733667-002-002

1987 .A1ASKA PRSA AURORA AWARD CATEQ>RY #8, "OO'HER" SUtltARI I. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this public affairs campaign was to; 1. Locate all the factual information available about the incident and make it available to the public. 2 . Reduce and eliminate rumors, speculation, and false statements by employees and persons not involved or knowledgeable. 3. Respond to the public inquiry in such a manner that the agency integrity, dignity, and respect is maintained by both employees (morale, etc.) and non-employees. 4. Respond in a timely manner with all material and explanations to preclude a "cover-up" accusation. 5. Create and provide interpretative material about complicated technical aspects so subject can be easily understood and reported. 6 . Comply with all legal aspects of the United States Freedom of Information Act. 7. Maintain the dignity and integrity of the Japan Airlines flight crew. 8. Obtain agency policy and recorrmendations for release in a timely manner. 9. Release all material simultaneously to media sources and public on a national and international basis so none have a "scoop story" advantage over another. II. PL.ANNING: Initial plans called for documenting and retaining the evidence, investigating the incident, and waiting to see if there was any media interest. Announcing the incident in any way was avoided as this would place the integrity of the agency and the flight crew in question by appearing to "grandstand". There was an initial response period to the media and public in which significant additional material about the agency's role in the incident was uncovered. This occurred on a daily piecemeal fashion as additional investigation of agency staff revealed information not previously considered relevant. Upon the advice of the Public Affairs Office the release of information was intentionally shut off until all available data could be collected, reviewed, analyzed, described, conclusions reached, and released at one time thereby eliminating the increasing appearance that the agency was either incompetent or did not consider the incident as serious. National and international media and public interest was both un- anticipated and intense. Many requests filed under the Freedom of Infonnation Act (FOIA) were received as a result of the publicity. The agency, by law, 11J.Jst respond to these requests in 10 working days. The following plan, approved by the Director, was set forth January 5, 1987 by the Public Affairs Office. - 2-, 1987 Alaska PRSA Aurora Award Category #8, PTS 1. A specific date would be chosen to release all the data. 2 . Staff assignments would be made to a variety of specialists to complete the research and assist the Public Affairs Office as needed. 3. All known material/infonnation would be collected, analyzed, arranged in logical order, and agency conclusions completed for release on March 5, 1987. 4. Additional materials, under the guidance of the Public Affairs Office, would be created as needed to help explain the basic data (See item 7, section VII). 5 . A list of all available known infonnation, with a description, length, and cost to obtain would be prepared by the Public Affairs Office for response to the hundreds of written inquiries. This would allow the public to pick and choose the items that want based on subject and cost. (Items totalling under $5.00 were sent free. The entire package cost $193.80.) 6 . A press conference, (March 5, 1987, 10:00 am) with one week prior notice to all interested news media, would be held to release all the material. The 10:00 am time was chosen to fit the regular work schedule of the ABC, CBS, NBC, film crews (no overtime needed), and provide competing daily newspapers with infonnation prior to press deadlines. Thursday was chosen specifically to fit the deadlines of the East-coast news market. 7. A complete free package of all material would be provided to any bona-fide news media inquiry, along with an index to item3 of special interest, to preclude any "cover-up". 8 . All questions would be answered at the press conference. 9. All agency effort, investigation, materials, conclusions, etc., would be completed and released at the press conference. 10. Material delivery requested by media and public via DHL, Federal Express, or other personal pickup, would be sent out the day or night before the press conference, depending on the distance of travel, so that all materials would arrive at the destination at approximately 10:00 am of March 5, 1987. 11. All inquires for information would be promptly filled. 12. Radio interviews, talk shows, telephone and personal interviews regarding the incident would be done by the Public Affairs Officer only. There is no other authorized release of information without the consent of the Public Affairs Office. 13. A complete package of the written materials will be collected and deposited with a Government publishing house (NI'IS) for future public access at a nominal cost, thereby relieving the agency of future response. -3-, 1987 Alaska PRSA Aurora Award Category #8, PTS III. EXEClTI!ON: The above plan was executed. Major events by date follow. (1986) Nov. 17: Incident occurs, crew met at airport, interviewed, voice and radar tapes retrieved and stored, material held, controllers interviewed. Dec. 24: Kyodo News Service correspondent visits, additional research started, interview provided. Dec. 29: UPI-Alaska Bureau chief calls, visits, interviews, release. (1987) Followed by intense media interest (see items #8,9, Section VII). Jan. 04: In response to public interest the agency decides to re- interview flight crew, review data tapes, and obtain Washington D.C. and technical specialists reviews. Jan. 05: Agency decision to cease releasing any new information until all material is collected and reviewed. Interim letters sent to FOIA requests informing them that material is being collected for response to their inquiry. Jan. 08: Unauthorized interview with controller reveals their opinion and the fact that more than one controller was involved adding misinformation and creating impression of possible agency cover-up. Quick response by agency and Public Affairs Office shuts down unauthorized interviews. (Difficult to due in a Government agency where there is no f onnal repprimand for talking to media.) Continued to respond to numerous national and international media calls. Hundreds of mail inquires. Feb. 21: All basic known materials collected. Order fonn created and sent to all media and public inquiries. The February 21 date was selected by backing up from the March 5, news release date, so that all FOIA requests for information based on the order form could be legally completed March 5th. (10 working days). Feb. 25: All previously recorded news media sources (See item #8, Section VII) were notified by telephone of press conference set for March 5. Mar. 01: Additional materials created by Public Affairs Office to assist in explaining complicated portion of data completed (See item #7, Section VII). New data sought after review by Public Affairs Office in anticipation of media questions. Mar. 04: Preparation for press conference complete; visual aids, materials, special media index, ready. Agency conclusions complete. Mar . 