Physical Analyses in Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples 1550 California St. #6L, San Francisco, CA 94109 Abstract A survey of ten cases of unexplained aerial phenomena accom- panied by material residues shows a broad distribution of natural elements, many of which are metallic in nature. They can be roughly described as be- longing in two categories: light materials of high conductivity such as alu- minum, and slag-like materials reminiscent of industrial byproducts. Most of the cases under consideration strive to meet four criteria: 1) the literature gives sufficient ground to support the fact that an unusual aerial phenomenon occurred, 2) the circumstances of the actual recovery of the specimen are re- ported, 3) there is data to suggest that the specimen is in fact linked to the ob- served aerial object, and 4) physical analysis has been performed by a compe- tent laboratory of known reliability. In several instances the sample is available for continuing study by independent scientists. In the absence of a firm chain of evidence and of professional field investigation, most cases cannot lead to a definite conclusion about the nature of the phenomena that gave rise to each specimen, but much can be learned from the methodology involved in such analysis. Furthermore, compilation of similar cases on an expanded basis may eventually lead to the discovery of underlying patterns. Keywords: UFOs UFO sightings physical evidence propulsion Introduction The combination of a reliable sighting of an unexplained aerial object with the recovery of a durable physical specimen is rare. While the media often allude to sensational finds and at least one former military intelligence officer has stated that he once had custody of advanced technology coming from a crash, (Corso, 1997) the material is not available for independent study and the details of its composition are scanty and contradictory. At a more modest level, in the course of their investigations of the phenom- enon around the world, civilian researchers acting privately have patiently as- sembled the embryo of a sample collection, starting from physical specimens reportedly gathered at the site of a close encounter or maneuver type sight- The present paper summarizes the data, stressing methodology while re- fraining from proposing premature explanations for the origin of the samples. We strived to find those cases where 1) the literature gives sufficient ground to Journal of Scientic Exploration, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 359375, 19980892-3310/98 1998 Society for Scientic Exploration Presented at the Physical Evidence Related to UFO Reports Workshop, Tarrytown, New York, Sept. 360J. Vallee support the fact that an unusual aerial phenomenon occurred, 2) the circum- stances of the actual recovery of the specimen are reported, 3) there is data to suggest that the specimen is in fact linked to the observed aerial object, and 4) physical analysis has been performed by a competent laboratory of known reli- ability. In several cases the sample is available for continuing study by inde- pendent scientists. In the present paper we will try to establish t he frequency of such cases and the type of analysis t hey suggest. In conclusion we will exam- ine hypotheses that may deserve further testing. Statistical Frequency of Physical Sample Cases In an excellent catalogue compiled by Mr. Larry Hatch and made available to researchers and to the general public one finds 15,181 unexplained aerial phenomena reports that have been tabulated in computer-readable form. We have broken down these cases according to the classification system used by this author (Vallee, 1990) in order to bring out the distribution of incidents across various situations. Under t his classification, inspired from Hyneks def- inition of close encounters (Hynek, 1972), each case is given a type and a cate- gory. Hynek used a single digit representing the kind or type of incident, ranging from 1 for a simple sighting and 2 for physical effects to 3 for re- port of a lifeform or living entity. We have extended this typology using 4 in cases when witnesses experienced a transformation of their sense of reality (often corresponding to the popular characterization of the incident as an ab - duction) and 5 in cases of lasting physiological impact, such as serious i n- jury or death. The categories to which the typology is applied range from CE for close encounters and MA for maneuvers (trajectory discontinuity) to FB for fly- by (no observed discontinuity in flight) and AN for simple anomalies in which no UFO was reported: unusual lights or unexplained entities fall into this last category. Using this classication we would speak of a particular case as a