The following report – titled “Research Findings on the Chihuahua Disk Crash, originally from ‘JS’ to ‘Deneb Team Members'” and dated March 23, 1992 – was mailed anonymously to the late UFO researcher Elaine Douglass in July 1993. She forwarded the report to crashed UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield, who later published it. It tells a fascinating story of a crashed UFO, mysterious deaths, a huge conspiracy, and much more. But, is the story true? As we try and find the answer, let’s begin with the report itself, which I have presented, below, without interruption:

“On 25 Aug. 74, at 2207 hrs., U.S. Air Defense radar detected an unknown approaching U.S. airspace from the Gulf of Mexico. Originally the object was tracked at 2,200 knots (2530 mph) on a bearing of 325 degrees and at an altitude of 75,000 feet, a course that would intercept U.S. territory about forty miles southwest of Corpus Christi, Texas. After approximately sixty seconds of observation, at a position 155 miles southeast of Corpus Christi, the object simultaneously decelerated to approximately 1700 knots (1955 mph), turned to a heading of 290 degrees, and began a slow descent. It entered Mexican airspace approximately forty miles south of Brownsville, Texas. Radar tracked it approximately 500 miles to a point near the town of Coyame, in the state of Chihuahua, not far from the U.S. border. There the object suddenly disappeared from the radar screens.

“During the flight over Mexican airspace, the object leveled off at 45,000 feet, then descended to 20,000 feet. The descent was in level steps, not a smooth curve or straight line, and each level was maintained for approximately five minutes. The object was tracked by two different military radar installations. It would have been within range of Brownsville civilian radar, but it is assumed that no civilian radar detected the object due to a lack of any such reports. The point of disappearance from the radar screens was over a barren and sparsely populated area of Northern Mexico. At first it was assumed that the object had descended below the radar’s horizon and a watch was kept for any re-emergence of the object. None occurred.

“At first it was assumed that the object might be a meteor because of the high speed and descending flight path. But meteors normally travel at higher speeds, and descend in a smooth arc, not in ‘steps.’ And meteors do not normally make a thirty-five degree change in course. Shortly after detection, an air defense alert was called. However, before any form of interception could be scrambled, the object turned to a course that would not immediately take it over U.S. territory. The alert was called off within twenty minutes after the object’s disappearance from the radar screen. Fifty-two minutes after the disappearance, civilian radio traffic indicated that a civilian aircraft had gone down in that area. But it was clear that the missing aircraft had departed El Paso International with a destination of Mexico City, and could not, therefore, have been the object tracked over the Gulf of Mexico. It was noted, however, that they both disappeared in the same area and at the same time.

“With daylight the next day, Mexican authorities began a search for the missing plane. Approximately 1035 hrs there came a radio report that wreckage from the missing plane had been spotted from the air. Almost immediately came a report of a second plane on the ground a few miles from the first. A few minutes later an additional report stated that the second “plane” was circular shaped and apparently in one piece although damaged. A few minutes after that the Mexican military clamped a radio silence on all search efforts.

“The radio interceptions were reported through channels to the CIA. Possibly as many as two additional government agencies also received reports, but such has not been confirmed as of this date. The CIA immediately began forming a recovery team. The speed with which this team and its equipment was assembled suggests that this was either a well-rehearsed exercise or one that had been performed prior to the event. In the meantime requests were initiated at the highest levels between the United States and Mexican governments that the U.S. recovery team be allowed onto Mexican territory to “assist.” These requests were met with professed ignorance and a flat refusal of any cooperation. By 2100 hrs, 26 Aug. 74, the recovery team had assembled and been staged at Fort Bliss. Several helicopters were flown in from some unknown source and assembled in a secured area.

UH1 Huey

“These helicopters were painted a neutral sand color and bore no markings. Eyewitness indicates that there were three smaller craft, very possibly UH1 Hueys from the description. There was also a larger helicopter, possibly a Sea Stallion. Personnel from this team remained with their craft and had no contact with other Fort Bliss personnel.

“Satellite and reconnaissance aircraft overflight that day indicated that both the crashed disk and the civilian aircraft had been removed from the crash sites and loaded on flat-bed trucks. Later flights confirmed that the convoy had departed the area heading south. At that point the CIA had to make a choice, either to allow this unknown aircraft to stay in the hands of the Mexican government, or to launch the recovery team, supplemented by any required military support, to take the craft. There occurred, however, an event that took the choice out of their hands. High altitude overflights indicated that the convoy had stopped before reaching any inhabited areas or major roads. Recon showed no activity, and radio contact between the Mexican recovery team and its headquarters ceased. A low altitude, high speed overflight was ordered.