05: Press conference held. (Agenda: Handout material, allowed 20 minutes for r eporters to study and r eview-aided by index and tabs, briefing, highlights, and question/answers.) -4-, 1987 Alaska PRSA Aurora Awards Category #8, PTS IV. RESULTS: 1. The public was provided with all materials at a nominal cost. 2. The media was provided with all materials and questions answered. 3. News media interest died 24 hours after the press conference, as desired and predicted. 4. All materials saved for archive purposes. 5. The agency revealed all, answered all, and maintained integrity between extremes of "believers" on one side and "De-bunkers" on the other (Walked-the-line). 6. The integrity of the flight crew and the airline was maintained. 7. Charges for materials were extremely low, (less than cost) as dictated by the FOIA. 491 orders filled as of August 14, 1987 * $13,308 in funds collected 28 requests forwarded to NTIS Almost a thousand order forms sent out. (* Persons seeking information had to request the material twice. Once to get the order form, and again with the form and payment to get the material. This was intentional.) VI. RF..SQURCF.S AVAII,ABl.E: The Public Affairs Staff of 3 people continued to perform all their regular duties while responding to the overwhelming media and public requests for information, with no additional compensated overtime. All three employees (one works a 32 hour week) received "Outstanding Perfonnance Awards" from their supervisors for the past year. VII. HATERIAIS: 1. Complete investigative file (listing of items in package). 2. Memo to Director regarding a plan. 3. Order form for materials. 4. News Releases 5. Notice of Press Conference 6. Additional materials to clarify data 7. Press inquiries, contacts 8. News clippings 9.Photos created for media and public. 10.Press Conference 11.Video of news broadcasts and press conference Subject: From: To: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Ad minis~ JAL /11628, UFO Paul Steucke, AAL-5 Public Affairs Officer Director, AAL-1 Memorand.um January 5, 1987 Date: Reply to Attn. of : Attached for your review is a Public Affairs plan of action for an organized release of information regarding the sighting of unidentified air traffic by the crew of Japan Airlines flight 1628, on November 17, 1986. Three specific problems have created the need for this plan of action. (1) The public and media interest in this subject is far greater than anticipated and requires an organized response that will not inadvertently embarrass the agency, (2) the agency it appears does not have all the data in one location for review, and (3) we have not been able to derive any conclusions that will allow us to conclude this investigation. We have nothing to hide, yet we must be very careful to release even the most boring of data, or we will be criticized of "covering-up" via "the Government". I suggest we cease releasing infonnation at this time, set a reasonable date for a press conference, publicize that date, and proceed according to the attached plan. I am available at your convenience to discuss this further. Your concurrence is needed before I can proceed. Paul Steucke PUBLIC AFFAIRS Pl.AN FOR REI.EASE OF INFORMATION RE JAL 1628 UFO JANUARY 5, 1987 1. A specific date should be chosen to release all the data. Suggest 10 :00 am March 5, 1987. 2 . Staff assignments should be made to a variety of specialists to complete the research and assist the Public Affairs Office as needed. 3. All known material/information should be collected, analyzed, arranged in logical order, and agency conclusions completed for release on March 5, 1987. 4. Additional materials, under the guidance of the Public Affairs Office, can be created as needed to help explain the basic data 5. A list of all available known information, with a description, length, and cost to obtain should be prepared by the Public Affairs Office for response to written inquiries. This would allow the public to pick and choose the items that want based on subject and cost. 6. A press conference, (March 5, 1987, 10:00 am) with one week prior notice to all interested news media, should be held to release all the material. The 10:00 am time has been chosen to fit the regular work schedule of the ABC, CBS, NBC, film crews (no overtime needed), and provide competing daily newspapers with information prior to press deadlines. Thursday was chosen specifically to fit the deadlines of the East-coast news market. 7 . A complete free package of all material should be provided to any bona-fide news media inquiry, along with an index to items of special interest, to preclude any "cover-up". 8. All questions should be answered at the press conference. 9. All agency effort, investigation, materials, conclusions, etc., should be completed and released at the press conference. 10. Material delivery requested by media and public via OHL, Federal Express, or other personal pickup, should be sent out the day or night before the press conference, depending on the distance of travel, so that all materials will arrive at the destination at approximately 10:00 am of March 5, 1987. 11. All inquires for information should be promptly filled. 12. Radio interviews, talk shows, telephone and personal interviews regarding the incident should be done by the Public Affairs Officer only. There is no other authorized release of information without the consent of the Public Affairs Office. 13. A complete package of the written materials will be collected and deposited with a Government publishing house (NTIS) for future public access at a nominal cost, thereby relieving the agency of future response. v <!