i straży granicznej w Ladakhu odnotowały w ciągu sześciu miesięcy kilkaset obserwacji świetlistych obiektów, początkowo podejrzewanych o bycie chińskimi dronami rozpoznawczymi. Na miejsce wysłano zespół naukowy." } }, "description": "Indian Army units log hundreds of luminous objects over a disputed border" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:aguadilla-2013", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2013-04-25", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 3 minutes of footage" }, "location": { "id": "aguadilla-2013-loc", "name": "Near Rafael Hernández Airport, Aguadilla", "country": "Puerto Rico", "countryCode": "PR", "longitude": -67.13, "latitude": 18.49, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Infrared footage from a border patrol aircraft shows an object flying over terrain, entering the ocean, emerging, and splitting in two. For years it was presented as the best evidence for objects moving between media.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "aguadilla-2013-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "IR footage from the CBP aircraft", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.aaro.mil/" }, { "sourceId": "aguadilla-2013-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "AARO analysis: 3D trajectory reconstruction and identification", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/case_resolution_reports/AARO_Puerto_Rico_UAP_Case_Resolution.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "AARO performed a 3D trajectory reconstruction. It established with high confidence that the objects did not enter the water and did not split, and that they moved at approximately wind speed; with moderate confidence they were identified as a pair of sky lanterns.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "A Customs and Border Protection aircraft crew" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/aguadilla-2013" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/aguadilla-2013" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 2.4, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "aguadilla-transmedium" ], "titlePl": "Aguadilla", "summaryPl": "Nagranie w podczerwieni z samolotu straży granicznej pokazuje obiekt lecący nad terenem, wchodzący do oceanu, wychodzący z niego i rozdzielający się na dwa. Przez lata było przedstawiane jako najlepszy dowód na obiekty poruszające się między ośrodkami." } }, "description": "The most famous “transmedium” footage, and the 3D reconstruction that dismantled it" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:roosevelt-2014", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2014-06-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a series of events over many months" }, "location": { "id": "roosevelt-2014-loc", "name": "Atlantic warning areas, from Virginia to Florida", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -74.5, "latitude": 36.6, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Following an upgrade to AESA radars, US Navy pilots began routinely recording objects in Atlantic training areas — in some accounts almost daily. The series led to changed reporting procedures and, indirectly, to the creation of AARO.", "eventType": "radar + visual + ir + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "roosevelt-2014-s1", "type": "firsthand_witness", "title": "US Navy aircrew testimony, including public statements before Congress", "credibility": "verified", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-implications-on-national-security-public-safety-and-government-transparency/" }, { "sourceId": "roosevelt-2014-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Navy confirmation of the material’s authenticity and of the reporting procedures introduced", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "roosevelt-2014-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "ODNI preliminary assessment (2021) covering this period", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Navy introduced formal UAP reporting procedures. The events remain largely unidentified.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Numerous US Navy pilots from East Coast squadrons" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/roosevelt-2014" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/roosevelt-2014" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 1, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "ir", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 4, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 5, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.4, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T3", "T2", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "east-coast-daily-sightings", "aesa-upgrade-correlation" ], "titlePl": "Roosevelt / East Coast", "summaryPl": "Po modernizacji radarów AESA piloci Marynarki Wojennej zaczęli regularnie rejestrować obiekty w strefach treningowych nad Atlantykiem, w niektórych relacjach niemal codziennie. Seria doprowadziła do zmiany procedur zgłaszania i, pośrednio, do powstania AARO." } }, "description": "The series of events after which the Pentagon built the modern reporting system" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:gimbal-2015", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2015-01-21", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 34 seconds of footage" }, "location": { "id": "gimbal-2015-loc", "name": "Atlantic warning area, US East Coast", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -75.2, "latitude": 36, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "ATFLIR footage showing a lens-shaped object that performs a distinct rotation of about 90° during the clip. The soundtrack captures the crew’s surprise. The Department of Defense confirmed the material’s authenticity.", "eventType": "ir + film + radar", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "gimbal-2015-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The GIMBAL recording (US Navy material)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/" }, { "sourceId": "gimbal-2015-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "DoD statement of 27 April 2020 confirming the recording’s authenticity", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.secnav.navy.mil/foia/readingroom/CaseFiles/UAP%20INFO/UAP%20DOCUMENTS/PAO%20Briefing%20Card%202020-012022%20and%202022-006563.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "gimbal-2015-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Optical analyses indicating the role of the gimbal mechanism", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The DoD confirmed the footage is authentic; the event remains unidentified.", "confidence": "low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "An F/A-18 crew; real-time radio commentary on the recording" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gimbal-2015" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gimbal-2015" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "disputed", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "ir", "film", "radar" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 2, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.8, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "gimbal-rotation" ], "titlePl": "GIMBAL", "summaryPl": "Nagranie ATFLIR pokazujące obiekt o kształcie soczewki, który w trakcie materiału wykonuje wyraźny obrót o ok. 90°. Na ścieżce dźwiękowej słychać zaskoczenie załogi. Departament Obrony potwierdził autentyczność materiału." } }, "description": "A rotating object whose rotation is probably the camera’s" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:gofast-2015", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2015-01-21", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about 35 seconds of footage" }, "location": { "id": "gofast-2015-loc", "name": "Atlantic warning area, US East Coast", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -75, "latitude": 35.8, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "ATFLIR footage in which a small object appears to skim just above the ocean surface at enormous speed. One of the three videos whose authenticity the Department of Defense confirmed.