“The photos returned by that aircraft showed all trucks and jeeps stopped, some with open doors, and two human bodies lying on the ground beside two vehicles. The decision was immediately made to launch the recovery team but the actual launching was held up for the arrival of additional equipment and two additional personnel. It was not until 1438 hrs. that the helicopters departed Fort Bliss. The four helicopters followed the border down towards Presidio then turned and entered Mexican airspace north of Candelaria. They were over the convoy site at 1653 hrs. All convoy personnel were dead, most within the trucks. Some recovery team members, dressed in bio-protection suits, reconfigured the straps holding the object on the flatbed truck, then attached them to a cargo cable from the Sea Stallion. By 1714 hrs the recovered object was on its way to U.S. territory. Before leaving the convoy site, members of the recovery team gathered together the Mexican vehicles and bodies, then destroyed all with high explosives. This included the pieces of the civilian light plane which had been involved in the mid-air collision. At 1746 hrs the Huey’s departed.

“The Hueys caught up with the Sea Stallion as it re-entered U.S. airspace. The recovery team then proceeded to a point in the Davis Mountains, approximately twenty-five miles north east of Valentine. There they landed and waited until 0225 hrs. the next morning. At that time they resumed the flight and rendezvoused with a small convoy on a road between Van Horn and Kent. The recovered disk was transferred to a truck large enough to handle it and capable of being sealed totally. Some of the personnel from the Hueys transferred to the convoy.

All helicopters then returned to their original bases for decontamination procedures. The convoy continued non-stop, using back roads and smaller highways, and staying away from cities. The destination of the convoy reportedly was Atlanta, Georgia. Here the hard evidence thins out. One unconfirmed report says the disk was eventually transferred to Wright-Patterson A.F. Base. Another says that the disk was either transferred after that to another unnamed base, or was taken directly to this unknown base directly from Atlanta. The best description of the disk was that it was sixteen feet, five inches in diameter, convex on both upper and lower surfaces to the same degree, possessing no visible doors or windows. The thickness was slightly less than five feet. The color was silver, much like polished steel. There was no visible lights nor any propulsion means. There were no markings.

“There were two areas of the rim that showed damage, one showing an irregular hole approximately twelve inches in diameter with indented material around it. The other damage was described as a ‘dent’ about two feet wide. The weight of the object was estimated as approximately one thousand five hundred pounds, based on the effect of the weight on the carrying helicopter and those who transferred it to the truck. There was no indication in the documentation available as to whether anything was visible in the ‘hole.’

“It seems likely that the damage with the hole was caused by the collision with the civilian aircraft. That collision occurred while the object was traveling approximately 1700 knots (1955 mph). Even ignoring the speed of the civilian aircraft, the impact would have been considerable at that speed. This is in agreement with the description of the civilian aircraft as being “almost totally destroyed.” What was being taken from the crash site were pieces of the civilian aircraft. The second damage may have resulted when the object impacted with the ground. The speed in that case should have been considerably less than that of the first impact.

“No mention is made of the occupants of the civilian aircraft. It is not known if anybody or bodies were recovered. Considering the destruction of the civilian light aircraft in mid-air, bodies may well not have come down near the larger pieces.

“Unfortunately, what caused the deaths of the Mexican recovery team is not known. Speculation ranges from a chemical released from the disk as a result of the damage, to a microbiological agent. There are no indications of death or illness by any of the [U.S.] recovery team. It would not have been illogical for the recovery team to have taken one of the bodies back with them for analysis. But there is no indication of that having happened. Perhaps they did not have adequate means of transporting what might have been a biologically contaminated body. Inquiries to the FAA reveal no documents concerning the civilian aircraft crash, probably because it did not involve a U.S. aircraft nor did it occur over U.S. airspace. It should be noted that the above facts do not tell the complete story. Nothing is known of the analysis of the craft or its contents. Nothing is known about the deaths associated with the foreign recovery team. Nor is it known if this craft was manned or not.