- UNIDENTIFIED FL YING OBJECTS NATIONAL UFO REPORTING CENTER '-206-722-3000 SPONSORED BY PHENOMENA RESEARCH P .O. Box 1807, SEATTLE. WASHINGTON 98111 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA 94035 Mail Stop 239-3 (41 5) 694-5719 (FTSl 464-5719 Richard F. Haines, Ph.D. Nl\SI\ Chief, Space Human Factors Office Aerospace Human Factors Research Division MU FON MUTUAL UFO NETWORK, INC (Walter Andrus,Jr. Int. Director) 103 Oldtowne Road, Seguin, TX 78155-4099 USA (512) 379-9216 ·~,- Ll,-11 LI I.. V1ck1 Coooer Editor (213) 273-9409 :, ;h .'~ 1 ' t '. ~~ '-{.')ff•/ ' )(,Ip , ' ,i .' • I ' ' . ) j l( i}Sl , t>fw: r~Do s. R~t>t lrJ.s-S LA c A q~o3s S LF ADHESIVE National UFO LABFL--t;> REPORT0~~ 1 CENTER / 1-206-722-3000 Manned 24-hours Every Day PRIVATE NON-PROFIT CITIZEN GROUP (Publish UFO Newsletter) NASA Scientist who tracks and maintains file of more than 3,000 UFO sighting by pilots in past 20 years. Hobby, not a part of his job or NASA employment. Private international organization founded May 31, 1969. Non-profit, sponsor of numerous international UFO symposiums. Publish, ,a 20 page monthly magazine. UFO Magazine, Profit, Monthly. P H E N 0 M E N A R E S E A R C H R E P 0 R T Vol. 3 No. 6 Robert J. Gribble, Editor Issue No. 3o A NIGHT FLIGHT TO REMEMBER--A full moon shown in the Arctic sky as Captain Kenju Terauchi took off from Iceland November 17, 1986, in a Japan Air Lines cargo jet loaded with French Beaujolais wine. He was bound for Anchorage, Alaska on a route acroes Greenland to Eismere Island, Canada, over the Beaufort Sea, then into Alaeka air space above Fort Yukon. For the first two and a half hours, the flight--crewed by Terauchi, co-pilot Takanori Tamefuji and engineer Yoshio Tsukuda--was uneventful. The mky was clear and the winds--except for aome light gust! over Greenland--were calm. Then Terauchi's jet cruised into Alaska, and he first saw the two belts of light. They were an estimated three miles ahead of the plane, slightly to the left of the pilots cockpit seat, and 2000 feet lower than the plane. They emitted a steady amber glow. They hovered almost stationary, ehifted from side-to-side, then pulsed across the sky in abrupt bursts of speed. The objects, Terauchi believes "were not made by human kind. They were of a very high technology and intelligence. 11 The events recounted by Terauchi in the 50 minutes after that first sighting of lights are some of the most bizarre in Alaska aviation history. Since first becoming public in late December, 1986, the reports have transformed this sort-spoken, 47-year-old, Anchorage-based pilot into an international celebrity, interviewed by People magazine, Tokyo television and more than a d ozen other national and international publications. Terauchi has an impre8sive list of professional credentials to lend weight to his rather incredible tale. He has 29 years flying experience. Until November, Terauchi says, he never believed in UFOs. Now he does. He is convinced thst the lights he ssw in November were spaceships of some unknown, extra- terrestrial origin. In interview after interview, he methodically makes his case, charting the events of the sighting on flight maps of the Arctic sky. Teraucb.i's encounter began ~ith his sighting of the two belte of amber ligb.tg. To check them out, he radioed Anchorage air traffic controllers. The controllers re~lied that no militar~ or civilian flights were in the vicinit~. The two belts of light continued to dance in front of the plane. Terauchi grabbed for his camera, but realized that taking a picture would be futile because there was not enough light to expose the film properly. Five minutes later after the lights first appeared in front of the plane, they suddenl~ moved farther out ahead of the plane, he said. He could then make out the ehapes of the crafts--cylinders wrapped in lateral lines of light that extended from a darker center. The lines appeared to be exhaust outlets, and they alternately pulsated light from the two sides of the cylinder. They appeared to be controlled by computers, he said. As the two objects reversed direction, the exhaust lights appeared to flare brighter. Co-pilot Tamefuji, in a separate interview, also reported seeing the two strange lights. "I saw several lights in front of us, and then I couldn't see them, and the captain told me they were on the left-hand side," he said. After about 15 minutes, the first two lights disappeared, Terauchi said. Then, on his left, he saw a big band of glowing white light, similar to the light emitted by fluorescent bulb. He turned on his weather radar and tuned it to a 20-mile re.dius. At eight miles, on the left side of the screen, the radar showed a tiny ball. Terauchi radioed the FAA flight control center in Anchorage. Three controllers monitoring radar saw what they thought was an object at about the same reference point on their monitor, according to Sam Rich, an air traffic controller, and Paul Steucke, an FAA spokesman. Steucke, however, said subsequent examination of the radar tape showed the object to be a split-image of the JAL plane. Rich said none of the controllers, at the time, thought that was the case. As the plane flew over Fairbanks, the lights of the city gave Terauchi a better view of the new object. He says the band of light circled a huge walnut-shaped object that appeared to be twice the size of an aircraft carrier. As the lights of the city faded, Terauchi again could see only the white band of light. To try to lose the object, he got permi1aion from a controller to descend from 35,000 to 31,500 feet. The object descended "in formation," he said. Then Terauchi, after consulting with the controllers, mad e two 45-degree turns to the right. The object remained i n view. As the JAL plane flew past Mount McKinley, controllers asked a Fairbanks-bound Unite d Ai r lines flight to try to confirm the sighting. The United plane veer e d oft to follow the JAL flight path at a lower altitude. Just before the two plane s passed one another, the white ligh t disappeared. "It was like a dream. Unbelivable," aaid Terauchi. Terauchi postulates that whatever he saw was friendly. "I can't understand the technology, but it was not dangerous. It was completely controlled. " If h e sees the objects again, he's ready to try communicating. Perhaps four blinks of the wing lights, then two more. In Morse Code, he say s , t hat' s " HI." CONTROLLER SAYS UNKNOWN IMAGE WAS TRACKED ON RADAR--Three air traffic contro llers tracked on radar an i mage that seemed to be following the