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "gofast-2015-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "The GOFAST recording (US Navy material) with the data displayed on the HUD", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2165713/", "notes": "Key point: the angle and range data are on the recording itself, which allows the geometry to be worked out." }, { "sourceId": "gofast-2015-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "NASA independent UAP study team analysis (2023)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/case_resolution_reports/AARO_GoFast_Case_Resolution_Card_Methodology_Final.pdf" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The DoD confirmed the material is authentic. Geometric analyses — including by NASA’s independent study team — showed the apparent speed is a product of parallax.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "An F/A-18 crew" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gofast-2015" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/gofast-2015" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 4, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 2.7, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 2, "claims": [ "gofast-extreme-speed" ], "titlePl": "GOFAST", "summaryPl": "Nagranie ATFLIR, na którym niewielki obiekt zdaje się przemykać tuż nad powierzchnią oceanu z ogromną prędkością. Jedno z trzech nagrań, których autentyczność potwierdził Departament Obrony." } }, "description": "An object “racing over the water” that flies at wind speed once the geometry is worked out" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:mosul-orb-2016", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2016-04-01", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a few seconds" }, "location": { "id": "mosul-orb-2016-loc", "name": "Airspace over Mosul", "country": "Iraq", "countryCode": "IQ", "longitude": 43.13, "latitude": 36.34, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A short clip from a US reconnaissance platform showing a small spherical object crossing the field of view over Mosul. AARO presented it publicly as an example of an unresolved case.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "mosul-orb-2016-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Footage presented publicly by AARO", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/" }, { "sourceId": "mosul-orb-2016-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "AARO commentary on the case", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Records/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "AARO: unresolved for insufficient data; no basis for attributing extraordinary properties.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Reconnaissance platform operators" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mosul-orb-2016" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/mosul-orb-2016" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 2.1, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "mosul-orb-unresolved" ], "titlePl": "Mosul Orb", "summaryPl": "Krótkie nagranie z amerykańskiej platformy rozpoznawczej pokazujące niewielki, kulisty obiekt przecinający pole widzenia nad Mosulem. AARO przedstawiło je publicznie jako przykład sprawy nierozstrzygniętej." } }, "description": "A few seconds from a reconnaissance platform over Iraq that AARO did not close" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:uss-omaha-2019", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2019-07-15", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "a series of events over several nights" }, "location": { "id": "uss-omaha-2019-loc", "name": "Waters off California, exercise area", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -119.5, "latitude": 32.9, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Over several nights ship crews reported multiple aerial objects operating around the group. Infrared recordings and ship’s log entries were produced. The Navy confirmed the material is authentic.", "eventType": "radar + ir + film + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "uss-omaha-2019-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "IR recordings and ship’s log extracts released under FOIA", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.secnav.navy.mil/foia/readingroom/CaseFiles/UAP%20INFO/UAP%20DOCUMENTS/PAO%20Briefing%20Card%202020-012022%20and%202022-006563.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "uss-omaha-2019-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "US Navy confirmation of authenticity", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "archiveUrl": "https://www.aaro.mil/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Navy confirmed the authenticity of the footage and the log entries; the case remains unidentified.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Crews of several US Navy warships" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/uss-omaha-2019" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/uss-omaha-2019" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "radar", "ir", "film", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 4, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 4, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 3 }, "overall": 3.2, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "omaha-transmedium-entry", "omaha-drone-swarm" ], "titlePl": "USS Omaha", "summaryPl": "Przez kilka nocy załogi okrętów raportowały wiele obiektów powietrznych operujących wokół grupy. Powstały nagrania w podczerwieni oraz zapisy w dziennikach okrętowych. Marynarka Wojenna potwierdziła autentyczność materiałów." } }, "description": "Multiple objects around US Navy warships off California" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:uss-russell-2019", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2019-07-15", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "several tens of seconds of footage" }, "location": { "id": "uss-russell-2019-loc", "name": "Waters off California", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -119.3, "latitude": 32.8, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Night-vision footage showing triangular, flickering objects above the ship. The material circled the world as evidence of pyramid-shaped craft.", "eventType": "film + ir", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "uss-russell-2019-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Night-vision footage from USS Russell", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.secnav.navy.mil/foia/readingroom/CaseFiles/UAP%20INFO/UAP%20DOCUMENTS/PAO%20Briefing%20Card%202020-012022%20and%202022-006563.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "uss-russell-2019-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "US Navy confirmation of authenticity", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false }, { "sourceId": "uss-russell-2019-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Optical analyses indicating aperture bokeh", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The Navy confirmed the footage is authentic. Analysis indicates the triangular shape is an optical artefact.