“Other questions also remain, such as why would a recovered disk be taken to Atlanta? And where did the disk come from? It was first detected approximately 200 miles from U.S territory, yet U.S. air defenses extend to a much greater distance than that. If the object descended into the atmosphere, perhaps NORAD space tracking has some record of the object. Alternate possibility is that it entered the Gulf of Mexico under radar limits then “jumped” up to 75,000 feet. Considering prior behavior exhibited by disks of this size, it is probable that the entry was from orbital altitude. The facts that are known have been gathered from two eye witness accounts, documentation illegally copied, and a partially destroyed document. This was done in 1978 by a person who is now dead. Only in February of this year did the notes and documents come into the hands of our group.”

Well, that’s quite a story. It’s also quite familiar. In the world of fiction, a very similar scenario was played out in Michael Crichton’s novel and movie, The Andromeda Strain.

The book was published in 1969 and the movie was released in 1971. A TV mini-series followed in 2008. In the story a satellite of the U.S. military crashes to Earth in a small, isolated town in Arizona. Unknown to anyone, the satellite has brought back on its shell a deadly virus of unearthly origins. That only becomes clear when people start to die, their blood turned to powder. Suddenly, the race is on to find a cure to prevent the virus from wiping out not just the people of the little town, or even of just Arizona – but the entire world. Crichton’s story is indeed a cautionary one and which shows just how quickly the human race might come to a crashing end when faced with something so unpredictable and poorly understood as an alien virus.

Read the novel, or watch the movie, and you’ll see undeniable parallels between both of them and the alleged 1974 events described above. In their 2007 book, Mexico’s Roswell: The Chihuahua UFO Crash</em>, authors Noe Torres and Ruben Uriarte suggest across approximately 200-pages that the event was real. Maybe it was. But, consider this: the alleged UFO is said to have vanished off the radar screens near the Mexican village of Coyame. The village just happens to be less than a 2-hour drive from the Texas town of Shafter, where portions of The Andromeda Strain were filmed…

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If you want to remember what’s inside of a box, you write a list of the contents on the outside. This comes in handy when looking for stuff in the attic, frozen food in the freezer and remains of religious leaders. Wait, what?

“The monks Yunjiang and Zhiming of the Lotus School, who belonged to the Mañjuśrī Temple of the Longxing Monastery in Jingzhou Prefecture, gathered more than 2,000 pieces of śarīra, as well as the Buddha’s teeth and bones, and buried them in the Mañjuśrī Hall of this temple.”

The “śarīra” are the cremated ashes of the Buddha, so this message found on a box in 2012 by locals in Gongchi Village, Jingchuan County, China, is describing an effort by two monks to preserve them, along with 260 Buddhist statues buried in the same location. The full excavation was led by Hong Wu, a research fellow at the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who published two articles about the discovery in the journal Chinese Cultural Relics. The articles were revealed this week by LiveScience. (pictures on the Chinese Cultural Relics Facebook page)

Are these the actual ashes of Gautama Buddha? What little is known about the death of the 80-year-old Buddha sometime around 483 BCE is that his cremated remains were divided among the 8 royal families and eventually divided into smaller portions and distributed to 84,000 stupas (shrines). A container of alleged ashes and a skull fragment were found last year and identified, in a similar manner to the recent discovery, by a note on the vessel. That may be enough evidence for religious leaders and true believers, but it’s not solid proof for archeologists

Unfortunately, the newest find doesn’t have much either besides the writing on the box. There’s no way to do a DNA test on the ashes nor the teeth and bone fragments found with them. The 260 statues of Buddha and others were no help. Ranging in size from 13 inches to 6.5 feet (2 meters) in height, only one had writing on it and the date May 26, 571. It’s not certain if the statues were buried at the same time the box was interred by the monks. The report also revealed that other artifacts found at the site may be pieces of the lost Mañjuśrī Hall temple.

Other than the note on the box, there appears to be no other historical evidence of the existence of the monks, Yunjiang and Zhiming, or their quest to collect all things Buddha, including his remains. There’s also no way to positively identify the ashes or bones. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting find and worthy of additional study.

And a good example of the importance of labeling.

A bold project in Mexico has brought archaeologists, biologists, underwater photographers and cave divers to the Yucatán Peninsula to study the network of sinkholes known as cenotes that make up the Mayan Aquifer. These natural openings formed by the collapse of the underlying limestone bedrock led the ancient Mayans to what became their primary sources of water, since the peninsula has few lakes and rivers.