November 17th flight of a Japanese Air Lines cargo plane, according to one of the controllers who helped monitor the radar. The captain of the JAL plane reported that an unidentified flyin§ object was tailing his aircraft at the same location as the radar image. All three of us thought there was a track," said Sam Rich, a controller who has worked for the Federal Aviation Administration for more than a decade. A track is what air traffic. controllers call t h e radar image of an aircraft. Rich said he was on duty for the half-hour duri ng which the JAL plane reported apotting the UFO. Rich aaid the-pilot s ounded shaken. "He was concerned. There was a quiver in his voice." Rich s a i d the controllers immediately turned down their radar range to small-scale that would better define the air apace around the JAL plane. "There did appear to be a track near the plane about where he (the pilot) said there waa. So we kept looking." The track was not real atrong, Rich said, but neither h e nor any of his colleagues then thought it might be a split image. After spotti ng the track, Rich said he called the Military Regional Operation• Control Center. "They informed me that they had the same track. Another controller told the pilot to make a aeries of turn• and a descent in an effort to shake the UFO. Finally, as the plane headed 1outh from Fairbanks, the controllers lost track of the UFO. The FAA launched a major review of the radar tapes and concluded that the track wa1 a split or double- image of the JAL plane. Rich confirmed that double images often occur on the FAA radar screen, which relies on the computer-generated data. But the plane didn't f l y through the areas where the split images normally occur. The JAL pilot isn ' t the first pilot to report strange things in that northern corridor. Du.ring the past decade, there's been about a half dozen reports of unidenti£ied l ights from civilian ~nd military pilota~ ~It's pretty real to them (the pilots),w Rich said. AVI ATI ON WRITER SAYS ALASKA UFO PROBABLY PLANET JUPITER--The three-man crew of t h e JAL airliner who observed a huge UFO over Alaska on November 17, 1986, probably observed nothing more than the planet Jupiter, according to Phillip Klass, a n aviation writer. According to Klass--who was described as an "exper t " and "professional investigator"--the very bright planet was only 10 degrees above the horizon making it appear to the pilot to be at roughly his own a ltitude of 35,000 feet. (EDITORS NOTE: According to the astronomy departmen t at the University of Washington, Seattle, the planet Jupiter was 20-degrees above the southern horizon, not 10-degrees. One would have to be very desperate to explain away this UFO incident with the explanation that the crew observed the planet Jupiter. To the crew, Jupiter would appear as a distant white light, not ae a walnut-shaped object the size of two aircraft c arriers.) EX-PROFESSOR THEORIZES ALIEN BEINGS--Aliens from distant worlds may be watching Earth and making unofficial contacts with selected humans, says a recentl:1 r e tired scientist at Or·egon State Universit-y. His theory is that advanced space beings ma-y have adopted an embargo on official contact with earthlings, wi shing to avoid the chaos that could sweep the planet if their presence were suddenly revealed. Instead, the-y have adopted a "leaky embargo" policy that allows contact only with citizens whose stories are unlikely to be cre d ible to scientists and the government, said the scientist James w. Deardorff, $8, professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences. "They just want to let u s know who are prepared to accept it in their minds that there are other beings," Deardorff said. "Th ey may want to slowly prepare us for the shock that c ould come later when they reveal themselves." Deardorff who retired in Sept ember, 1986, b a s been described by colleagues as one of the moat illustrious members of OSUs a t mospheric sciences department. His research on atmospheric turbulence and boundary-l ayer e.ffe_cta earned him the field's highest honors, including t h e 1978 Rossby gold medal of the American Me t eorological Society. Yet t h e lure of extrat e rrestrial mysteries (2) unexamine d by the scientific establishment was to strong to resist. Last f all Deardorf f t ook an early retirement and began devoting all his energy to the question. "He bas a worldwide research reputation. We were very sorry to lose h i m,n said w. Lawrence Gates, chairman of the atmospheric sciences departmen t . "It was a complete surprise to most of us. I tried several times to pursuade him to stay.fl In 1985 Deardorff added the flleaky embargott theory to the scientific literature on extraterrestrials, publishing it in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. The theory assumes t h e presence of alien beings, a n assumption Deardorff says he is inclined to make. First of all, he says in his literature, there may be between 100,000 and 10 million independently evolved advanced societies on planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone. Deardorff contends it is probable that one or more of these advanced alien societies has traveled to Earth, and he says it's even possible the planet is at any moment under observation by a number of different alien emissaries. Deardorff said he is inclined to accept the view of UFO experts that 10 percent to 20 percent of UFO sightings cannot be explained using terrestrial explanations alone. "If they are physically around, using technology that is tens of thousands of years in advance of ours, it would appear to be magic to us," he said. Deardorff says the social shock of confronting extraterrestrials could be avoided as long as the widespread disbelief among governments and scientists was not jeopardized. "Awareness of what was taking place would then proceed very gradually, no faster that humankind in general was inherently prepared to accept the extraterrestrial messages!" Dea:dorff wrote in his 1985 paper. In his own department, Deardorff received mixe~ reactions when it became clear he was heavily involved in research on alien beings. "There were some who preferred not to talk about it at all, but maybe three-t'ourths of the department were very interested," he said. "Only one or two believed it was a totally silly waste of time." Despite the raised eyebrows, Deardorff' is firm in his resolve to continue his enquiry. The field cries out for serious treatment by reputable scientists, he says, and it could lead to the greatest discovery of all. "The likelihood there's something there is very high. Look at it this way: What are the odds that s.11 this could be s. hos.z?" he said. "Why should we leave this up to science f iction writers? It's time that the scientists got involved in this." . ;. , ~k~k ~\IBL1..Sn:E.S S~'IE.LL1.