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "USS Russell crew" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/uss-russell-2019" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/uss-russell-2019" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "film", "ir" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 4, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 2.3, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "russell-pyramid-craft" ], "titlePl": "USS Russell, „piramidy”", "summaryPl": "Nagranie noktowizyjne pokazujące trójkątne, migoczące obiekty nad okrętem. Materiał obiegł świat jako dowód na pojazdy o konstrukcji piramidalnej." } }, "description": "Triangular objects that are the shape of a lens aperture" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:colorado-drones-2019", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2019-12-20", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "several weeks of nightly reports" }, "location": { "id": "colorado-drones-2019-loc", "name": "Eastern Colorado and western Nebraska", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -102.6, "latitude": 40.1, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "For several weeks, large unmanned aircraft were reported flying nightly grid patterns over rural Colorado and Nebraska. Sheriffs, the FAA, the FBI and a state task force investigated. No operator was ever identified and no enforcement action followed.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "colorado-drones-2019-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Colorado multi-agency task force report, January 2020", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://publicsafety.colorado.gov/press-release/updates-on-investigations-into-suspicious-drone-activity-in-ne-colorado" }, { "sourceId": "colorado-drones-2019-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "County sheriff incident logs from the reporting period", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/public_records/uas_sightings_report" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "A multi-agency task force concluded that the great majority of reports were misidentified aircraft, stars and planets, and found no evidence of a coordinated drone operation.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "County sheriffs, state troopers, aviation authorities, hundreds of residents" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colorado-drones-2019" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colorado-drones-2019" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "civil", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 3, "T": 4, "X": 2, "D": 4 }, "overall": 2.4, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "colorado-drones-unattributed", "satellite-flaring-2025" ], "titlePl": "Roje dronów nad Kolorado", "summaryPl": "Przez kilka tygodni zgłaszano duże bezzałogowce latające nocami w regularnych siatkach nad wiejskim Kolorado i Nebraską. Sprawę badali szeryfowie, FAA, FBI i stanowy zespół zadaniowy. Nigdy nie zidentyfikowano operatora ani nie podjęto działań egzekucyjnych." } }, "description": "Weeks of formation flying over the plains that no agency ever identified" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:persian-gulf-2020", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2020-07-16", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "A single time for most sightings; the formation of 27 August was tracked “FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES”" }, "location": { "id": "persian-gulf-2020-loc", "name": "Persian Gulf. The pin stands on the only grid reference the reports give in full (16 July, 23:45Z), in open water about 70 km west of Kharg Island. The other positions are scattered across the Gulf, all over the sea except the formation of 27 August, which the report puts at the coast of Bushehr. The report of 2 October gives no position", "country": "International waters", "countryCode": "XZ", "longitude": 49.58, "latitude": 29.25, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "Between 16 July and 2 November 2020 the 482nd Attack Squadron, flying intelligence missions over the Persian Gulf from Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait, logged ten sightings of unidentified objects in six mission reports and one debrief form. For most of them the reports give a time, a partly blacked-out grid reference and the word “UAP”, and nothing else: no size, shape, colour or speed, and no assessment. Four recordings released separately carry the dates of two of the sightings in titles given by whoever uploaded them; the office that released them says such material lacks a substantiated chain of custody.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 2–3 November 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D64)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d64-mission-report-iran-november-2020.pdf", "notes": "Seven pages: narrative p. 1, intelligence line p. 5, the two sightings pp. 6–7. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 16 March 2026. The publisher titles it “Iran”; its grid references lie over open water north of Qatar." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Range Fouler debrief form of 31 August 2020, 482 ATKS (DOW-UAP-D42)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d42-range-fouler-debrief-japan-2023.pdf", "notes": "One page, filled in by a pilot; the time of detection is left blank. The publisher titles it “Japan, 2023”; the form is dated 08/31/20 and its grid reference lies in the Persian Gulf." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 16–17 July 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D65)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d65-mission-report-persian-gulf-july-2020.pdf", "notes": "Eight pages: three sightings, pp. 6–7, the last with the only grid reference in the series given in full." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 8 August 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D60)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d60-mission-report-persian-gulf-august-2020.pdf", "notes": "Six pages: one sighting, pp. 4–5, with three grid references that do not agree." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 26–27 August 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D61)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d61-mission-report-persian-gulf-august-2020.pdf", "notes": "Seven pages: the formation along the coast, pp. 6–7." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 15–16 September 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D62)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d62-mission-report-strait-of-hormuz-september-2020.pdf", "notes": "Nine pages: one sighting, p. 8; two losses of the data link earlier that day, pp. 7–8." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 1–2 October 2020, 482nd Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D63)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d63-mission-report-strait-of-hormuz-october-2020.pdf", "notes": "Eight pages. The narrative refers to an observation line that the file does not contain." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s8", "type": "official_report", "title": "Recording DOW-UAP-PR077, 4 min 58 s, uploader's title “2 November 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] Observes and tracks UAP 1 of 2” (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1007809)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1007809/dow-uap-pr077-2-november-2020-callsign-callsign-observes-and-tracks-uap-1-2", "notes": "In the release 02 video bundle. The publisher: “Many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody.” The pairing with DOW-UAP-D64 is ours, from the date and what the recording shows. AARO notes on the page that PR077 and PR078 “are not duplicates”." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s9", "type": "official_report", "title": "Recording DOW-UAP-PR078, 4 min 58 s, uploader's title “… 2 of 2” (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1007812)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1007812/dow-uap-pr078-2-november-2020-callsign-callsign-observes-and-tracks-uap-2-2", "notes": "In the release 02 video bundle; the same caveat on custody. The publisher's description repeats PR077's word for word, including a transit this recording does not show. The pairing with DOW-UAP-D64 is ours." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s10", "type": "official_report", "title": "Recording DOW-UAP-PR088, 4 min 58 s, uploader's title “31 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP” (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1007800)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1007800/dow-uap-pr088-31-aug-callsign-callsign-observes-uap", "notes": "In the release 02 video bundle; the same caveat on custody. The pairing with DOW-UAP-D42 is ours, from the date and what the recording shows." }, { "sourceId": "persian-gulf-2020-s11", "type": "official_report", "title": "Recording DOW-UAP-PR089, 4 min 58 s, uploader's title “31 AUG 2020 [CALLSIGN] [CALLSIGN] Observes UAP part2” (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1007712)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1007712/dow-uap-pr089-31-aug-callsign-callsign-observes-uap-part2", "notes": "In the release 02 video bundle; the same caveat on custody. The pairing with DOW-UAP-D42 is ours." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Crews of the 482nd Attack Squadron on seven missions, their names and call signs blacked out; one debrief form was filled in by a pilot of grade O-2" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/persian-gulf-2020" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/persian-gulf-2020" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 2, "X": 1, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.2, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 11, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Dziesięć obserwacji nad Zatoką", "summaryPl": "Między 16 lipca a 2 listopada 2020 r. 482nd Attack Squadron (482. eskadra szturmowa), wykonując loty rozpoznawcze nad Zatoką Perską z bazy Ali Al Salem w Kuwejcie, zapisała w sześciu raportach z misji i jednym formularzu dziesięć obserwacji niezidentyfikowanych obiektów. Przy większości raporty podają godzinę, częściowo zaczernioną siatkę i słowo „UAP”, nic więcej: ani rozmiaru, kształtu, barwy czy prędkości, ani żadnej oceny. Cztery nagrania wydane osobno noszą w tytułach nadanych przez osobę, która je wgrała, daty dwóch z tych obserwacji; urząd, który je wydał, pisze, że takim materiałom brak potwierdzonego łańcucha dowodowego." } }, "description": "One attack squadron logged ten sightings in four months of 2020; its reports give a time and a grid, and almost nothing else" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:colorado-springs-2022", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2022-02-15", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "between half a minute and five minutes, depending on the account" }, "location": { "id": "colorado-springs-2022-loc", "name": "Over Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, seen from Fort Carson according to the FBI interview of March 2025 and the analysis; the map pin marks the mountain and is approximate", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -104.85, "latitude": 38.74, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "In February 2022 five U.S. Army soldiers from one unit saw a white object hold still over Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, and then vanish. The file holds two FBI interviews taken two and three years later and an undated analysis that attributes the sighting, with low confidence, to sunlight reflected off snow onto low cloud. No photograph was taken, the five drawings and the FBI artist's sketch are not in the file, and the accounts disagree on the time of day, the duration and what the object looked like.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "colorado-springs-2022-s1", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Analysis: \"An Airborne Object Over Cheyenne Mountain in February 2022 was Possible Backscattering of Sunlight\" (ICA-UAP-D001)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/ICA-UAP-D001_Analysis_Colorado-Springs-UAP-Incident.pdf", "notes": "No author, addressee or date survives the redaction, and the whole of page 2 and blocks on pages 3 and 4 are withheld. Holds its one hypothesis with low confidence." }, { "sourceId": "colorado-springs-2022-s2", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "FBI FD-302, interview of one of the five soldiers, March 2025 (FBI-UAP-D001)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/FBI-UAP-D001_FD-302_Unresolved-UAP-Report_ColoradoSprings_2022.pdf", "notes": "Interview by Microsoft Teams, roughly three years after the event. Places the sighting on a workday in early February 2022 at about 1:00 or 2:00 p.m., and records that the five drew the object independently." }, { "sourceId": "colorado-springs-2022-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "FBI FD-1057, forensic sketch interview, June 2024 (FBI-UAP-D002)", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/FBI-UAP-D002_FD-1057_Unresolved-UAP-Report_ColoradoSprings_2022.pdf", "notes": "Interview in New York with an FBI forensic artist. The year of the sighting is redacted, and the sketch draft it enclosed is not in the release." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The only assessment in the file is an analysis whose author, addressee and date are redacted. It judges that the object \"was possibly backscattering of sunlight\" reflected off snow-covered ground onto low-level cloud, states that \"no anomalous data or characteristics were recorded or assessed, and the event did not represent an unknown adversarial capability\", and holds the assessment with low confidence because of uncertainty in each witness's field of view, the snow cover, and the elevation and amount of cloud. It adds that no aircraft or balloons were noted active in or around Cheyenne Mountain at the time.", "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Five U.S. Army soldiers from one unit. Two accounts reached the FBI, in June 2024 and March 2025; the file does not say whether they come from two different soldiers" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colorado-springs-2022" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/colorado-springs-2022" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 0, "O": 0, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 2, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.3, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T2", "T4", "T4" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Obiekt nad Cheyenne Mountain", "summaryPl": "W lutym 2022 r. pięciu żołnierzy US Army z jednej jednostki zobaczyło biały obiekt, który stał nieruchomo nad Cheyenne Mountain w Kolorado, a potem zniknął. W aktach są dwa przesłuchania FBI przeprowadzone dwa i trzy lata później oraz niedatowana analiza, która z niską pewnością przypisuje obserwację światłu słonecznemu odbitemu od śniegu na niskie chmury. Nikt nie zrobił zdjęcia, pięciu rysunków ani szkicu artysty FBI nie ma w aktach, a relacje różnią się co do pory dnia, czasu trwania i wyglądu obiektu." } }, "description": "Five soldiers, accounts written down years later, and an explanation that depends on which time of day you believe" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:iraq-2022", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2022-05-05", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "05:24–07:04Z in one report and a single time, 20:26Z, in the other; the two recordings run 1 min 47 s and 2 min 36 s" }, "location": { "id": "iraq-2022-loc", "name": "Northern Iraq, about 170 km north of Baghdad and 70 km south of Kirkuk by our measurement. The pin stands on the point the 196th Attack Squadron's crew was watching at 20:26Z (38S MD 38[…] 54[…]), converted by us at the 1 km the redactions leave; its aircraft was 9.5 km to the south-south-east. The 20th Attack Squadron's positions are blacked out, and nothing in the reports says that the two crews watched the same place", "country": "Iraq", "countryCode": "IQ", "longitude": 44.33, "latitude": 34.83, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On 5 May 2022 two crews of different squadrons over northern Iraq filed mission reports that describe small objects in the same paragraph, word for word down to the misspelling “SPORATICALLY”: “UAPs” moving “AT VARIOUS SPEEDS BETWEEN 80-180 MPH”, at an altitude the crew was “UNABLE TO DETERMINE”, “APPROXIMATELY 1-2 METERS” in size, which “DID NOT HINDER THE MISSION”. The 20th Attack Squadron watched them from 05:24Z to 07:04Z, in daylight and in a dust storm; the 196th logged them at 20:26Z, at night, and described what it saw as “UAS”. The two recordings released with the reports show small dark dots over hazy ground in infrared and in colour by day, so they belong to the morning report. Neither report says how the speed was measured or how far away the objects were, so neither the speed nor the size can be tested.