1 00:00:00,652 --> 00:00:19,654 Music 2 00:00:19,654 --> 00:00:23,655 January 8th, 2008, Stephenville, Texas. 3 00:00:23,655 --> 00:00:29,656 Three friends are enjoying a crisp, clear winter evening. 4 00:00:29,656 --> 00:00:33,656 The fun will not last for long. 5 00:00:33,656 --> 00:00:35,656 Steve Allen is a local pilot in Stephenville. 6 00:00:35,656 --> 00:00:38,657 His buddy, Mike, invites him and another friend over. 7 00:00:38,657 --> 00:00:40,657 And the three of them are hanging around a bonfire, 8 00:00:40,657 --> 00:00:44,657 just chatting and enjoying the sunset. 9 00:00:44,657 --> 00:00:48,658 As a pilot, it's natural for Steve to constantly be scanning the skies. 10 00:00:48,658 --> 00:00:53,658 And he's the first person to notice something strange up there. 11 00:00:53,658 --> 00:00:58,659 He immediately points it out to his friends, Mike and Lance. 12 00:00:58,659 --> 00:01:03,660 From the east, they see what appears to be a giant object with four lights. 13 00:01:03,660 --> 00:01:05,660 The lights are intensely bright. 14 00:01:05,660 --> 00:01:07,660 Steve compares them to a magnesium flare. 15 00:01:07,660 --> 00:01:09,660 That's how bright they are. 16 00:01:09,660 --> 00:01:14,661 The lights appear to be moving at an extremely high rate of speed. 17 00:01:14,661 --> 00:01:20,662 Although the object is moving incredibly fast, it makes absolutely no sound. 18 00:01:20,662 --> 00:01:24,662 Suddenly, the lights come to a dead stop over Stephenville. 19 00:01:24,662 --> 00:01:28,663 And this is when some really weird things happen. 20 00:01:28,663 --> 00:01:35,664 The lights change formation several times. 21 00:01:35,664 --> 00:01:39,664 The two columns of light burst into flames, and then they disappear. 22 00:01:39,664 --> 00:01:41,664 They don't fade into distance. 23 00:01:41,664 --> 00:01:43,665 They don't streak out of sight. 24 00:01:43,665 --> 00:01:50,665 They simply and completely disappear. 25 00:01:50,665 --> 00:01:56,666 All three men are amazed and alarmed by what they have just witnessed. 26 00:01:56,666 --> 00:01:59,667 Lance is terrified by what he's just seen. 27 00:01:59,667 --> 00:02:06,667 But without so much as a goodbye, he jumps in his truck and takes off. 28 00:02:06,667 --> 00:02:10,668 Steve and Mike rush into the house to tell Mike's wife, Claudette, what they've witnessed. 29 00:02:10,668 --> 00:02:17,669 Claudette's not sure what to make of the story, so she decides to pick up the phone and call Lance. 30 00:02:17,669 --> 00:02:24,670 When Lance answers the phone, he's driving down the highway, and he can see the object coming back towards them. 31 00:02:24,670 --> 00:02:30,670 He tells Claudette to run outside. 32 00:02:30,670 --> 00:02:35,671 And this time the object is closer and lower than the first time they saw it. 33 00:02:35,671 --> 00:02:41,672 It feels up close and personal. 34 00:02:41,672 --> 00:02:48,673 And then two F-16s fly by, apparently in hot pursuit. 35 00:02:48,673 --> 00:02:55,673 They all watch an amazement as the object and the jets travel out of sight. 36 00:02:55,673 --> 00:03:03,674 This is just the beginning of what will become one of the most famous UFO flaps in history. 37 00:03:03,674 --> 00:03:11,675 Year after year, these types of sightings consistently appear in the skies over Texas. 38 00:03:11,675 --> 00:03:18,676 What makes the Lone Star State such a lightning rod for these UFO encounters? 39 00:03:18,676 --> 00:03:22,677 Hangar One looks for answers right now. 40 00:03:22,677 --> 00:03:31,678 The Mutual UFO Network, known as Mufan, is an independent organization not bound to any government. 41 00:03:31,678 --> 00:03:36,678 They investigate reports of UFO sightings from around the world. 