~'E.' ~ S"lGliT1.'NG~--'fne National Aeronautics and Space ~~~n.istration. Eis ~ub'tishea results of a satellite's survey of the solar ~~stem., but it ~ill ta~e scientists ~ears to know ho~ many of the objects it aigb.ted ~ere ~reviousl~ unkno-wn asteroids or comets. The catalog--published on com~uter tape--lists 3S,bi8 unidentified objects sighted by the satellite ~hi.en photographed 9b percent of the sky during its i983 mission. AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST AVIATION MYSTERY REMAINS UNSOLVED--On October 21,1978, a mystery sound interrupted transmission between pilot Frederick Valentich and Melbourne Flight Service which has never been explained, or identified. Prior to the mystery sound, pilot Valentich had been reporting the approach and description of an unidentified flying object similar to those reported from all over the world by people from all walks of life. Eight years after that fatal Saturday evening, no trace has ever been found of either the pilot or his blue and white Cessna aircraft. Frederick Valentich was not the only person who reported UFOs over and near Bass Strait {between Melbourne and Tasmania) that day and night. Investigators have found more than 50 reported observers from that area before, during and after his encounter. The period of UFO activity around Bass Strait bad been building up for more than six weeks prior to that famous encounter •. The activity reached a peak the weekend the pilot and his aircraft disappeared. TOP U.S. SENATOR SAW TWO UFOs--one of the most powerful U.S. Senators in modern history actually eyewitnessed two UFOs while on a fact finding trip through Russia in 1955--and the U.S. government has kept the sightings a secret for more than three decades. The incredible encounter is detailed in 12 top secret CIA, FBI, and U.S. Air Force reports which have been obtained by Phenomena Research. Those startling reports reveal that Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. (D•Ga.)--then chairman of the Armed Services Committee--was on a Soviet train when he spotted a disc-shaped craft taking off near the tracks. He hurriedly called his military aide and interpreter to the window --and they saw the disc plus another one that appeared a minute later. The astonished trio reported the sightings to the u.s. Air Force as soon as they wer e out or Russia. "The three observers were firmly convinced that they (3) saw a genuine UFO," says an Air For c e Intelligence report dated October 14, 1955, and classified Top Secre t a t the t i me . Senator Russell served 38 years in the Senate. He was its seni or member and one of the most influential s enators at the time of his death in 1971. He was chairman of the Armed Services Committee from 1951 to 1969, a nd unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1952. The docwnents detailing his UFO encounter were made a vailable to Phenomena Research by the Fund for UFO Research and its chairman, U.S. Na vy physicis t Dr. Bruce Maccabee. Th e documents were obtain e d by the group through the Freedom of Information Act. "These long-secret documents are of major i mportance becaus e they show for the first time t ha t one of the most powerful U.S. Senators witnessed and reported a UFO," said Dr. Maccabee. "This case is also unique because t h e CI A took the sighting seriously." The Air Force Intelligenc e report s ay s Russell and his two traveling companions spotted the UFOs on Octobe r 4, 1955, while traveling by rail a cross Russia's Trana-Caucasian region. "One disc ascended almost vertically at a relatively slow speed, with its outer surface revolving slowly to the right, to an altitude of about 6000 feet where its speed then increased sharply as i t headed n orth," the report states. "The second flying disc was seen performing t h e same actions about one minute later. The take-off area was about 1-2 miles south of the rail line ••• " Russell "saw the first disc ascend and pass over the train" and went "rushing in to get Mr. Efron (Ruben Efron, his interpreter) and Col. Hathaway (E.U. Hathaway, his aide) t o see it," the report said. "Col. Hathaway stated that he got only a short glimpse of the first. However, all three saw the second disc and all agreed that they saw t h e same round ••• disc-shaped object ••• as the first." The Air Force report wa s written by Lt. Col. Thomas Ryan, who interviewed Senator Russell's companions in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on October 13 after they arrived there from Russia shortly after the sighting. In his report, Col. Ryan called t he sightings "an eyewitness account of the ascent and flight of an unconventional aircraft ••• by three highly reliable United States observers." He added that Col. Hathaway led off his account of the sightings by sa-ying: "I doubt if your going to believe this, but we all saw it. Senator Russell was the first to see this flying object ••• we've been told for years that there isn , t such a thing but all of us saw it ••• " CIA documents show that the agency later interviewed the t hree eyswitne.sses in the Russell p arty --and slso a fourth person, unidentified in the reports, who had seen the UFOs. An eye-witness--whose name was blacked out on the CIA report prior to its decls.ssit"ication--said one oi' the UFOs "had s slight dome on top." The edge oi' t h e disc was glowing pinkish-white, be added. The UFO r o s e "vertically" with the glow moving slowly around the perimeter in a clockwise direction, giving the appearance of a pinwheel. Interpreter Ruben Et'ron t old the CIA that visibility was excellent. As one UFO approached the train, he said, "the object gave the impression of gliding. No noise was heard and no exhaust glow or trail was seen by me." After the encounter, Senator Russell told the men with him: ''We saw a flying disc. I wanted you boys to see it so that I would have witnesses," according to the CIA document s . And an FBI memo dated November 4, 1955, also discusses the sighting--and admitted Col. Hathaway's testimony "would support existence of a flying disc ••• " Dr. Maccabee of the Fund For UFO Research believes Senator Russell