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report (MISREP) of 4–5 May 2022, 20th Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D109)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-D109_Mission-Report-Middle-East-2022.pdf", "notes": "Six pages: narrative p. 1, timeline pp. 4–5, tasking and weather p. 5, observation p. 6. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 10 July 2026. Blacked out under (b)(1)(B): call signs, the aircraft's type and tail number, bases, the targeting pod and sensors, every position and the number of objects. The publisher titles it “Middle East, 2022”." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report (MISREP) of 5–6 May 2022, 196th Attack Squadron (DOW-UAP-D106)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-D106_Mission-Report-Iraq-2022.pdf", "notes": "Six pages, 031–036 of the batch “USCENTCOM MDR 26-0084 to 26-0095”: narrative p. 1, timeline p. 4, tasking and weather p. 5, observation p. 6. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 30 June 2026. Blacked out: the aircraft's type and tail number, bases, names, the operation and three digits in each half of every grid reference." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR140, 1 min 47 s (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1023398)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1023398/dow-uap-pr140-unresolved-uap-report-middle-east-2022", "notes": "In the release 06 video bundle as DOD_111985790.mp4, 1472 × 828 pixels at 30 frames a second; infrared and daylight colour in turn, every data field of the overlay blacked out. The publisher pairs it with D109 and gives the date taken as “01.01.2022”." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR141, 2 min 36 s (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1023400)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1023400/dow-uap-pr141-unresolved-uap-report-middle-east-2022", "notes": "In the release 06 video bundle as DOD_111985798.mp4, 1472 × 828 pixels at 30 frames a second; infrared alone or side by side with daylight colour, every data field of the overlay blacked out. The publisher pairs it with D109 and gives the date taken as “01.01.2022”." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s5", "type": "official_report", "title": "Infrared still DOW-UAP-PR130, one page", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-PR130_Unresolved-UAP-Report-Iraq-2022.pdf", "notes": "Page 029 of the batch “USCENTCOM MDR 26-0084 to 26-0095”, two pages before D106. No date, time or place. Paired by page order only." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s6", "type": "official_report", "title": "Infrared still DOW-UAP-PR131, one page", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/sept-18/release-06/assets/DOW-UAP-PR131_Unresolved-UAP-Report-Iraq-2022.pdf", "notes": "Page 030 of the same batch, directly before D106. No date, time or place. Paired by page order only." }, { "sourceId": "iraq-2022-s7", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 6 May 2022 (DOW-UAP-D10), for comparison", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d10-mission-report-middle-east-may-2022.pdf", "notes": "Six pages, observation p. 6: five objects the next day about 60 km away, four of them “POSSIBLE BIRDS”." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Crews of the 20th and 196th Attack Squadrons, whose aircraft types and tail numbers are blacked out; the reports name no one and do not say how many" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/iraq-2022" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/iraq-2022" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 2, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 1, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.3, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 7, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Ten sam akapit dwa razy nad Irakiem", "summaryPl": "5 maja 2022 r. dwie załogi różnych eskadr nad północnym Irakiem złożyły raporty z misji, które opisują małe obiekty tym samym akapitem, słowo w słowo, aż po literówkę „SPORATICALLY”: „UAPs” lecące „AT VARIOUS SPEEDS BETWEEN 80-180 MPH”, czyli z różnymi prędkościami od 80 do 180 mil na godzinę, na wysokości, której załoga była „UNABLE TO DETERMINE” (nie umiała ustalić), wielkości „APPROXIMATELY 1-2 METERS”, około metra lub dwóch, które „DID NOT HINDER THE MISSION”, nie przeszkodziły w misji. 20th Attack Squadron obserwowała je od 05:24Z do 07:04Z, za dnia i w burzy pyłowej; 196th zanotowała je o 20:26Z, nocą, i opisała to, co widziała, jako „UAS”, bezzałogowy statek powietrzny. Dwa nagrania wydane z raportami pokazują małe ciemne punkty nad zamglonym terenem w podczerwieni i w kolorze za dnia, więc należą do raportu porannego. Żaden raport nie mówi, jak zmierzono prędkość ani jak daleko były obiekty, więc ani prędkości, ani rozmiaru nie da się sprawdzić." } }, "description": "Two squadrons reported small objects over northern Iraq on 5 May 2022 in the same words; their speeds come with no method" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:balloon-2023", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2023-02-04", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "about ten days" }, "location": { "id": "balloon-2023-loc", "name": "Continental United States, Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -82.5, "latitude": 44, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "A Chinese high-altitude balloon crossed North America and was shot down off South Carolina. In the following week, after air defence radar filters were adjusted, three further unidentified objects were engaged and destroyed over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron — none of which was ever conclusively identified.", "eventType": "radar + visual + ir + intercept", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "balloon-2023-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "US and Canadian government statements on the shootdowns, February 2023", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/3288728/statement-from-gen-glen-vanherck-commander-north-american-aerospace-defense-com/" }, { "sourceId": "balloon-2023-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "AARO annual reporting covering the period", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://media.defense.gov/2024/Nov/14/2003583603/-1/-1/0/FY24-CONSOLIDATED-ANNUAL-REPORT-ON-UAP-508.PDF" }, { "sourceId": "balloon-2023-s3", "type": "official_statement", "title": "NORAD statements on radar filter adjustment", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3296177/melissa-dalton-assistant-secretary-of-defense-for-homeland-defense-and-hemisphe/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "The first object was recovered and confirmed as a Chinese surveillance balloon. The other three were assessed as most likely benign commercial or research balloons; debris was not recovered.