UFOs Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record (52 page)

3
who presides over an Air Force commission studying the cases
Daniel Iglesias, “Uruguay: Air Force Declassifies UFO Files, ET Hypothesis Not Dismissed,” June 6, 2009,
http://www.elpais.com.uy
.

4
The CEFAA
CEFAA stands for el Comité de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos (the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena). It was established in October 1997 within the Department of Civil Aeronautics, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil or DGAC, the Chilean equivalent of the American FAA.

5
Bermúdez wrote in an e-mail
These details about the ceremony come from a personal e-mail communication with General Bermúdez in January 2010.

6
In the last days of March
Sections of this piece were translated from the Spanish by Gustavo Rodríguez Navarro, Oscar Zambrano, and Andrea Soares Berrios.

7
The aviation branch of the Army of Chile
Brigada de Aviación del Ejército de Chile, the aviation branch of the Army of Chile, is known as BAVE.

C
HAPTER
20: UFO
S IN
B
RAZIL

1
by the Navy, which compiled a report
Carlos Alberto Ferreira Bacellar, Commander of the Oceanographic Station at Trindade, “Clarification of the Observation of Unidentified Flying Objects Sighted on the Island of Trindade, in the Period of 12/5/57 to 1/16/58.”

2
experts in America conducted further analysis
The information on the Trindade photos was obtained from Don Berliner,
UFO Briefing Document
(Dell Publishing, 1995), pp. 71–77. This report is available at
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/
ufo_briefingdocument/1958.htm#50
.

3
many of them concerning the Air Force’s “Operation Saucer”
The Brazilian files can be viewed online. See the National Intelligence Agency report of Operation Saucer:
http://www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/prato/ACE_3370.83.pdf
; also, the Brazilian Air Force report of Operation Saucer:
http://www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/prato/ACE_3370.83.pdf
. More recent files can be accessed at
www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/abertura_2
; and more through these links:
www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/abertura_1
,
www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/brasil
,
www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/documents
, and
www.ufo.com.br//files/01/42/56/f014256/public/prato
.

4
All was translated from Portuguese
Translation services were provided by Eduardo Rado of Brazil and Andrea Soares Berrios of New York.

5
“to fly in formation, not necessarily manned”
Air Brigadier José Pessoa Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, commander of the Aerial Command of Aerial Defense, to Aerial General Command, “Occurrence Report,” June 2, 1986. Both the original document in Portuguese and an English translation can be seen at
www.ufo.com.br/documentos/night
.

6
Brazilian Airspace Defense Command
Comando de Defesa Aérea Brasileiro, known as COMDABRA.

7
to the air defense operations center
Comando de Operações de Defesa Aérea, known as CODA.

C
HAPTER
21: F
IGHTING
B
ACK

1
“Unidentified Flying Objects and related phenomena”
Dept. of State Teletype, “Grenadian UFO Crusade: Déjà vu,” November 18, 1978, released through the Freedom of Information Act. Sourced from Clifford E. Stone,
UFOs Are Real
(SPI Books, 1997).

2
“and scientists, including astronomers”
Dept. of State Teletype, “Grenadian UFO Resolution,” November 28, 1978, classified Confidential and released through the FOIA. Sourced from Clifford E. Stone,
UFOs Are Real
(SPI Books, 1997), Doc. 5–21a.

3
a “blitzkrieg sales pitch”
Dept. of State Teletype, November 18, 1978, op. cit.

4
“U.S. nationals on the Grenadian delegation”
Ibid.

5
“and gamble on the results”
Dept. of State Teletype, “Grenadian UFO Resolution,” December 2, 1978. Sourced from Clifford E. Stone,
UFOs Are Real
(SPI Books, 1997), Doc. 5–22.

6
“of this French investigation are profound”
J. Allen Hynek, speech to the United Nations, November 27, 1978. His speech is summarized in a State Dept. Teletype, “Grenadian UFO Resolution,” November 28, 1978.

7
then it “disappeared”
Sighting Report for the International UFO Bureau, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, September 18, 1973.

8
“ought to be NASA”
Dr. Frank Press, letter to Dr. Robert Frosch, July 21, 1977. Richard C. Henry, “UFOs and NASA,”
Journal of Scientific Exploration
, vol. 2, no. 2 (1988), p. 109.

9
NASA name a “project officer”
Dr. Robert Frosch, letter to Dr. Frank Press, September 6, 1977. Full letter included in the appendix: Richard C. Henry, “UFOs and NASA,”
Journal of Scientific Exploration
, vol. 2, no. 2 (1988), pp. 110–11.