and his group never publicly revealed their incredible sightings "because they were no doubt advised not to talk. These documents provide startling new evidence that UFOs exist." PILOT SIGHTINGS 10/12/86--0VER GREENSBORO NORTH CAROLINA--: 0 PM: The pilot and co-pilot o an air ner wa che n a.mazemen as a arge e ta-shaped object, accompanied b y several small objects, flew under their plane at a very high rate of speed on the co-pilots side. The distance between the aircraft and the objects was l ess than 1500 feet. The objects were not picked up on r adar. PM: A bright silver oscillating sphere .:.w.:..a..;;.s.;...;;;o~s-e..;;r.;.;;v;;.;;e~~'Y~;;;,,;;.;;;.;e;;.p,;;;.;po1-o~;;.;:o:.;w,;;;;:.;a:......,;;e;..;:s;..;:s"'n~a-=-:;.:8 5 flying southbound. The sphere • estimated to be 16 feet in d iameter, flashed past the plane on the left side at a distance of 250 feet and a t a speed of about Soo knots. Both object and aircraft were at an altitude of 4000 feet. (4) 1/27/8 --THREE MILES NORTH OF RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA--: PM: The pilot of a essna , e s cen ng rom O, 00 eet o served a torpedo-shaped object about t h e size of his plane flash by on his left side at a distance of about .300 f eet. The entire instrument pane l went "flakey." A passenger also saw the object. Januar 198 --NEAR MINSK The crew and passengers o an Aero ot Sov e a r ner o serve a arge glowing object which suddenly directed a bright ray of light t o th e ground. All four crew members report ed tha t they could see distin ctly everything on the ground illuminated by the cone of li ght--the houses and the roads . Suddenly the cone of light focused on the airliner. Then the object moved toward the plane at a high rate of speed and positioned itself beside the aircraft at an altitude of 33,000 feet and accompanied it for the rest of the flight. AM: A "strange looking object, 11 ;;;i:;.:..~;.;...;;.-......;;;-.,;;~------..;;;.o.;;;;;.;..;;-.-....-,;;.~ .............. -... ............................. a an a t t size wide, approached a sm all aircraft at high speed. The pilot of the plane turned slightly left to avoid the object which passed on the right side. Then the pilot turned right t o follow the object. As the object came back into view it was approaching the plane again, circled the plane twice, then moved north and out of sight. /17/82--MEDITERRANEAN SEA at 200 meters shoo vio ent stre aked past the airliner. observ e d the object. 18/82--SIXTY MILES SOUTHWEST OF ALLENDALE SOUTH CAROLINA--1: A righ t s ver sc--a out 0 eet n iameter and one oot c --was observed approaching a corporate jet on collision course. Within a few seconds the disc passed the jet on the left side and was no more tha.n 25 feet oft' the left wing tip at the same altitude. The aircraft was at 6$00 feet. The pilot had 10 years rlying experience and the two corporate passengers were both former air force pilots • .....,._;:;m;.---._..,._.r-..-~;m;;.;;;--....-;.;.p.;m;;.;;;;....;;.;;.....;;;.p.;;.-.;.;~-..p;.;;;;;.;;--..-..p.o;.;.;---.,.-.. ...... ~.....-~.......-AM~: A private years a o t'ire moving i n a high speed "Tertical climb. Th e fireball vanished from sight in a few aeccn.Qs. On ~ebru.ar~ 2,st a similar fireball was reported in the same area b~ ~ilota of four airliners. It also moved straight up and out of sight. 2/' /~2--FORTY KILES ~EST OF CHARLESTON ~EST VIRGINIA--10: 0 PM: The pilot an d six ~assengers o a Cessna ~ing from Paduca , Kentucky to Charleston, ~est Virginia at 13,000 feet--observed a bright white light moving up-and-down like a yo-yo and me.king complete loops at high speed. The maneuvers continued for 10 minutes before the light vanished. 10/1/81--FOURTEEN MILES SOUTH OF SARANAC LAKE NEW YORK--7:48 PM: A Cheyenne aircraft flying from Burlington, Vermont to utica, New York at 16,000 feet flew past a st ationary bright orange rectangular light which the pilot had obaerved for about two minutes. Another plane flying from Albany, New York to Saranac Lake at 7000 feet reported a similar object south of the lake at 7: 55 PM. A DC-8 flying from Chicago to Burlington at 18,000 feet reported a bright amber-to-orange rectangular-shaped object with flashing lights while passing over Lake Placid, New York at 8:10 PM. Lake Placid is about eight miles east of Sarana c Lake. Four hours later a ground observer at Jay, New York-- a bou t 12 mile s northeast of Lake Placid--reported observing a rectangular-shaped object in a vertical ascent. The object stopped, then moved away in level flight at a high rate of speed and had many red and green flashing lights. A group of L-200 for more Las 6/27/81--THIRTY FIVE MILES NNW OF DUBU UE IOWA--8: The pilot of a Cessna 1 1 lying rom Farm ngton, M rme sota t o st. Missouri at 9000 feet observed a large silver disc pass about 500 feet above bis plane . He s a id the disc was moving so fast t hat it was impossible to estimate speed. Refer All Wi t nesses to the National UFO Reporting Center--1/20 6/722/3000 (5) 6/18/81--FIVE MILES SOUTH OF NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT--: 6 PM: While flying eas oun a ee e pi o an passenger o a ama a rcraft watched in amazement as an egg-shaped object--made of highly polished metal--passed off of their left side at a distance of about one-half mile at the same altitude. The pilot made a sharp turn to the left in a futile attempt to follow the object which appeared to be moving in excess of 300 knots. The object was estimated to be 15 to 20 feet in diameter and was visible for about 20 seconds. 