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "NORAD, USAF and RCAF crews; ground observers across several states" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/balloon-2023" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/balloon-2023" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "ir", "intercept" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 5, "O": 4, "P": 3, "M": 5, "T": 5, "X": 1, "D": 5 }, "overall": 4.2, "evidenceClass": "A", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 3, "claims": [ "shootdowns-2023-filters" ], "titlePl": "Balon 2023 i strącenia", "summaryPl": "Chiński balon wysokościowy przeleciał nad Ameryką Północną i został zestrzelony u wybrzeży Karoliny Południowej. W kolejnym tygodniu, po zmianie filtrów radarów obrony powietrznej, zaatakowano i zniszczono trzy kolejne niezidentyfikowane obiekty nad Alaską, Jukonem i jeziorem Huron, żadnego z nich nigdy jednoznacznie nie zidentyfikowano." } }, "description": "A month in which the UAP category and the air-defence category merged" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:western-us-2023", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2023-10-15", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "two nights of reports; single sightings from seconds to several hours" }, "location": { "id": "western-us-2023-loc", "name": "Undisclosed site in the western United States; the map pin is a regional placeholder, not the location", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -114, "latitude": 40, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "In October 2023, federal law enforcement special agents surveying for illegal drone launches near a sensitive national security site in the western United States reported orange orbs releasing clusters of smaller red orbs, objects that mimicked road vehicles, and kite-shaped objects at close range. AARO attributes roughly 60 percent of the activity to military countermeasure flares and states that roughly 40 percent remains unresolved. No radar return, photograph or film of the phenomena has been released.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "AARO case analysis update: Western U.S. Event, memorandum for record, 5 June 2026", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D077_Unresolved-Case-Analysis-Update_Western-United-States-Event.pdf", "notes": "Signed by the Director of AARO. Source of the 60/40 split and of the hypothesis-by-hypothesis analysis." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s2", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Notional map of the four incidents, Department of War", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DOW-UAP-D078_Notional-Map_Western-United-States-Event.pdf", "notes": "States on its face that every image in it was artificially generated, that phenomena are enlarged and that all locations are notional." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s3", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Narrative from Witness 1, memorandum for record, 2 June 2026", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DoW-UAP-D079_Narrative-1_Western-US-Event.pdf", "notes": "First-hand account written roughly two and a half years after the event. Describes the object with one round red and one square white light, and an object seen to be transparent." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s4", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Narrative from Witness 2, memorandum for record, 2 June 2026", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DoW-UAP-D080_Narrative-2_Western-US-Event.pdf", "notes": "The longest account, covering three encounters. Refers to video footage and to audio of the agents' reactions." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s5", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Narrative from Witness 3, memorandum for record, 2 June 2026", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DoW-UAP-D081_Narrative-3_Western-US-Event.pdf", "notes": "Reports four red lights holding station over the corners of an airfield, and a ground vehicle that kept its distance and then left the road without leaving tracks." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s6", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Narrative from Witness 4, memorandum for record, 2 June 2026", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DoW-UAP-D082_Narrative-4_Western-US-Event.pdf", "notes": "Extends beyond the two nights of the analysis, into later days and months. Includes a hand sketch." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s7", "type": "secondhand_account", "title": "Narrative from Witness 5, memorandum for record, 2 June 2026", "credibility": "credible", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/061226/release_03/documents/DoW-UAP-D083_Narrative-5_Western-US-Event.pdf", "notes": "Timestamped to the minute and heavily redacted. Includes three sketches and the report of fresh markings in the ground." }, { "sourceId": "western-us-2023-s8", "type": "official_statement", "title": "PURSUE release page, Department of War", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "url": "https://www.war.gov/ufo/", "notes": "Where the department publishes the releases these documents belong to." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "AARO's case analysis update of 5 June 2026, signed by Director Jon T. Kosloski, states the case remains unresolved. About 60 percent of the reported activity is plausibly attributable to infrared countermeasure flares released by military aircraft during a scheduled exercise, cross-checked against flight logs, radar and ADS-B data. For the remaining 40 percent, radar and ADS-B show no known aircraft inside the observers' estimated line of sight, and a red orb reported stationary above a ridgeline for several hours is incompatible with the burn time and descent rate of any known flare. Misidentified aircraft exhaust is ruled out; drones are unlikely; foreign activity is highly unlikely; weather, refraction and space-based causes are unlikely. A U.S. programme is assessed as plausible but inconclusive: the described characteristics match certain U.S. technologies, historical records do not place them at that time and location, and no single capability accounts for everything reported.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Six federal law enforcement special agents working in two-agent teams; five gave written narratives to AARO" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/western-us-2023" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/western-us-2023" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 4, "R": 1, "O": 0, "P": 1, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 4, "D": 2 }, "overall": 2.2, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T2", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T4", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 8, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Zdarzenie na zachodzie Stanów Zjednoczonych", "summaryPl": "W październiku 2023 r. agenci specjalni federalnych służb śledczych prowadzący obserwację pod kątem nielegalnych startów dronów w pobliżu wrażliwego obiektu bezpieczeństwa narodowego na zachodzie Stanów Zjednoczonych zgłosili pomarańczowe kule wypuszczające grupy mniejszych czerwonych kul, obiekty naśladujące pojazdy drogowe oraz obiekty w kształcie latawca widziane z bliska. AARO przypisuje około 60 procent aktywności wojskowym flarom zakłócającym i stwierdza, że około 40 procent pozostaje nierozstrzygnięte. Nie udostępniono żadnego echa radarowego, zdjęcia ani filmu tych zjawisk." } }, "description": "Sixty percent attributed to flares, forty percent not, and no instrument pointed at any of it" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:north-aegean-2023", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2023-10-27", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "About three minutes by the report, 00:35:12Z to 00:38Z; the recording runs 2 min 57 s" }, "location": { "id": "north-aegean-2023-loc", "name": "North Aegean Sea, open water between Agios Efstratios and Skyros, 35–39 km from the nearest land by our conversion of the report's grid references, which the redactions leave precise to 1 km. The pin stands on the object's first reported position (35S KD 95[…] 53[…]); the last lies 5.4 km to the west-north-west, the aircraft 36 km to the west", "country": "International waters", "countryCode": "XZ", "longitude": 24.63, "latitude": 39.31, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On 27 October 2023 at 00:35Z the crew of a 33rd Special Operations Squadron aircraft, on its way from Larissa to its tasking, reported a “UAP FLYING JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN WATER” over the north Aegean that “TOOK MULTIPLE 90 DEGREE TURNS AT AN ESTIMATED 80 MPH”, and lost it from the picture at 00:38Z. The infrared recording released with the report, 2 min 57 s long, shows a small bright point that crosses the view and changes direction sharply while the sea behind it stays put in the frame, and then sits for 82 seconds in a tracking reticle until it fades. Neither the report nor the recording gives a range or a field of view, so the point's size and the 80 mph cannot be tested. Two days later the same squadron reported an object of the same description flying straight towards Crete; its 24-second recording shows a point moving in a straight line against the clouds.