CE-3 inci- dent, or a MA-2 incident,etc.,leading to the simple matrix of Table 1, which provides a convenient way for establishing a baseline in comparing reports from various countries or from various epochs. When the Hatch catalogue is mapped into this classification the resulting distribution is that of Table 2, showing 3,175 cases of physical effects, or 21% The author is especially indebted to Dr. Peter Sturrock, Dr. Harold Puthoff, Dr. Robert Wood, Mr. Il- lobrand von Ludwiger and Mr. John Schuessler for help in analyzing materials or in communicating de- tails of their own findings on various sam ples mentioned in this article. We owe recognition to pioneers of this research, such as Dr. Olavo Fonts in Brazil and Jim and Coral Lorenzen in the U.S. Assistance from Messrs. Robert Allen, Ricardo Vilchez, Richard Masilko and Mark Uriarte in securing access to various specimens is gratefully acknowledged. Several correspondents, notably Robert Kincheloe, Pierre Lagrange, James McCam pbell, and Joe Roser, have called the authors attention to important doc- uments and research ideas. Larry Hatchs computer catalogue is available from him in diskette format under the DOS operating system running on standard IBM-compatible PCs. His address is 142 Jeter street, Redwood City, Califor- of the catalogue, broken down as follows: 90 are associated with simple anom- alies, 19 with a fly-by, 1,782 with maneuvers and 1,284 with close encounters. It should be noted that we are using the January 1997 version of the Hatch cat- alogue, which is an evolving entity. Statistics performed on other versions may differ from those given here. In Table 2, physical effects may refer to soil disturbances, broken tree limbs, crushed grass, burned areas, or to a variety of electromagnetic effects. Physical Analyses of UFO-Related Samples361 Incident Frequency in the Hatch Catalogue CategorySightingPhysicalLifeformRealityPhysiological EffectTransformationEffect Classication of Anomalies 362J. Vallee The Alleged Crash at Aurora (Texas): April 17, 1897. In order to provide some background to the analysis that follows, it is inter- esting to note that allegations of extraterrestrial crashes are nothing new and did not even begin in the present century. In the course of a survey of early aerial phenomena in the United States, Donald Hanlon and the author found numerous reports of sightings in the peri- od 1896-1897, which has become known in the literature as the airship wave. (Hanlon & Vallee, 1967) One of the most remarkable cases had been reported on April 17, 1897 in the small town of Aurora (Texas). The story, as told in a local newspaper, stated that an unidentified object sailed over the public square and when it reached the north part of town collided with the tower of Judge Proctors windmill and went to pieces with a terrific explosion, scattering debris over several acres. Although Hanlon and this author regarded the story as an instance of early Americana and a probable hoax (in a context remarkably similar to that of Roswell, the press went on to state that the pilot of the ship, who was not an inhabitant of this world, had died in the accident and t hat undecipherable pa- pers were found on his person), our article re-awakened interest in the case. It was investigated again in 1973 by William Case, a journalist with the Dallas Time-Herald, and by personnel from the McDonnell Douglas aircraft compa- ny. While the 1897 story reported that the airship was built of an unknown metal resembling somewhat a mixture of aluminum and silver, the fragment found by Case and his co-workers was determined to consist of aluminum (83%) and zinc (about 16%) with possible traces of manganese and co pper. The combination could originate with numerous common aluminum alloys, according to the McDonnell scientists, but not prior to 1908. While we cite this case for completeness, it is not included in the overall Case Studies The cases that follow have been extracted from the small subset of physical effects cases where recovery of a material specimen was achieved under con- ditions that are of sufficient reliability to warrant serious follow-up. One case (the Council Bluffs incident of December 17, 1977) will be described in detail. Other incidents drawn from the literature and listed in chronological order will provide the relevant backdrop. Case no. 1 : 1933 or 1934. Ubatuba, near Sao Paulo (Brazil) Classication: This incident came to light in 1957 through the efforts of Dr. Olavo Fonts Holliday, J. E.: McDonnell report on the Aurora case, unpublished, 13 August 1973. The on-site in- vestigators were Ronald A. and N. Joseph Gurney (12 May 1973). of Brazil and Jim and Coral Lorenzen, t he founders of the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, a