As a result, it’s no surprise that they were used for sacred ceremonies and sacrificial offerings and became starting points for the building of temples. A cenote was detected in 2015 underneath the El Castillo (The Castle) pyramid, also known as the Temple of Kukulkán at the Chichen Itzá archeological site using the round-penetrating electrical resistance survey technique. Those 3-D images and further underground exploration led the Great Mayan Aquifer (GAM) team to a never-before-seen blocked passageway from the Chichén Itzá ossuary (bone vault) to the Kukulkán temple … a passageway they believe was sealed by the ancient Mayans and has never been opened.

“We will enter again and, this time, we will try to open it to see if the passageway leads us to the entrance of the cenote beneath the Castle.”

El Universal reports that team leader Guillermo de Anda is ready to break the seal and open the passageway to the temple’s cenote, despite the legends that these sinkholes were gateways to the underworld of the afterlife and the fact that these were places where human sacrifices were made to the rain god Chaac – the GAM team has already found hundreds of human bones in the Sacred Cenote (Well of Sacrifice) at Chichén Itzá.

The underworld of Chichén Itzá is not the only area that’s well-protected by both ancient seals and the government. A tourist recently got into trouble for shooting some fantastic photos of the pyramid using a drone without permission and outside normal hours. While some archeologists and protectors of the site would prefer to send a message by tossing the drone (but not the owner – they not barbarians) into the Sacred Cenote, he’ll probably end up getting a 10,227 pesos ($536) fine.

A cenote near Chichén Itzá (not sacrificial)

While the Great Mayan Aquifer team has all of the proper paperwork to break into the passageway to avoid a fine, will they find something far more painful or terrifying?

Less often, there are reported incidents involving witnesses from multiple sources, such as commercial airliners, military aircraft, and even involvement by the likes of NORAD. Add to the mix the fact that the observed “mystery aircraft” in question has no active transponder, and couldn’t be detected on radar, and you have a genuine mystery.

This rare criteria for a “good” unidentified aircraft report is precisely what has surfaced, in relation to an incident that occurred back in October over the California/Oregon border. The story, which first appeared on Reddit, might have been dismissed as largely speculative or hearsay, had it not been for the fact that Tyler Rogoway, writer for The Drive, had heard about the incident previously from associates of his in the aviation industry; obviously, the story had already created a buzz, and rather than just appearing on an unsubstantiated Reddit thread, it seemed the existing talk over the incident was leaking there, too.

The story, according to the initial Reddit thread, goes like this:

“Just landed in Seattle coming from the bay area. Beginning over Southern Oregon we kept overhearing Seattle Center attempting to track an airplane with no transponder who wasn’t talking. A handful of crews were able to track it visually, best they could tell it was between FL350-370 [35,000-37,000 feet], northbound. Nobody close enough to see the type.

Last we heard it was over the Willamette valley northbound and some fighters, perhaps out of PDX [Portland International Airport], were scrambled to go take a peek. Center had trouble tracking it on primary radar.

Strange! My theory is they were running drugs to Canada. No news yet, not that I could find.

**Update 0500z. Called SEA ARTCC. The gentleman I spoke with said that they initially got alerted to the aircraft from Oakland Center who was painting it on primary [illuminating it with radar, but without transponder information]. For whatever reason they couldn’t track it themselves on primary, and that’s when I overheard them using airline aircraft to track it visually. The last airplane to see it had to descend into Portland and lost sight of it. The fighters were scrambled out of PDX but flew around for a while and did not find it. And that’s that.”

The report above gives few details about the aircraft itself, and due to the fact that craft was unresponsive via radio and radar systems, the pilots had been communicating with the pilots and crew of other commercial aircraft in the vicinity to try and obtain visual confirmation.

Few details about its appearance were related, apart from the fact that it was a “white airplane,” and appeared to be flying the same speed, or slightly faster, than other aircraft in the vicinity. However, one description of the aircraft’s flight behavior did describe a sharp turn that it made, which seemed to be outside the range of maneuverability of conventional aircraft. If true, this detail might support the notion of it having a military origin.

Recordings of the communication between commercial aircraft in the area and Seattle ATC has been made available here, which detail the confused pilots as they attempted to track the mystery aircraft.