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "north-aegean-2023-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report (MISREP) of 26–27 October 2023, 33rd Special Operations Squadron (DOW-UAP-D33)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d33-mission-report-greece-october-2023.pdf", "notes": "Seven pages: narrative p. 1, timeline p. 4, tasking p. 5, UAP section pp. 6–7. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 22 January 2026. Blacked out: call signs, the aircraft's type and tail number, the operation, names, and three digits in each half of every grid reference." }, { "sourceId": "north-aegean-2023-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR34, 2 min 57 s, from the same mission (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1006080)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1006080/dow-uap-pr34-unresolved-uap-report-greece-october-2023", "notes": "In the release 01 video bundle as DOD_111689011.mp4, 1920 × 1080 pixels at 30 frames a second; every data field of the overlay is blacked out. The publisher pairs it with D33 and gives the date taken as “10.01.2023”." }, { "sourceId": "north-aegean-2023-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 28–29 October 2023, 33rd Special Operations Squadron (DOW-UAP-D35), for comparison", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d35-mission-report-greece-october-2023.pdf", "notes": "Seven pages, UAP section pp. 6–7: an object of the same description two days later, flying straight towards Crete." }, { "sourceId": "north-aegean-2023-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR35, 24 s, for comparison (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1006082)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1006082/dow-uap-pr35-unresolved-uap-report-greece-october-2023", "notes": "In the release 01 video bundle as DOD_111689022.mp4, 800 × 444 pixels at 10 frames a second." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The crew of a 33rd Special Operations Squadron aircraft whose type and tail number are blacked out; the report names no one and does not say how many" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/north-aegean-2023" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/north-aegean-2023" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 1, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.4, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 4, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Zwroty nad północnym Morzem Egejskim", "summaryPl": "27 października 2023 r. o 00:35Z załoga samolotu 33rd Special Operations Squadron (33. eskadry operacji specjalnych), w drodze z Larisy do zadania, zgłosiła nad północnym Morzem Egejskim „UAP FLYING JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE OCEAN WATER”, czyli UAP lecący tuż nad powierzchnią morza, który „TOOK MULTIPLE 90 DEGREE TURNS AT AN ESTIMATED 80 MPH”, czyli wykonał kilka zwrotów o 90 stopni przy szacowanych 80 milach na godzinę, i o 00:38Z straciła go z obrazu. Wydane z raportem nagranie w podczerwieni, długie na 2 min 57 s, pokazuje mały jasny punkt, który przecina kadr i ostro zmienia kierunek, podczas gdy morze za nim stoi w kadrze w miejscu, a potem przez 82 sekundy siedzi w celowniku śledzącym, aż zanika. Ani raport, ani nagranie nie podają odległości ani pola widzenia, więc rozmiaru punktu i 80 mil na godzinę nie da się sprawdzić. Dwa dni później ta sama eskadra zgłosiła obiekt o tym samym opisie, lecący prosto ku Krecie; jego 24-sekundowe nagranie pokazuje punkt sunący po prostej względem chmur." } }, "description": "A crew logged sharp 90-degree turns just above the sea; the film shows a point turning while the water behind it stays put" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:eastern-mediterranean-2024", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2024-01-25", "dateCertainty": "exact", "durationDescription": "About two minutes, 05:09–05:11Z by the report; the recording runs 1 min 6 s" }, "location": { "id": "eastern-mediterranean-2024-loc", "name": "Eastern Mediterranean, open sea some 250–350 km north of Alexandria. The report's grid references keep the easting and hide the northing's tens of kilometres, so the pin stands on the reported longitude of the first sighting (29.63°E) at the middle of the possible latitudes (33.4–34.3°N)", "country": "International waters", "countryCode": "XZ", "longitude": 29.63, "latitude": 33.86, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "On 25 January 2024 an aircraft of the 33rd Special Operations Squadron, in transit over the eastern Mediterranean, watched an object for about two minutes, 05:09–05:11Z. Its mission report describes a “ROUND DIAMOND SHAPE WITH STRAIGHT, NON MANUEVERABLE \"TAIL\"” flying at “APPROX 434 KNOTS” that “ONLY APPEARED ON THE SWIR CAMERA”, the short-wave infrared. A recording of 1 min 6 s from the same mission, released separately, shows a bright body with a fainter upright element below it, visible in one camera and lost when the operator switches to visible light. The report records no range to the object, its grid references are blacked out down to the easting, and its own first and last coordinates do not fit the speed it gives.", "eventType": "ir + film", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "eastern-mediterranean-2024-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report (MISREP) of 25 January 2024, 33rd Special Operations Squadron (DOW-UAP-D25)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d25-mission-report-greece-january-2024.pdf", "notes": "Seven pages: narrative p. 1, UAP section pp. 6–7. Declassified by USCENTCOM on 24 October 2025. Blacked out: call signs, the aircraft's type and tail number, the unit and operation supported, names, and every grid reference beyond its first digits." }, { "sourceId": "eastern-mediterranean-2024-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR28, 1 min 6 s, from the same mission (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1006073)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1006073/dow-uap-pr28-unresolved-uap-report-greece-january-2024", "notes": "In the release 01 video bundle as DOD_111688954.mp4; the sensor overlays are blacked out. The publisher's description on the same page attributes the recording to “DoW-UAP-D7” instead of D25, gives its length as “one minute and five seconds”, lists its location as Greece, the aircraft's base, and describes a split screen whose sides do not square with the recording." }, { "sourceId": "eastern-mediterranean-2024-s3", "type": "official_report", "title": "Mission report of 7 June 2024, 3rd Special Operations Squadron (DOW-UAP-D27), for comparison", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/dow-uap-d27-mission-report-united-arab-emirates-october-2023.pdf", "notes": "UAP section pp. 5–7: an object of the same outline over the Gulf of Oman. Its date is inconsistent: initial contact “070457:00ZJUN24”, event serial number “060457ZJUN2024-CENTCOM”." }, { "sourceId": "eastern-mediterranean-2024-s4", "type": "official_report", "title": "The recording DOW-UAP-PR29, 21 s, for comparison (publisher's page, DVIDS video 1006074)", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1006074/dow-uap-pr29-unresolved-uap-report-united-arab-emirates-june-2024", "notes": "The publisher's description attributes it to “DoW-UAP-D8” and to “United States Northern Command”; what it describes is D27, a USCENTCOM