now-defunct civilian research group in the U. S. Wit- nesses on the beach at Ubatuba are said to have reported seeing a disk that plunged toward the ocean at high speed, rose again to about 100 feet and ex- ploded, showering the area with bright metallic fragments, some of which fell into shallow water. A few of the fragments were recovered and analyzed in Brazil by Dr. Luisa Barbosa at a laboratory specialized in mineral production studies. Dr. Barbosa identified the major component of the specimen as highly pure magnesium, more pure than commercially produced magnesium but pos- sibly not as pure as multiply sublimed magnesium. Subsequent work under the direction of Prof. Peter Sturrock has been con- ducted at Stanford University and at various laboratories in France, including Orsay University, confirming that the material was magnesium and magne- sium oxide, with a very minute amount of impurities, primarily aluminum, calcium and iron. Analysis of this sam ple is still ongoing, with an effort to measure isotopic ratios t hat might help establish the origin of the material. (Lorin & Havette, 1986). The actual date of this event, often wrongly quoted in the literature as 1957, is actually im precise. Dr. Pierre Kaufmann of Sao Paulo believes the original incident took place in 1933 or 1934 when a bolide indeed passed over Ubatuba and crashed at a nearby beach. The only aerial event to occur at or near Ubatu- ba in 1957 was t he crash of a DC-3. Case no. 2: June 21, 1947. Maury Island (Washington) Classication: MA-2 On the afternoon of June 21, 1947 (three days before the Kenneth Arnold case) four people who were on a boat close to the shore of Maury Island near Tacoma, Washington, reported an observation which has puzzled and divided researchers ever since. According to the published story the witnesses were Mr. Harold Dahl (a salvage operator), his fifteen-year old son and two crewmen. They had a dog with them. They reported seeing a group of six large, flat doughnut-shaped objects flying at an estimated altitude of 2,000 feet. Their central holes were about 25 feet in diameter and they glistened with a gold-sil- very color. One object suddenly started wobbling and dropped to an altitude of 500 feet above the boat. One of the disks came down (as if to help the one in difficulty, according to Dahl). A dull explosion was heard and numerous sheets of light, thin metal issued from the central opening in the troubled ob- ject. At the same time, the witnesses were showered with hot, dark fragments that resembled lava rock or slag compared to brass in color. The dog was re- portedly hit by one of the fragments and died. A man named Fred Crisman, to whom t he incident was reported, allegedly Physical Analyses of UFO-Related Samples363 Sturrock, Peter A.: Brazil Magnesium Study, paper presented at the Third Annual Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration, Princeton (New Jersey). Sturrock, Peter A. Material Isotopic Analysis, presentation at this conference. 364J. Vallee went to the shore and found it littered with a glassy material and silver foil. Military authorities and the FBI, in a very confused series of investigations, at- tributed the case to a hoax: analysis of the fragments shows them to be from a Tacoma slag mill. To this authors knowledge, however, the composition of the original sam ples, assuming that they were in fact studied by the FBI, was never released. In a book he co-authored with Kenneth Arnold (whose own classic observa- tion took place three days later, on June 24, 1947) popular writer Ray Palmer published an analysis of the original fragments, whose primary constituents were calcium, iron, zinc and titanium. Also found were aluminum, manganese, copper, magnesium and silicon, nickel, lead, strontium and chromium. Traces of silver, tin and cadmium were also reported. Those investigators who regard the case as a hoax base t heir opinion on the fact that it was Crisman who initially sent the samples to Ray Palmer, linking them to alleged experiences involving the Shaver Mystery, a science-fiction tale of underground beings. In their opinion it is only after the Kenneth Arnold observation had been published that the story was changed to involve the al- leged UFO incident. For the purpose of this discussion we will keep this weak case in the present list, but it is clear that no firm conclusion can be drawn from the reported facts. As Ray Palmer commented: There we have it. The samples first sent by Crisman and Dahl were not slag nor were they natural rock. What were they ? Case no. 3: 1952. Washington (DC) Classication: MA-2 According to journalist Frank Edwards a metallic fragment coming from an object that fell in 1952 was examined a few years later by