6/6/81--NEAR KANSAS CITY MISSOURI--:0 PM: A black object like two soup wit in a wings length of a small Estimated to be about three feet in diameter plane, the object was headed due east and /21/81--1 0 MILES SOUTHWEST OF DOVE CREEK COLORAD0--8:10 PM: A large g owing o Ject, mov ng in e ve ght, was o served y the three man crew of a United Air Lines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Denver, Colorado. The object moved abeam of the airliner heading southwest at an estimated speed of 5000 mph. An American Airlines airliner located 40 miles behind the United flight reported the object and said it had reversed course and was heading northeast. / 0/81--20 MILES SOUTHWEST OF PHILADELPHIA The pi ot o a eac aircra t, f ying at 000 ee , reporte at s 2 o'clock position what looked like a "rocket ship." The object was climbing from the southeast to northwest, accelerating at extremely high speed with a long blue flame coming out the aft end. At 11:45 PM the pilot and first officer of a Flying Tiger airliner--flying 100 miles northwest of Sparta, Penn., at 37,000 feet and inbound to Kennedy International Airport--observed a bullet- she.ped object moving at about 1200 miles per hour. At the same time a United Air Lines DC-8 located 100 miles west of Sparta reported seeing a long glowing object streaking across the sky. The object was not tracked on radar. ii/ /80--NEAR OZONA TEXAS--6: 0 PM: A small aircraft had just ta.ken off and was a out 000 o t e groun when the pilot spotted a glowing object coming rrom the direction or Sonora at a ver y high rate or speed. It ~&s long in shape and pointed on both ends. About six miles out of Ozona the object seperated into two parts and the back section moved into a position directly under the rront section and the two objects passed the plane. They were both the Sli111e intensity of light. As the pilot watched the objects move over Ozona their glow disappeared. Instantly the airplane engine stopped and its lights went out. A few seconds later the glow around the objects reappeared. The plane's engine started by itself and its lights came on. Both objects then dropped to a lower altitude and moved away toward the Mexican border. Five additional witnesses on the ground also observed the objects. Later that same evening what could have been the same object was observed in the middle of U.S. Highway 87, southeast of Sterling, Texas and about 7$ miles north of Ozona. The object was on the highway and lunged upward to avoid being hit by a car occupied by two women. 9/27/80--NEAR POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA--3 PM: The pilot of a small airplane observed whit appeared to be two aircraft approaching head-on. As they neared his plane he could make out two objects shaped like hamburger buns which were moving side-by-side. 'When they got to within 200 feet of his aircraft they began to circle his plane without banking. The objects were yellow in color, about 10 feet in diameter, and remained about 200 feet distant. The two objects circled the small airplane about 50 times in five minutes, then broke away to the north. The objects were not detected by radar. ************************************** Phenomena Research was founded in 1955 under another name for the purpose of conducting a scientific study of the UFO phenomenon. The volume of evidence and information which has been analyzed to date indicates that intelligently controlled, structured wingless vehicles and devices are entering Earth's atmosphere and that they represent highly advanced civilizations and technologies whose ports of origin are on other planets in other solar systems. Some. of the reported UFOs are someone else's spacecraft. The National UFO Reporting Center is manned 24-hours every day so that any individual or agency wishing to report a UFO may do so without fear of . ridicule or unwanted publicity. The Phenomena Research Report is distributed without charge to cooperating individuals and agencies. Our addre~a is: P.O. Box 1807--Seattle, WA 98111. Phenomena Research is non-profit. (6) PHENOMENA RESEARCH P. o . Box 1807 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98111 i istration Federal Aviation Addm ~rters Alaskan Region Hea qu 7 01 c Street, Box 14 Anchorage, AK 99513 ~~Mutual UFO Network, Inc. WALTER H. ANDRUS, JR. International Director 103 OLDTOWNE ROAD SEGUIN, TEXAS 78155-4099 U.S.A. Telephone: (512) 379-9216 The Mutual UFO Network, Inc. is an international scientific organization composed of people seriously interested in studying and researching the phenomenon known as unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by combining their mutual talents, areas of expertise and investigative efforts. MUFON is the acronym for the Mutual UFO Network, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation, exempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501(c)(3) and a publicly supported organization of the type described in Section 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. MU FON firmly believes that a concentrated scientific study by dedicated investigators and researchers will provide the ultimate answer to the UFO enigma. Founded on May 31, 1969, MUFON's phenomenal success may be attributed to the "grass roots" nature of the organization where a majority of the leadership and motivation is achieved at the local level. In North America, a State or Provincial Director oversees the investigative activities of the Field Investigators through State Section Directors. An International Coordinator and seven Continental Coordinators work with the Foreign Representatives and National Directors in each country on the international scene. MUFON is Governed by a Board of Directors composed of 17 men and women and administered by an Executive Committee. MUFON's Board of Consultants, most whom are PhDs or MDs representing 45 areas of science, technology, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, theology, engineering, astronomy, communications, political science, photo analysis, etc., are readily available as an advisory group to apply their expertise to UFO cases under study and to conduct advanced research in their respective field. S tarting in 1970, MUFON has sponsored an Annual lnternationl UFO Symposium where world known scien- tists, engineers, university professors, and authors lecture on their particular specialization or contributions to resolving this perplexing scientific dilemma. To provide a permanent record of the presentations, the copyrighted sympos ium proceedings are published annually for worldwide distribution. In order that only qualified, competent and sincere people may become involved, membership in MUFON is by invitation only. Anyone interested in helping to resolve the UFO phenomenon is invited to join by submitting a membership application and appropriate dues for approval. Based upon their education and experience, members may serve in one or more of the following positions: Consultant, State or Provincial Director, State Section Direc- tor, Foreign Representative, Field Investigator, Research Specialist, Amateur Radio Operator, Astronomy, Field Investigator Trainee, Translator, UFO News Clipping Service, Contributing Subscriber, or Associate Member (under 18 years of age). Field Inv estigators are trained and high standards of professionalism are required by MUFON. As objective, scientific researchers, MUFON Field Investigators uphold the