42 00:03:36,678 --> 00:03:41,679 Over the past five decades, they have collected more than 70,000 files, 43 00:03:41,679 --> 00:03:46,680 stored at a secure location known as Hangar One. 44 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:52,680 Now, Mufan is granting access to their fast archive. 45 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:59,681 These are the files of Hangar One. 46 00:04:01,682 --> 00:04:13,683 They say everything is bigger in Texas. 47 00:04:13,683 --> 00:04:21,684 The hats, the belt buckles, the cattle, even the UFO sightings. 48 00:04:21,684 --> 00:04:30,685 And the Stevenville incident that began with local pilot Steve Allen is no exception. 49 00:04:31,685 --> 00:04:36,686 The day after the sightings, Steve begins a quest to try to figure out what he saw. 50 00:04:36,686 --> 00:04:40,686 He first contacts the local Stevenville airport to see if they have any information. 51 00:04:40,686 --> 00:04:46,687 They reach out to Fort Worth, but none of the airports seem to have any answers. 52 00:04:46,687 --> 00:04:52,688 Steve's next step is to reach out to the local newspaper to see if they had anyone else who might have reported the sightings. 53 00:04:52,688 --> 00:04:58,689 A local reporter decides to investigate Steve's story and suddenly witnesses start coming forward. 54 00:04:58,689 --> 00:05:02,689 It turns out a lot of people in the area witnessed strange lights that night. 55 00:05:02,689 --> 00:05:08,690 Mufan investigators learn of the sightings and launch a full-scale investigation. 56 00:05:08,690 --> 00:05:12,690 The phone of the Mufan Texas State Director began ringing off the hook. 57 00:05:12,690 --> 00:05:19,691 Everyone wanted answers. We set up a team of investigators that began interviewing witnesses. 58 00:05:19,691 --> 00:05:24,692 17 different witnesses come forward to report sightings. 59 00:05:24,692 --> 00:05:36,693 What I love about the Stevenville story is multiple eyewitness accounts of the same object, the same scenario, the same descriptions, this credibility all over it. 60 00:05:36,693 --> 00:05:46,694 These are large, clear sightings that are seen by police officers and scientists and citizens of all walks of life. 61 00:05:46,694 --> 00:05:53,695 I see these kind of events as displays. They're displays. They're like peacocks spreading their feathers. 62 00:05:55,696 --> 00:06:03,696 Armed with a mountain of eyewitness testimony, Mufan investigators search for hard evidence. 63 00:06:03,696 --> 00:06:11,697 Because multiple witnesses had reported seeing jets chasing after the UFO, investigators reached out to the military to try to get some answers. 64 00:06:11,697 --> 00:06:20,699 Stevenville is in the vicinity of three different Air Force bases, so residents are familiar with how military jets look and sound. 65 00:06:20,699 --> 00:06:28,700 And yet, when the military was initially contacted, they denied having any jets in the area or knowledge of unusual activity. 66 00:06:28,700 --> 00:06:34,700 Stonewall by the military, Mufan investigators turn to local radar data. 67 00:06:34,700 --> 00:06:43,701 Mufan investigators were able to collect radar data from the FAA from multiple radar stations in the surrounding area, and the information they uncovered was astounding. 68 00:06:44,702 --> 00:06:52,702 Radar data proved there were unidentified objects in the area during the time of the sightings, but that's not all. 69 00:06:55,703 --> 00:06:59,703 The data also reveals there was a potential target. 70 00:06:59,703 --> 00:07:05,704 One UFO was headed directly towards restricted airspace. 71 00:07:05,704 --> 00:07:16,705 And this isn't just any restricted airspace. This is the Crawford Ranch, the vacation home of President George W. Bush. 72 00:07:16,705 --> 00:07:23,706 What was this UFO doing over the area? Was it specifically interested in President Bush? 73 00:07:23,706 --> 00:07:34,708 Radar data from the night of January 8th, 2008 also shows an unusually high volume of military aircraft in the area. 74 00:07:35,708 --> 00:07:41,708 Radar data reveals not one, not two, but ten different military jets in the area during the time of the sighting. 