a Canadian re- searcher, Mr. Wilbert Smith. The fragment had been sawed off from the recov- ered sample, representing about one third of its volume. Over one inch in size, it was remarkably hard and reportedly consisted of a matrix of magnesium or- thosilicate composed of particles of 15 microns. (Edwards, 1996) Inter- viewed by two civilian researchers, Messrs. C.W. Fitch of Cleveland (Ohio) and George Popovitch of Akron (Ohio), Smith stated that a Navy pilot had been chasing a flying disk when he saw a bright scintillating fragment detach itself and fall to the ground. It was recovered an hour later and weighed in at 250 grams. Smith reportedly showed the sam ple to Admiral Knowles. Unfor- tunately there is no report of an independent analysis in the literature, and t he sample is not available for further study. FBI teletype message dated August 5, 1947, on file. The Maury island case is mentioned in many books and magazines, notably in Ronald Story: The Encyclopedia of UFOs(Garden City, NY: Double- day, 1980). Details can be found in Fate Magazineno. 1, Spring 1948, p.31 and in the book by Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, The Coming of the Saucers, pp.106-108. Case no. 4: December 14, 1954. Campinas (Brazil) - Classication: MA-2 According to American journalist Frank Edwards (Edward, 1996) numerous witnesses in Campinas observed three disk-shaped objects in flight over the city. Again, one of them started wobbling wildly and lost altitude. The other objects followed it down and it stabilized at an altitude of about 300 feet. At that point the troubled disk emitted a thin stream of silvery liquid. The materi- al was reported to splatter over a wide area including roofs, streets, sidewalks, even clothes left outside to dry. An analysis by an unnamed Brazilian govern- ment laboratory is said to have identified tin (Sn) as the main component of the collected samples. An independent analysis by a private chemist, Dr. Risvaldo Maffei, reported that 10% of the material was composed of other substances than tin, but gave no precise measurements. Case no. 5: November 11, 1956. Vdd island, Sweden Classication: CE-2 Prof. Sturrock has custody of a sample reportedly recovered by two witness- es of an aerial phenomenon (one of whom has since died). Although the mate- rial appears to be common tungsten-carbide, the original shape of the speci- men was unusual and it has n ot been identified as an object ser ving a conventional use. According to a summary of the case com piled by von Ludwiger witnesses, Stig Ekberg and Harry Sjberg were building a house on the island of Vdd, about 90 km NNW of Stockholm. At about 10 p.m. Ekberg was dri- ving his Ford V8 pickup when they saw a bright flying object with the shape of a flattened sphere 8 m. wide and 3 m. high approaching from the right (from the east) against the clear night sky. They estimated that it flew about 1 km in front of them at an altitude of 100 meters. Suddenly it made a sharp turn towards them, at which time the truck engine sputtered and died and the headlights went out. The object started slowly gliding down. It seemed to rock back and forth until it came to a stop in the middle of the road, about 100 m. in front of them, one meter above the ground. It was illuminating the surrounding landscape with such a tremendous amount of light that even a barn, half a kilo- meter away, was visible as if t he sun was shining. The air smelled like ozone and smoldering insulation. After about 10 minutes t he light of the object intensified, it lifted off the ground, moved to the left and up, made a sudden turn and accelerated away in the direction from which it came. At that point Ekberg was able to restart the truck normally, and the headlights came back on. Obser ving that the grass at the landing site had been flattened, they investigated further and found a shiny rock that was hot to the touch. It was a t hree-sided piece of metal about the size of a matchbox, and had a heavy weight. After several unsuccessful attem pts to have the sample studied, it was taken Physical Analyses of UFO-Related Samples365 Von Ludwiger, I. Investigating a Mystery(unpublished book manuscript). Personal communication, courtesy of the National Institute for Discovery Science. 366J. Vallee to the SAAB airline manufacturing company where Mr. Sven Schalin con- ducted a thorough analysis. Ot her tests were later run in laboratories in Swe- den, Denmark and Germany. The general conclusion was t hat the object was composed of tungsten carbide and cobalt, consistent with manufactured prod- ucts. According to von Ludwiger, all industrial countries have companies which produce such hard metals, and the manufacturing technology is in prin- ciple the same ... The overall qu