report." } ] }, "investigation": { "confidence": "very_low" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "The crew of a 33rd Special Operations Squadron aircraft whose type and tail number are blacked out; the UAP section gives the rank of its point of contact as Senior Airman" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/eastern-mediterranean-2024" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/eastern-mediterranean-2024" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "insufficient", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 3, "evidence": [ "ir", "film" ], "axes": { "S": 2, "R": 0, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 1, "T": 3, "X": 1, "D": 2 }, "overall": 1.4, "evidenceClass": "D", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 4, "claims": [], "titlePl": "Romb widoczny tylko w krótkiej podczerwieni", "summaryPl": "25 stycznia 2024 r. samolot 33rd Special Operations Squadron w tranzycie nad wschodnią częścią Morza Śródziemnego obserwował obiekt przez około dwie minuty, 05:09–05:11Z. Raport z misji opisuje „ROUND DIAMOND SHAPE WITH STRAIGHT, NON MANUEVERABLE \"TAIL\"” (okrągły romb z prostym, niemanewrującym ogonem), lecący z prędkością „APPROX 434 KNOTS” (około 434 węzłów), który „ONLY APPEARED ON THE SWIR CAMERA”, czyli był widoczny tylko w kamerze krótkiej podczerwieni. Nagranie z tej samej misji, trwające 1 min 6 s i wydane osobno, pokazuje jasny korpus ze słabszym, pionowym elementem pod spodem, widoczny w jednej kamerze i gubiony, gdy operator przełącza na światło widzialne. Raport nie odnotowuje odległości do obiektu, jego siatki są zaczernione aż do eastingu, a jego własne pierwsza i ostatnia współrzędna nie pasują do podanej prędkości." } }, "description": "A mission report and its video agree on the shape; neither gives the range needed to test the report's 434 knots" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:east-coast-drones-2024", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2024-11-18", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "roughly six weeks of nightly reports" }, "location": { "id": "east-coast-drones-2024-loc", "name": "New Jersey and neighbouring north-eastern states", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -74.5, "latitude": 40.8, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "other" }, "summary": "From mid-November 2024, nightly reports of large drones over New Jersey and neighbouring states produced weeks of national coverage, emergency briefings and temporary flight restrictions. Four federal agencies assessed more than 5,000 tips and identified nothing anomalous.", "eventType": "visual + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "east-coast-drones-2024-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "Joint DHS and FBI statement on reported drones in New Jersey, 12 December 2024", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true }, { "sourceId": "east-coast-drones-2024-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "Joint DHS, FBI, FAA and DoD statement on the ongoing response, 16 December 2024", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "notes": "Gives the figures: more than 5,000 tips, about 100 leads, nothing anomalous identified." }, { "sourceId": "east-coast-drones-2024-s3", "type": "official_statement", "title": "FAA temporary flight restrictions over sites in New Jersey, December 2024", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "Operational record of what the authorities actually did while the assessment was in progress." }, { "sourceId": "east-coast-drones-2024-s4", "type": "official_statement", "title": "Police incident and body-camera records released later under public records law", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": false, "notes": "Show what officers were looking at on the nights in question." } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "DHS, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense jointly assessed the reports as a mixture of lawful commercial, hobbyist and law-enforcement drones together with manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars misreported as drones. Over 5,000 tips produced about 100 leads. No national security or public safety risk was identified.", "confidence": "high" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "Thousands of members of the public, police officers, state and federal legislators, airport and utility staff" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/east-coast-drones-2024" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/east-coast-drones-2024" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "explained", "domain": "mixed", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "visual", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 3, "R": 1, "O": 1, "P": 0, "M": 2, "T": 5, "X": 0, "D": 5 }, "overall": 2.1, "evidenceClass": "C", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1", "T2", "T2" ], "provenanceLinked": 0, "claims": [ "satellite-flaring-2025" ], "titlePl": "Fala dronów nad wschodnim wybrzeżem", "summaryPl": "Od połowy listopada 2024 r. nocne zgłoszenia dużych dronów nad New Jersey i sąsiednimi stanami wywołały tygodnie ogólnokrajowych relacji, pilnych odpraw i czasowych ograniczeń lotów. Cztery agencje federalne przeanalizowały ponad 5000 zgłoszeń i nie zidentyfikowały niczego anomalnego." } }, "description": "Five thousand reports, a hundred leads, nothing anomalous: a wave documented while it was still happening" }, { "id": "disclosure-zone:virginia-2024", "schemaVersion": "1.1.0", "dataSourceId": "disclosure.zone", "status": "published", "createdAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "updatedAt": "2026-10-15T22:02:34.429Z", "temporal": { "date": "2024-12-01", "dateCertainty": "approximate", "durationDescription": "a series of events" }, "location": { "id": "virginia-2024-loc", "name": "Waters and airspace off the Virginia coast", "country": "United States", "countryCode": "US", "longitude": -75.6, "latitude": 36.85, "coordinatePrecision": "approximate", "coordinatesApproximate": true, "siteType": "military_other" }, "summary": "The US Navy reported approximately 100 aerial objects and two probably unmanned surface systems in an area off the Virginia coast. AARO listed the case as remaining under active analysis.", "eventType": "radar + visual + ir + multi-witness", "sourceData": { "sources": [ { "sourceId": "virginia-2024-s1", "type": "official_report", "title": "AARO annual report listing the case as active", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "url": "https://www.aaro.mil/Portals/136/PDFs/FY25%20UAP%20Annual%20Report/AARO_FY2025_Consolidated_Annual_Report_on_UAP.pdf" }, { "sourceId": "virginia-2024-s2", "type": "official_report", "title": "US Navy operational reports", "credibility": "official", "isPrimarySource": true, "archiveUrl": "https://www.aaro.mil/" } ] }, "investigation": { "conclusion": "AARO was analysing the case at the time of the report; no resolution.", "confidence": "unassessed" }, "witnesses": { "descriptions": [ "US Navy personnel" ] }, "identifiers": { "primary": { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/virginia-2024" }, "identifiers": [ { "system": "url", "value": "https://disclosure.zone/cases/virginia-2024" } ] }, "extensions": { "disclosure.zone": { "methodology": "https://disclosure.zone/methodology", "license": "CC BY 4.0", "status": "unresolved", "domain": "military", "editorialTier": 2, "evidence": [ "radar", "visual", "ir", "multi-witness" ], "axes": { "S": 5, "R": 4, "O": 3, "P": 0, "M": 4, "T": 4, "X": 3, "D": 4 }, "overall": 3.3, "evidenceClass": "B", "sourceTiers": [ "T1", "T1" ], "provenanceLinked": 1, "claims": [ "virginia-2024-uas", "satellite-flaring-2025" ], "titlePl": "Aktywna sprawa u wybrzeży Wirginii", "summaryPl": "Marynarka Wojenna zgłosiła ok. 100 obiektów powietrznych oraz dwa prawdopodobnie bezzałogowe systemy nawodne w rejonie u wybrzeży Wirginii. Sprawa była wskazywana przez AARO jako pozostająca w aktywnej analizie." } }, "description": "Around a hundred aerial objects and two surface systems — still open" } ] }