75 00:07:41,708 --> 00:07:49,709 When first asked, the military denied having any aircraft in the area and any knowledge of unusual circumstances. 76 00:07:49,709 --> 00:08:00,711 Now, with indisputable evidence, the military recants their original statement and claims that they did in fact have military aircraft in the area, but were simply running a training operation. 77 00:08:00,711 --> 00:08:06,712 Were the military aircraft dispatched to protect the President's Ranch? 78 00:08:06,712 --> 00:08:14,713 Any pilot knows that if you cross over into that restricted airspace, you're either going to be forced down or shot down. 79 00:08:14,713 --> 00:08:20,713 The object was moving so fast that it was through the restricted airspace and gone in the blink of an eye. 80 00:08:20,713 --> 00:08:33,715 Was this UFO dangerous? Were all of these military jets launched for defense? Or was there another reason why this UFO and these jets were in the air around the same time? 81 00:08:33,715 --> 00:08:42,716 I'm not at all surprised at this encounter. I know for a fact that jets had been scrambled to try and get them and they could never get close enough to them. 82 00:08:42,716 --> 00:08:53,717 They had free reign over what they did and where they showed up. As many times as we've scrambled jets to try and stop them, we've never been able to pin them down. 83 00:08:53,717 --> 00:09:06,719 The events surrounding the Stephenville sightings remain a mystery. But as we explore other extraordinary Texas encounters, new pieces of the puzzle emerge. 84 00:09:07,719 --> 00:09:14,720 Up next, UFOs shut down vehicles, leaving motorists terrified and helpless. 85 00:09:14,720 --> 00:09:18,720 They're showing us that they're here. They want us to know that they're here. 86 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:24,721 The remarkable story of the Leblon Landings when Hangar One returns. 87 00:09:37,723 --> 00:09:46,724 The Lone Star State is no stranger to UFOs, but why is it such a hotbed of unexplained phenomena? 88 00:09:46,724 --> 00:09:57,725 Perhaps additional clues can be found in another Texas case file. One where the UFOs proved to be more than just lights in the sky. 89 00:10:07,726 --> 00:10:12,727 Leblon, Texas, November 2nd, 1957. 90 00:10:14,727 --> 00:10:21,728 Two immigrant farm workers, Pedro Salcedo and Joe Salas, called the Leblon Police Department regarding UFO sighting. 91 00:10:21,728 --> 00:10:29,729 Officer H.A. Fowler is manning the night desk at the police station. And this is the beginning of what is about to be a very strange night. 92 00:10:30,729 --> 00:10:37,730 Pedro and Joe are driving four miles west of Leblon when they see a blue flash of light near the road. 93 00:10:37,730 --> 00:10:45,731 Suddenly, their engine dies and the vehicle rolls to a stop. At that moment, a strange object approaches them. 94 00:10:47,731 --> 00:10:51,732 When he got near, the lights of my vehicle went out and the motor died. 95 00:10:52,732 --> 00:10:55,732 I jumped out and hit the dirt because I was afraid. 96 00:10:56,732 --> 00:10:58,733 The Colt and Joe were hitting it out. 97 00:11:01,733 --> 00:11:08,734 The thin plaster hit over me with a great sound in the rush of wind. It sounded like thunder and my vehicle drugged from blast. 98 00:11:10,734 --> 00:11:16,735 I felt a lot of heat. Then I grabbed and watched it go out of sight towards Leblon. 99 00:11:17,735 --> 00:11:26,736 When the object moves away from the vehicle, the engine restarts. Salcedo immediately calls the police. 