confidentiality of witnesses and case information. Investigators are volunteers who conduct research at their own expense, and attempt to document sighting infor- mation in a thorough and unbiased manner. The third edition of the copyrighted "MUFON Field Investigator's M anual; ' published in 1983, provides effective guidelines, techniques and suggestions to members conducting UFO sighting interviews and investigations. Amateur Radio Networks, operating weekly, are utilized to receive and disseminate UFO sighting reports and current UFO information. The exact date, time, and frequencies are published in the MUFON UFO JOURNAL. A master file, containing all submitted UFO sighting reports, arranged chronologically by state, province, and country, is maintained in the MUFON administrative offices. A twenty-page monthly magazine, the MUFON UFO JOURNAL is our most significant means of sharing details of UFO sighting reports and vital information related to the UFO phenomenon with our members throughout the world. A subscription to the Journal is included in the annual membership dues of $25.00 in the U.S.A. and $3 0 .00 in foreign countries in U.S. funds. Fo r further information about joining the world's largest UFO membership organization, please write to the address at the top of this page or contact your local MUFON representative. We invite you to join and be a part of the solution to the greatest mystery of the space age. ANCHORAGE Tl ttES -DATE;.,__ ___ --:------- . : . . The Russian bear AMID SOME indications that the United States and the Soviet Union may be nearing an agreement on the reduction of medium-range. missiles in Europe, let's not forget that Alaska still stands face-t~face with powerful Russian military forces.· Reminders are easy to come by, quite apart from just a simple look at the map. For those who doubt the potential threat, be ad- vised that it was just last week that the two Air Force F-15s from King Salmon in- tercepted and turned back two Soviet Bear-H bombers which had flown to within 190 miles of Adak. And it was nothing spe- cial. Intercepts of the Bear- H, a flying platform from which to launch cruise mis- siles, are not uncommon in the Aleutian area, Air Force spokesmen say. So far this year, Air Force fighters have intercepted 14 Soviet planes on approaches to the Alaska coast. Last year, there were 34 inter- 1 cepts. THIS SORT of activity demonstrates the high level of operational Soviet mili- tary missions in our part of the world. Such flights clearly are not isolated training mis- sions, although they cer- tainly fulfill such a function. Rather, it is safe to as-. sume that this sort of prob- ing at the defense perimiter of the United States -and Alaska -represents part of the day-to-day readiness ac- tivities by Soviet forces. And such flights provide continual proof that Amer- ica cannot lower its guard. The ·Russian bear is just over the horiwn. And in the sky, as well, on the Alaskan frontier. . ·. · .. · . ... . . - .. ,:· .. . •.· .... .. .. .. ·.; · . . . ~ \ .· : ... ·· : .· ... .. Flash seen in t he sky was Soviet rocket fuel By David &boup 11mel Wrtler I A month ago, dozens of North- west Alaska villagers reported seeing a bright flash in the· sky. Some · reported the flash as a UFO. It wasn't. Instead, what the villagers saw was the dumping of fuel from the tanks of a new-genera- tion Soviet rocket launched from Tyuratam, the Soviet central Asian space center, according to I a prominent scientist. James Oberg, a flight control- ler for Rockwell Shuttle Opera- tions, on contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration's Shuttle Program, said Saturday the flash ~n from Elim, Gambell, Savoonga and several other places in .Alaska was caused by the launch t>f Cosmos 1833. Oberg is a promi- nent author of several books on Soviet space technology. See Rocket, page A-5 '· .. ·: . • I , • Rocket: Alaska flash came from laUnch of Soviet spy satellite can't see traces of Soviet rocket launches because their trajecto- ries take them. too far from the Alaska coast and too low in the sky to be detected. But this launch was different. Continued from page A-1 "It (Cosmos 1833) was a bout D> miles up when you (Alas- kans) saw it," he said in a tele- phone interview from his home near Houston. The villagers reported sight- ing some kind of space vehicle , described by many as a UFO within a glowing cloud. ·~It was a fuel cloud," said Oberg. Such clouds are created when rocket fuel is purged from tanks in flight. 91>erg said Alas~ typically ' For one thing, he said, the March 17 launch utilized the So- viet SL-16, a newly designed Rus- sian booster rocket which is very large and has been used only a handful of times. For a nother, Cosmos 1833 was pushing a Soviet spy satellite into a hi gher- than-normal orbit - a bout 600 miles up, he said. So when the fu e l was jettisoned • Oberg said Alaskans typically can't see traces of Soviet rocket launches be- cause their trajectories take them too far from the Alaska coast. from the rocket's tanks, a nor- mal fire-prevention procedure, it was at an altitude of about 200 miles, high enough in the sky to be s een from Alaska. "With this new kind of rocket and higher altitudes, you're likely to see quite a few of the se in the future," he said. Oberg first heard about the mysterious flash in the sky in a letter from Dave Cartier, a resi- dent of Pilot Sta tion, a Yukon River vill age near St. Marys. Cartier, who saw the glowing cloud that night, had written t:o "Skeptical Inquirer," a Buffalo, N.Y., quarterly that ca rries .arti- cles on such things as UFO s1~t­ ings, and the maga zine editor forwarded the letter to Oberg. On . his own time, much Of which is devoted to investigating Soviet . space attempts, Oberg discovered Cosmos 1833 ha d been launched from Tyuratam a t pre- cisely the right time to create the brilliant flash. "It's .a pretty standard phe- nom enon," he said, noting that fu el cJouds f~o111 Soviet rockets ~~? ~potted seve~ times a year sa. outh Amenca. In fact he •d, Australians have gro~ ac- ~ustomect to seeing fuel clouds hr om American rockets, which t av~ , been passing near Aus- raha. s c~~tline since the 1960s. b .T~is. 1sn t the first time a h ng t hght in th~ northern sky r~~k~n 1 attributed to Russian . l)' · . n October 198.5, a So- ~~~ misslle falling out of low r It created a bright white light over ~outhcentral Alaska that was ~idely described as a UFO fi ~til the U.S. Air Force identi- e It. J·, _