Mantell Incident
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The so-called Mantell Incident is among the most publicised early UFO reports: the crash of 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantel, on January 7, 1948, while in pursuit of a UFO.
Overview
That day, the Fort Knox airfield received a report from the Kentucky State Highway Patrol of an unusual aerial object near Maysville, Kentucky,
Reports of a westbound circular object, 250 to 300 feet in diameter, were made from Owensburo, Kentucky, and Irvington, Kentucky.
At about 1:45 p.m., Sgt Quinton Blackwell saw an object from his position in the fort Knox airfield control tower. Two other witnesses in the tower also reported a white object in the distance. Base commander Colonel Guy Hix reported an object he described as "very white," and "about one fourth the size of the full moon ... Through binoculars it appeared to have a red border at the bottom ... It remained stationary, seemingly for one and a half hours."
Four P-51 Mustangs already in the air--one piloted by Mantel--were told to approch the object. Sgt Blackwell was in radio communication with the pilots throughout the event.
Mantell was an experienced pilot: His sister claimed he was honored for his part in the Battle of Normandy. [1] (http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/ufoupdates/listers/mantell3.html)
One pilot's Mustang was low on fuel, and he quickly abandoned his efforts. Mantell described a "metallic object or possibly reflection of sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size" above him, and reported its speed at about 180 miles per hour.
The other two pilots accompanied Mantel in steep pursuit of the object. They later reported they saw an object, but described it as so small and indistinct they could not identify it. Mantell ignored suggestions that the pilots should level their altitude and try to more clearly see the object.
Only one of Mantell's companions, Lt. Albert Clemmons, had an oxygen mask, and his oxygen was in low supply. Clemmons and a Lt. Hammond called off their pursuit at 22,500 feet.
Mantell continued, however. A witness later reported Mantell's Mustang in a circling descent. His plane crashed at a farm, and Mantel died upon impact.
Firemen later pulled Mantell's body from the Mustang's wreckage. His wristwatch was stopped at 3:18 p.m., the time of his crash.
At 3:50 p.m., the object was no longer visible to Goodman or the others in the control tower.
The Mantell Incident was reported by news outlets, and received significant mainstream attention.
Analyses
The Air Force ruled that Mantell had misidentified the planet Venus, and had passed out at high altitude. This report was later changed, and the cause of Mantell's crash remains officially listed as undetermined.
J. Allen Hynek suggested Mantel had misidentified a navy Skyhook weather balloon. Others disputed this idea, noting that no such balloon was released in or around the area in question on the day of the pursuit.
Others noted that while Mantell was an experienced pilot, he was rather new to the P-51, and that this relative inexperience could have been a factor in the crash.
Unconfirmed rumors have circulated, stating that Air Force officials suspected Mantell's Mustang had been shot or otherwise damaged by an extraterrestrial spacecraft, and that officials suppressed these reports.
External links
- Mantel Dies chasing UFO (http://www.military.state.ky.us/kyngemus/mantell.htm)
- UFO Casebook: The Death of Thomas Mantell (includes official documents) (http://www.ufocasebook.com/Mantell.html)
- The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, Chapter Three, The Classics (http://www.nicap.org/rufo/rufo-03.htm) -- Edward J. Ruppeltde:Mantell-Zwischenfall