100 00:11:27,736 --> 00:11:33,737 Officer Fowler thinks he's dealing with a crank call. So he ignores it. But an hour later, he gets another call. 101 00:11:36,737 --> 00:11:42,738 Jim Wheeler is four miles east of Leblon when he reports a brilliantly lit, egg-shaped object sitting in the road blocking his path. 102 00:11:43,738 --> 00:11:53,739 And like Pedro, he claims his vehicle dies. As he gets out of the car, the object takes off and at the same time, the object's lights disappear. 103 00:11:58,740 --> 00:12:02,740 Once again, the car restarts after the object is gone. 104 00:12:03,741 --> 00:12:08,741 First, Pedro and Joe. Then, Jim Wheeler. Then the calls just start rolling in. 105 00:12:08,741 --> 00:12:13,742 A merry couple driving northeast of Leblon. A motorist, 11 miles north of town. 106 00:12:13,742 --> 00:12:19,743 A Texas Tech college student, 10 miles east of town. Boom, boom, boom. The calls keep coming. 107 00:12:21,743 --> 00:12:29,744 All of these motorists have similar stories. A strange object in the road, their engines cut out. When the object flies off, their engines start up again. 108 00:12:29,744 --> 00:12:35,745 By this time, the Leblon Police Department is actively investigating the situation. 109 00:12:35,745 --> 00:12:44,746 Officer Fowler alerts on-duty officers of the situation. The local sheriff and one of his deputies begin monitoring Officer Fowler's reports and tracking the object. 110 00:12:44,746 --> 00:12:47,746 Around 1.30 a.m., they have their own encounter. 111 00:12:52,747 --> 00:13:01,748 A large glowing object passes across the highway in front of them. The officers claim the entire highway is lit up below the sun-like object. 112 00:13:01,748 --> 00:13:11,749 The Leblon Police Department received a total of 15 calls that night and reports would continue to trickle in for the next several days. 113 00:13:13,749 --> 00:13:26,751 The Leblon case is considered by ufologists to be one of the most impressive in UFO history, mainly because it wasn't just a light in the sky seen by one or two witnesses, but something that landed in the object whatever it was interacted with the environment. 114 00:13:31,751 --> 00:13:44,753 This sounds like an EMP to me, an electromagnetic pulse weapon that shuts down motors that doesn't kill the people. They're showing us that they're here. They want us to know that they're here. 115 00:13:44,753 --> 00:13:54,754 The local newspaper runs the story, which is then picked up nationwide. Project Blue Book then dispatches an Air Force Sergeant to investigate. 116 00:13:54,754 --> 00:14:05,756 The Air Force Sergeant heard that there had been thunderstorms in the surrounding area earlier that morning. He decided to focus on this and announced that a phenomenon called ball lightning had occurred. 117 00:14:07,756 --> 00:14:19,757 So ball lightning is a real phenomenon that exists. We just don't really understand what it is. It's one of those interesting atmospheric effects that generally occurs in thunderstorms after lightning strikes. 118 00:14:19,757 --> 00:14:30,759 And it basically is what it sounds like. It's a glowing ball of light and electrical discharge and energy. If you've ever seen like a plasma ball in the store, that's sort of, I think, a good image for what it is. 119 00:14:31,759 --> 00:14:36,759 But not everyone is convinced of the Air Force's official findings. 120 00:14:36,759 --> 00:14:50,761 Dr. J. Allen Heineck was an astronomer at Northwestern University and one of the top scientific consultants to Project Blue Book. After doing his own investigation, he claimed the sightings could not be attributed to ball lightning. 121 00:14:50,761 --> 00:15:01,762 First of all, ball lightning is not very large, but in each of the sightings, the object was big enough to block the road. Second, ball lightning is not known to have the ability to shut off car engines. 