10
White House concurred without delay
Dr. Frank Press, letter to Dr. Robert Frosch, September 14, 1977. Full letter included in the appendix: Richard C. Henry, “UFOs and NASA,”
Journal of Scientific Exploration
, vol. 2, no. 2 (1988), p. 114.

11
“preventing a reopening of UFO investigations”
Charles E. Senn, letter to Duward L. Crow, September 1, 1977.

12
“to convene a symposium on this subject”
Dr. Robert Frosch, letter to Dr. Frank Press, December 21, 1977. Henry, op. cit., p. 115.

13
“to intelligences far beyond our own”
Dr. Richard Henry, memorandum to Dr. Noel Hinners, Subject: UFO Matters, January 17, 1978; Richard C. Henry, “UFO’s and NASA,”
Journal of Scientific Exploration
, vol. 2, no. 2 (1988), p. 130.

14
first step in conducting any sort of investigation
See
chapter 6
about the O’Hare incident in 2006 and the FAA response.

15
which was reported by the BBC
See
chapter 7
by way of review.

16
“confounded local military experts and local police”
BBC News, “UFO Baffles Aviation Experts,” September 15, 1999,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/448267.stm
.

17
The 2010 FAA Aeronautical Information Manual
See section 7–6-4, “Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) Reports.” The manual can be viewed at
http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/ATpubs/AIM/Chap7/aim0706.html
.

18
“report the activity”
FAA manual, ibid.

19
Ministry of Defence monitors them for that reason
Author interview with Nick Pope, via a series of e-mails, August 2009.

20
a spokesman explained at the time
Associated Press, “FAA Investigates JAL Flight 1628 UFO Sighting,” 1986; and United Press International, “Pilot Describes ‘Unbelievable’ UFO Encounter,” December 31, 1986.

21
As revealed in a verbatim transcript
“Record of Interview with JAL Captain,” January 2, 1987, pp. 16–17. The transcript was provided to researchers by the FAA in 1987.

22
“was unable to confirm the event”
Bruce Maccabee, “The Fantastic Flight of JAL 1628,”
http://brumac.8k.com/JAL1628/JL1628.html
. This is the most complete report about the sighting over Alaska, and highly recommended. Dr. Maccabee is the author or co-author of about three dozen technical articles and more than a hundred UFO articles over the last twenty-five years. He is also a leading photoanalyst of UFO images. See
http://brumac.8k.com
.

23
during the FAA’s interviews with these witnesses
AP and UPI, op. cit.

C
HAPTER
22: T
HE
FAA I
NVESTIGATES A
UFO E
VENT
“T
HAT
N
EVER
H
APPENED
”

1
“that we were visited by a UFO”
A Twix is a message sent to all media advising them to broadcast or print a news article. It can be transmitted either by e-mail or fax or as a print-out.

C
HAPTER
23: G
OVERNMENT
C
OVER-UP

1
even “no comment” is considered a confirmation
Sweetman is the North American editor for
Jane’s Defence Weekly
. This story was published in
Jane’s International Defence Review
in 2000; see
http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jidr/jidr000105_01_n.shtm
.

2
“classified above Top Secret,” he wrote in a 1975 letter
Senator Barry Goldwater, letter to “Mr. S A,” on “United States Senate” letterhead, March 28, 1975. The name of the recipient, who had written to inquire about the senator’s interest in UFOs, was redacted from the document when it was released through the Freedom of Information Act. The names on numerous other similar letters were not redacted.

3
“it is just impossible to get anything on it”
Senator Barry Goldwater, letter to Lee M. Graham on “United States Senate” letterhead, October 19, 1981.

4
“I’ve never tried to make it my business since”
Senator Barry Goldwater, letter to William S. Steinman, on “United States Senate” letterhead, June 20, 1983.

5
“‘Don’t ever ask me that question again!’”
The radio clip can be viewed on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPFBg1NNUBU
. Numerous websites state that this clip was an excerpt from a 1994 interview with Larry King on CNN, but I have not been able to verify this.

6
“who destroyed the messages, or why”
News Release, U.S. Congressman Steve Schiff, First Congressional District New Mexico, July 28, 1995.

7
possible Soviet nuclear testing
James McAndrew, Headquarters United States Air Force, “The Roswell Report: Case Closed,” July 1994,
http://www.af.mil/information/roswell/index.asp
.

C
HAPTER
24: G
OVERNOR
F
IFE
S
YMINGTON AND
M
OVEMENT
T
OWARD
C
HANGE

1
watching it take off in the blink of an eye
NUFORC reports can be found at
www.nuforc.org
. See also the feature-length documentary
I Know What I Saw
, directed by James Fox, for witness interviews (trailer can be seen at
www.iknowwhatisawthemovie.com
).