| Kecksburg, PA |
| The Kecksburg UFO incident of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, USA occurred on December 9, 1965. A large, brilliant fireball was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada. It streaked over the Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario area, dropped reported metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, and caused sonic booms in western Pennsylvania. It was generally assumed and reported by the press to be a meteor. However, eyewitnesses in the small village of Kecksburg, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, claimed something crashed in the woods. A boy said he saw the object land; his mother saw a wisp of blue smoke arising from the woods and alerted authorities. Others from Kecksburg, including local volunteer fire department members, reported finding an object in the shape of an acorn and as large as a Volkswagen Beetle. Writing resembling Egyptian hieroglyphics was also said to be in a band around the base of the object. Witnesses further reported that the military secured the area, ordered civilians out, and then removed the object on a flatbed truck. At the time, however, the military claimed they searched the woods and found nothing. The nearby Greensburg Tribune-Review had a reporter at the scene; the headline in the newspaper the next day was "Unidentified Flying Object Falls near Kecksburg — Army Ropes off Area." The official explanation of the widely-seen fireball was a mid-sized meteor, however, speculation as to what the Kecksburg object had been (if there was one — reports vary) also range from it being an alien craft to the remains of an unmanned Soviet Venera 4 atmospheric probe, also known as Kosmos-96, originally destined for Venus. (However, see below where this was recently ruled out by NASA's chief in charge of tracking orbital debris.) Similarities have been drawn between Kecksburg and the Roswell UFO incident, and as such, is known as "Pennsylvania's Roswell". In 2003, the Sci Fi Channel sponsored a scientific study of the area and related records done by the Coalition for Freedom of Information. The most significant finding of the scientific team was tree damage dating to around 1965 at the site where some eyewitnesses said they saw the object. This provided physical evidence that something had possibly landed in the woods there at the time, which would contradict the military's official story of finding nothing. (However, one of the scientists instead suggested ice damage to the trees.) Further, no significant soil disturbance was found. This might support a controlled soft landing and rule out other proposed crash objects such as a meteorite or other large object passively striking the ground, which would have created a large crater and extensive damage. There was also a push for NASA to release pertinent documents on the subject. Some 40 pages of these documents were released on November 1, 2003, but were unrevealing. (see External links) However, there are Air Force Project Blue Book documents indicating that a three-man team was being sent from an Air Force radar-installation near Pittsburgh to investigate the Kecksburg crash. They reported back to Blue Book that nothing was found. In December 2005, just before the Kecksburg crash 40th anniversary, NASA released a statement to the effect that they had examined metallic fragments from the object and now claimed it was from a re-entering "Russian satellite." The spokesman further claimed that the related records had been misplaced. According to an Associated Press story: The object appeared to be a Russian satellite that re-entered the atmosphere and broke up. NASA experts studied fragments from the object, but records of what they found were lost in the 1990s. This new explanation from NASA contradicts the official Air Force explanation in 1965 of the fireball being from a meteor and of nothing being found. Furthermore, the claim contradicts what journalist Leslie Kean was told in 2003 by Nicholas L. Johnson, NASA's chief scientist for orbital debris. As part of the new Sci Fi investigation, Kean had Johnson recheck orbital paths of all known satellites and other records from the period in 1965. Johnson told Kean that orbital mechanics made it absolutely impossible for any part of the Cosmos 96 Venus probe to account for either the fireball or any object at Kecksburg. Johnson also stated there were no other man made satellites or other objects that re-entered the atmosphere on that day. Thus, this raises the question as to what "Russian satellite" could account for the debris that NASA now admits they examined. Furthermore, Kean and others deem it highly questionable that NASA could actually lose such records. As of December 2005, new court action was planned to get NASA to search more diligently for the alleged lost records. Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA |
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not
been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use
of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.
been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use
of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.
| Cover letter for the released NASA records |
We here at CPSI have made several visits to Kecksburg, PA and were able to locate the crash
site without trouble. At this time we are still attempting to gain permission to enter the
wooded area, since it is located on private property. One of our investigators is currently in
training as a MUFON Field Investigator and we hope that by working with a local Ufologist that
we may be able to gain access sometime in the near future.
Being that it has been over 40 years since the Kecksburg Incident, it would seem unlikely
that any trace evidence would remain. The site has been scoured over by investigators and
researchers for decades now, and logically any trace that may have been there would have
been found already. The best physical evidence that remains would seem to be the broken
tree tops. However, even those would be less distinguishable after so much time.
At attempt will be made to contact a few eye-witnesses that have previously came forward
already. We had previously published an article on Kecksburg in an issue of The Paranormal
Report, so we would be pleased to do a follow-up article with someone who has first hand
knowledge.
site without trouble. At this time we are still attempting to gain permission to enter the
wooded area, since it is located on private property. One of our investigators is currently in
training as a MUFON Field Investigator and we hope that by working with a local Ufologist that
we may be able to gain access sometime in the near future.
Being that it has been over 40 years since the Kecksburg Incident, it would seem unlikely
that any trace evidence would remain. The site has been scoured over by investigators and
researchers for decades now, and logically any trace that may have been there would have
been found already. The best physical evidence that remains would seem to be the broken
tree tops. However, even those would be less distinguishable after so much time.
At attempt will be made to contact a few eye-witnesses that have previously came forward
already. We had previously published an article on Kecksburg in an issue of The Paranormal
Report, so we would be pleased to do a follow-up article with someone who has first hand
knowledge.
| Original Greensburg Tribune-Review newspaper article from 1965 |
| A good vantage point |
| Looking down at the tree line in the area where the alleged UFO crashed |
| Yes, that says Meteor Rd. "Meteor"...yeah right |
| A close-up shot. Notice the hieroglyphics around the base; similar to what eyewitnesses described on the actual object. |
| Here's the model of the crashed object that was created for the t.v. show Unsolved Mysteries. It's on display outside of the Kecksburg V.F.D. |
UPDATE
2009: History Channel Reinvestigates Kecksburg
In February 2009, The History Channel's program, UFO Hunters, revisited this incident, along with a similar one that
happened in Needles, Ca. They interviewed witnesses, used scientific equipment not available in 2003 (Sci-Fi
Channel's investigation), and still found nothing. The main theme of the program was of a major military presence
and cover-up. (Excerpt from: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_incident)
2009: History Channel Reinvestigates Kecksburg
In February 2009, The History Channel's program, UFO Hunters, revisited this incident, along with a similar one that
happened in Needles, Ca. They interviewed witnesses, used scientific equipment not available in 2003 (Sci-Fi
Channel's investigation), and still found nothing. The main theme of the program was of a major military presence
and cover-up. (Excerpt from: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_incident)