122 00:15:02,763 --> 00:15:08,763 Despite what the Air Force Sergeant heard, there was no rain or lightning in the vicinity of Leveland at the time of the sightings. 123 00:15:12,764 --> 00:15:22,765 It appears the military's report does not reflect all the facts. Despite these omissions, the case is closed. 124 00:15:22,765 --> 00:15:42,767 Texas is home to some of the most intriguing UFO cases in history. Do these mass UFO sightings fall within a particular area, creating a geographical pattern? One particular case may hold some important clues. 125 00:15:52,769 --> 00:15:56,769 Lubbock, Texas, August 25, 1951 126 00:15:57,769 --> 00:16:10,771 Around 9 p.m., three professors from Texas Tech University were hanging out in one of the professors' backyards. There was a chemical engineer, a petroleum engineer, and a geologist. So you have three scientists here. 127 00:16:11,771 --> 00:16:21,772 The men have actually gotten together to study meteors, so their eyes are trained on the sky. Suddenly, they see 20 to 30 bright lights, roughly the size of dinner plates, flying in a U-formation. 128 00:16:21,772 --> 00:16:23,772 The objects are moving fast across the sky. 129 00:16:26,773 --> 00:16:34,774 The men immediately rule out the objects as meteors, and as they're discussing what the lights might be, another group of lights, similar to the first, flies overhead. 130 00:16:35,774 --> 00:16:39,774 The professors reach out to the Air Force for answers. 131 00:16:40,775 --> 00:16:48,776 The professors checked with Air Force personnel, but there was no traffic in the air that night. Not sure what to make of this, they shared their story with a local newspaper. 132 00:16:48,776 --> 00:17:01,777 Once their story is published in the newspaper, multiple witnesses start coming forward with similar stories. Very bright, very big lights arranged in a boomerang formation, flying across the sky, and never making a sound. 133 00:17:04,777 --> 00:17:13,779 Sightings continue from August to November of 1951. The professors are intrigued and decide to investigate further. 134 00:17:14,779 --> 00:17:27,780 They form their watch group and set up a schedule to watch the skies. Between the original sighting in August and sometime in November, hundreds of these observers around Lubbock saw as many as three flights in one night. 135 00:17:30,781 --> 00:17:36,781 Then, on the night of August 30th, new evidence of the Lubbock lights is captured. 136 00:17:37,782 --> 00:17:41,782 A Texas tech student by the name of Carl Hart, Jr. attempts to photograph the lights. 137 00:17:44,782 --> 00:17:53,783 He witnesses two different flights that night, one at 5.30pm and the other around 10.30pm. He takes photos both times with his 35mm camera. 138 00:17:56,784 --> 00:18:02,785 In each of the photos, you can see anywhere from 18 to 20 lights arranged in a boomerang formation. 139 00:18:03,785 --> 00:18:10,786 The local newspaper publishes the photos and they begin circulating throughout the country. 140 00:18:11,786 --> 00:18:17,786 When I was a kid, one of the first images of UFOs that I ever saw were the Lubbock lights and I thought this was amazing. 141 00:18:20,787 --> 00:18:25,787 Eventually, the Air Force gets their hands on the photos. They're actually given to Captain Edward Ruppelt. 142 00:18:26,788 --> 00:18:32,788 Edward J. Ruppelt was a U.S. Air Force Captain. He's most famous as being the head of Project Blue Book. 143 00:18:32,788 --> 00:18:39,789 The Air Force had had several investigative bodies that investigated UFOs, going back to 1947. 144 00:18:39,789 --> 00:18:46,790 The first one being Project Sign, which went up until 1949, which of then succeeded by Project Grudge. 145 00:18:46,790 --> 00:18:50,790 And then, 1952, that became Project Blue Book. 146 00:18:51,791 --> 00:18:58,791 Captain Ruppelt, now working under Project Grudge, travels to Lubbock to investigate further. 