Tyler Rogoway contacted the 142nd Fighter Wing based at Portland International Airport, the FAA, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on behalf of The Drivein order to try and obtain confirmation of the incident. As Rogoway notes, “NORAD’s reply was quick and clear. An incident involving multiple airline crews, air traffic control, and F-15Cs from the 142nd Fighter Wing based out of Portland did occur.”

NORAD further commented that, “airliner pilots were asked by FAA air traffic controllers to help track and possibly identify a ‘white aircraft’ traveling in the flightlevels nearby—roughly between 35,000 and 40,000 feet based on the radio recordings,” as evidenced by the recordings that were later released. Perhaps most compelling of all, however, had been the group of F-15s that were scrambled out of Portland, which presumably had been sent to intercept the mystery aircraft.

The FAA and 142nd Fighter Wing were less responsive following the incident, and primary details obtained are based on recordings of flight communications, and the NORAD statement.

On an interesting note, one Reddit poster, claiming to be an air traffic control operator, shared this interesting story:

“[O]ur QA department was working on this today, and got a call from the commander of the 142FW at PDX and was basically told to knock it off, and we know nothing.”

This statement cannot be verified, of course, but if true, might further suggest a military origin for the aircraft.

At present, and with so few details on hand, it is difficult to assess just what the nature of this incident entails, and whether the “mystery plane” was anything out of the ordinary. Current theories range from a possible drug smuggling operation (which seems unlikely, considering that the incident began at around 4:30 PM local time, thus having occurred in broad daylight), to a possible military test craft. Whatever it may have been, the incident represents one of those rare cases where corroborative data between multiple sources, both civilian and military, do at least confirm the incident, and the general description of the mystery plane in question.

For details on a similar incident, as reported to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), see my earlier article on a bizarre “flying egg” that was observed several years ago near Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the meantime, anyone with further details on the October 2017 incident related here, or with similar stories or observations about unrelated incidents, can reach me via email here.

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Alabama residents don’t need anything more (no pun intended) to worry about right now and they certainly don’t need any more (see previous note) unwanted publicity, but they’re demanding answers from NASA, the military, local officials and anyone else who will listen to their reports of a mysterious loud boom that thousands heard on November 14th, 2017. Should they be worried? Praying? Digging a bunker? Moving?

“Birmingham area law enforcement agencies said they’ve received reports, and so has St. Clair County EMA. The areas that experienced whatever it was include Arab, Oxford, Anniston, Hayden, Kimberly, Center Point, Jasper and Gardendale just to name a few.”

Al.com reported that the boom occurred around 2:39 p.m. EST (1:39 CST – the rest of you can figure out what time that was in your area) and social media was immediately flooded with “What was that? #WhatWasThat #LoudBoom” comments and speculations. St. Clair County and Birmingham are heavily populated areas near the center of the state. Reports from government organizations soon followed. The National Weather Service seemed to be first with a statement that:

“loud boom heard: we do not see anything indicating large fire/smoke on radar or satellite; nothing on USGS indicating an earthquake. We don’t have an answer, and can only hypothesize with you. 1) sonic boom from aircraft; 2) meteorite w/ current Leonid shower?”

The US Geological Survey soon updated that report, saying seismic data from its Lakeview Retreat near Centreville, Ala., showed “a fairly loud boom occurring on or before 1:39 p.m. CST.” That report was confirmed by the Elginfield Infrasound Array at the University of Western Ontario which picked up the infrasound signal at 3:02 p.m. and observed it for 10 minutes.

Sound graph from the U.S. Geological Survey near Centreville, Ala.

(NASA)

Covering all the bases, NASA said it was either a bolide (exploding meteor), larger supersonic aircraft or a ground explosion. However, it downplayed pointing fingers at the recent Leonid meteor shower because those meteors are too small to produce audible sounds. Many eyewitnesses reported seeing at least one vapor trail, but there’s been no word of responsibility from the military and no further meteor reports.

That leaves … a good reason to hold an annual festival! The small town of Fyffe in the northeast corner of Alabama has been holding a yearly UFO (Unforgettable Family Outing) Festival every August to remember a series of unexplained UFO sightings on February 11–12, 1989, by over 50 people.

If there’s any state that needs something to celebrate right now, it’s Alabama. Maybe it’s time to call off the search, hire some bands, bring in the food trucks and hold a “Bama Boom, Brews and Burgers Bash.”

Where were you when the Big Boom of 2017 hit?

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