The question of whether we are alone in the Universe captivates many people. Most eyewitness accounts cannot be substantiated, and therefore, are not trusted. However, there have been incidents in human history that are difficult to explain without considering the influence of alien forces. What are the most well-known cases of contact with extraterrestrials?
The Roswell Incident
This event occurred in early July 1947 near the American town of Roswell. On June 24, businessman Kenneth Arnold noticed several flying saucers in the sky. On July 3, farmer Mac Brazel found debris from an unknown craft and reported it to authorities, as well as via radio. However, the military interrupted the broadcast and arrested the farmer.
On July 8, local newspapers spread an official statement from the army that they had found debris from flying discs. But just a day later, a general announced on the radio that the unidentified object was merely a weather balloon. The farmer was released after a week and confirmed the military’s version in conversations.
In the 1970s, witnesses such as Major Marcel, the Moltke couple, the Brown sisters, and Gerald Anderson claimed that in 1947, a UFO crashed, and they saw not only the wreckage but also the bodies of the aliens! Moreover, some of the aliens survived and were allegedly captured by the army.
There were even photos from the crash site showing aliens, and a video surfaced showing the autopsy of one of the alien corpses. However, experts quickly declared the film a fake. Even today, it’s clear that whatever really happened near Roswell in 1947, the U.S. government made significant efforts to keep it classified.
The Washington, D.C. UFO Incident (Washington Flap)
From July 19 to 29, 1952, something very strange happened in the skies above the U.S. capital. Airport controllers saw seven unidentified objects on their radars moving over the city. Numerous eyewitnesses confirmed these sightings. The military even dispatched aircraft to patrol the airspace over Washington, but as the pilots approached the UFOs, they would disappear. At one point, the saucers hovered over the U.S. Capitol and the White House. These events were on the front pages of American newspapers.
Eventually, the Pentagon ordered pilots to shoot down the unidentified objects, but they never managed to get close enough. President Truman was reportedly very concerned and even discussed the events with Air Force pilots.
On July 29, the Pentagon held the largest press conference since World War II, stating that the cause of the unusual phenomena in the sky was due to air inversion. However, most military personnel and nearly all air traffic controllers doubted this explanation. Furthermore, it remains unclear what caused such inversions, as nothing similar has ever been observed anywhere else in the world before or since 1952.
Historians suggest that around the same time, American generals were seriously considering using nuclear weapons during the Korean War, possibly against China. This could have triggered a Soviet response. It’s speculated that extraterrestrials, who usually refrain from interfering in Earth’s politics, may have wanted to pressure the U.S. leadership to prevent a catastrophic escalation. Interestingly, this might explain why reports of UFOs became more frequent after the invention of the atomic bomb.
The Belgian UFO Wave
Between late November 1989 and April 1990, strange objects were periodically seen in the skies over Belgium, behaving in ways that suggested non-terrestrial origins. Several photographs were taken of these events, although their authenticity is often questioned.
The peak of the wave occurred on the night of March 30-31, 1990. UFOs were not only spotted by local residents but also detected by military radars. The Belgian army sent two F-16 fighter jets into the sky. At 11:00 p.m., three lights forming a perfect triangle were seen over the city of Verviers, glowing yellow, red, and green. Ten minutes later, another group of lights appeared.
Around midnight, the F-16s approached the unknown objects and attempted to lock onto them. At the first attempt, the targets abruptly changed their speed from 240 km/h to 1,800 km/h and altered their altitude, dropping 900 meters in just two seconds. Despite exceeding the speed of sound, none of the observers, including the pilots, heard the sonic boom that typically accompanies such speeds.
Additionally, modern aircraft structures are incapable of withstanding the G-forces generated by such rapid speed changes. Over the course of an hour, the fighters tried nine times to lock onto the UFOs, but each time, the objects escaped the military. The pilots returned to base at 1:00 a.m., and the last sightings of the objects occurred around 1:30 a.m..
In total, 13,500 people reported seeing UFOs that night, with 2,600 of them providing written confirmations. The only theory scientists could propose was that mass hysteria had occurred. However, the unidentified objects were also detected on radars!
The Tehran UFO Incident
On September 19, 1976, a glowing object was detected above the Iranian capital. It was visible from a distance of 112 kilometers, and military radars confirmed its existence. The Iranian Air Force sent an F-4 Phantom jet to intercept the UFO. As the jet approached within 40 kilometers, most of its instruments suddenly failed. The pilot turned back, and the equipment started working again.
Another fighter jet was sent to intercept the glowing object. The UFO began to evade it, and then several smaller bright objects detached from the main craft. When the pilot attempted to engage the objects, his targeting instruments failed again, only to recover shortly afterward. The pilot then observed a smaller part of the object descend to Earth and land.
However, nothing was found at the supposed landing site the next day. Local residents confirmed that they saw a bright light and heard a loud noise. It’s worth noting that during the incident, a passenger plane was flying nearby, and its equipment also temporarily failed.
The U.S. intelligence services compiled a detailed report on the event but could not explain it using natural causes. All Iranian military personnel involved in the incident believed they likely encountered an extraterrestrial civilization.