147 00:18:59,792 --> 00:19:08,793 He finds a local man who mentions seeing one night the reflection of the newly installed city streetlights bouncing off the white bellies of a few plover birds flying by. 148 00:19:09,793 --> 00:19:15,794 This gives Ruppelt and the Air Force a natural phenomenon to explain away the silings and they jump on it. 149 00:19:16,794 --> 00:19:23,795 They issue a statement that the newly installed vapor streetlights were bouncing off the undersides of the birds as they flew overhead. 150 00:19:23,795 --> 00:19:24,795 Case closed. 151 00:19:27,795 --> 00:19:37,796 In an effort to test this theory, a photographer at the local paper attempts to recreate Hart's photos using plover birds flying over the city at night. 152 00:19:38,796 --> 00:19:41,797 His photos are nowhere close to Hart's photos. 153 00:19:41,797 --> 00:19:45,797 The reflection off the birds are way too damn to see anything. 154 00:19:46,797 --> 00:19:51,798 A federal wildlife game warden also rules out the plovers as a cause of the sightings. 155 00:19:51,798 --> 00:20:00,799 He notes that the birds can only fly around 50 miles per hour, much slower than the movements of the lights, not to mention the fact that you can hear the birds when they fly. 156 00:20:01,799 --> 00:20:07,800 The residents of Lubbock are also not satisfied by the Air Force's findings and demand answers. 157 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:14,801 When Mufon investigators start digging, they expose shocking revelations. 158 00:20:16,801 --> 00:20:23,802 At Mufon's Midwest UFO conference in 1971, a presentation was given about the way the government documents UFO cases. 159 00:20:24,802 --> 00:20:31,803 It was discovered that in some instances, Project Grudge created two different reports for the same UFO file, one secret report and one public report. 160 00:20:31,803 --> 00:20:34,803 And they did this for the Lubbock Lights case. 161 00:20:36,803 --> 00:20:44,804 The public report basically said that these lights were nothing more than a flock of birds that were in the same place as the Mufon. 162 00:20:44,804 --> 00:20:49,805 The secret report reveals the findings of both the photographer at the paper and the game warden. 163 00:20:49,805 --> 00:20:54,806 And it concludes that the objects in Hart's photographs are definitely the same. 164 00:20:54,806 --> 00:21:00,806 The public report basically said that these lights were nothing more than a flock of birds and that we were seeing reflections off of their bodies reflected off of street lights below them. 165 00:21:00,806 --> 00:21:05,807 But the secret report was saying other things like we really need to figure out what this thing was. 166 00:21:05,807 --> 00:21:10,808 The secret report reveals the findings of both the photographer at the paper and the game warden. 167 00:21:10,808 --> 00:21:15,808 And it concludes that the objects in Hart's photographs are definitely not birds. 168 00:21:15,808 --> 00:21:23,809 It's very troubling when you think about it. The government is flat out lying to the public about its findings. Who knows what else they're lying about? 169 00:21:23,809 --> 00:21:37,811 The dots connecting these historic UFO sightings are starting to reveal a pattern as Mufon investigators continue to dig deeper into Texas's most unusual UFO cases. 170 00:21:37,811 --> 00:21:39,811 Coming up... 171 00:21:40,811 --> 00:21:47,812 Victims of a close encounter with a UFO sue the federal government for damages. 172 00:21:47,812 --> 00:21:53,813 Details of the case when we return. 173 00:21:56,813 --> 00:22:02,814 Hanger One has opened its files to some of Texas's most extraordinary cases. 174 00:22:02,814 --> 00:22:07,815 This next incident may be one of the most shocking yet. 175 00:22:11,815 --> 00:22:26,817 Huffman, Texas December 29th, 1980 176 00:22:28,817 --> 00:22:35,818 Betty Cash and Vicki Landrum along with Vicki's seven-year-old grandson Colby are on their way home from dinner. 177 00:22:36,818 --> 00:22:42,819 At about 9 p.m. they're in the dense woods of Huffman, Texas on an isolated two-lane road. 178 00:22:47,820 --> 00:22:54,820 They see a light above the trees and initially think it's just an airplane approaching the Houston Intercontinental Airport. 179 00:22:54,820 --> 00:22:59,821 A few minutes later the same light is now much closer and very bright. 180 00:23:00,821 --> 00:23:06,822 This giant diamond-shaped object is hovering at about treetop level right in front of them. 181 00:23:06,822 --> 00:23:11,822 It's illuminated in this bright light and flames are flooding out from the bottom of it. 182 00:23:11,822 --> 00:23:15,823 It's giving off significant heat. 183 00:23:18,823 --> 00:23:23,824 Both Cash and Landrum get out of the car to inspect the object. 184 00:23:30,825 --> 00:23:37,826 Colby, however, is terrified. Landrum quickly has to return to the car to comfort the frantic child. 185 00:23:41,826 --> 00:23:45,827 But Cash remains outside mesmerized by the bizarre sight. 186 00:23:48,827 --> 00:23:52,827 The heat coming from the object is intense. 187 00:23:52,827 --> 00:23:57,828 Cash had to use her coat to protect her hand from being burned by the door handle. 188 00:24:00,828 --> 00:24:06,829 Suddenly new aircraft come into view. 189 00:24:06,829 --> 00:24:12,830 A group of CH-47 Chinook helicopters surround the object in a tight formation. 190 00:24:12,830 --> 00:24:17,831 Cash and Landrum watch as the object and the helicopters fly off into the distance. 191 00:24:21,831 --> 00:24:27,832 It's not just an unidentified flying object. There are some identified flying objects in this same event. 192 00:24:27,832 --> 00:24:31,832 They're right there in the same proximity. They seem to be escorting it somehow. 193 00:24:31,832 --> 00:24:40,833 I see a blur between what might be completely extraterrestrial or what might be perhaps human and extraterrestrial happening there. 194 00:24:42,834 --> 00:24:47,834 Unfortunately for the witnesses, the incident doesn't end there. 195 00:24:48,834 --> 00:24:55,835 All three of them suffer from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized weakness and a burning sensation in their eyes. 196 00:24:56,835 --> 00:24:59,836 Landrum continues to have intermittent outbreaks throughout her life. 197 00:25:00,836 --> 00:25:05,836 Cash, however, who spent the most amount of time outside the car, her symptoms actually get worse. 198 00:25:09,837 --> 00:25:17,838 Cash winds up being hospitalized for several weeks. She can't walk. She loses large patches of skin. She loses her hair. 199 00:25:18,838 --> 00:25:22,839 These large painful blisters form on her skin and her eyes swell shut. 200 00:25:23,839 --> 00:25:30,839 Landrum and Cash reach out to several UFO organizations, including MUFON, for help. 201 00:25:30,839 --> 00:25:40,841 MUFON submits the witnesses' medical records to a radiologist who, after examining them, believes there is strong evidence that the patients have suffered secondary damage to ionizing radiation. 202 00:25:40,841 --> 00:25:44,841 And there was possibly an infrared or ultraviolet component as well. 203 00:25:45,841 --> 00:25:52,842 Something like a UFO that's traveled here, presumably, you know, it has a very powerful, strong energy source. 204 00:25:52,842 --> 00:25:57,843 It's probably using something similar to our nuclear reactors, maybe of a different design. 205 00:25:59,843 --> 00:26:06,844 And it could be leaking radiation in a way that would expose people to it and then have severe effects on them. 206 00:26:07,844 --> 00:26:14,845 Suddenly, you're experiencing rapid cell damage, either through hair falling out or even something as extreme as cancer. 207 00:26:18,845 --> 00:26:25,846 A few months later, Vicki Landrum and her grandson have a chance encounter with another possible witness. 208 00:26:25,846 --> 00:26:30,847 Landrum and her grandson see a CH-47 flying into Dayton. 209 00:26:31,847 --> 00:26:36,848 They wind up being able to approach the helicopter and talk with the pilot. 210 00:26:36,848 --> 00:26:38,848 And the pilot makes an interesting comment. 211 00:26:38,848 --> 00:26:44,849 He claims that he was in the area once before in order to check on a UFO that was in trouble near Huffman. 212 00:26:44,849 --> 00:26:50,849 Landrum says she's really glad to run into him because she had been one of the people burned by that UFO. 213 00:26:50,849 --> 00:26:52,850 When the pilot hears this, he clams up. 214 00:26:52,850 --> 00:26:56,850 He kicks them out of the helicopter and refuses to say another word to them. 215 00:26:57,850 --> 00:27:04,851 Betty Cash and Vicki Landrum decide it's time to take their case directly to the U.S. government. 216 00:27:05,851 --> 00:27:11,852 The Chinook helicopters suggest that at least one branch of the military may somehow be connected to this UFO. 217 00:27:11,852 --> 00:27:16,852 And yet, when the Department of the Army Inspector General interviews Cash and Landrum, 218 00:27:16,852 --> 00:27:20,853 he says there is no evidence that the helicopters belong to the U.S. armed forces. 219 00:27:20,853 --> 00:27:28,854 Eventually, Cash and Landrum hire a lawyer and file a complaint against the U.S. government for $20 million. 220 00:27:29,854 --> 00:27:34,855 There was a lot of effort by investigators to find out where the helicopters came from. 221 00:27:34,855 --> 00:27:39,855 But no bases anywhere near the Houston area claimed to have helicopters in the air that night. 222 00:27:41,856 --> 00:27:47,856 The only base that even acknowledged having a large patrol of helicopters was Grey Army Airfield located at Fort Hood. 223 00:27:48,856 --> 00:27:53,857 The lawsuit of Cash and Landrum versus the U.S. government proves unsuccessful. 224 00:27:54,857 --> 00:28:07,859 In 1986, the case was dismissed by a U.S. district court judge who claimed that there was not enough evidence to prove that the helicopters were associated with the U.S. government. 225 00:28:08,859 --> 00:28:14,860 And military officials had testified that the U.S. armed forces did not have a large diamond-shaped aircraft in their possession. 226 00:28:15,860 --> 00:28:18,860 The case was closed, but questions remain. 227 00:28:19,860 --> 00:28:25,861 Could the helicopters have been part of a classified military operation to retrieve UFOs? 228 00:28:30,862 --> 00:28:39,863 Hanger One has opened the Lone Star State's most unusual case files, searching for clues to what may be attracting UFOs to Texas. 229 00:28:40,863 --> 00:28:47,864 When helicopters are seen escorting a UFO, questions regarding the military's connection emerge. 230 00:28:50,864 --> 00:28:57,865 Does the answer lie with an America's largest armored post, Fort Hood, Texas? 231 00:29:10,866 --> 00:29:13,867 The summer of 1975. 232 00:29:14,867 --> 00:29:23,868 A pilot station at Fort Hood with an RS-2 intelligence aviation unit is driving on a highway close to a base with a fran around 10 o'clock at night. 233 00:29:25,868 --> 00:29:30,869 Despite the weather, he can see in the sky above Fort Hood a number of Army helicopters. 234 00:29:30,869 --> 00:29:33,869 They appear to be heading back to the base, but they're not alone. 235 00:29:33,869 --> 00:29:37,870 They're surrounding another object as though they're escorting it. 236 00:29:37,870 --> 00:29:41,870 But it's an aircraft unlike anything he's ever seen before. 237 00:29:44,871 --> 00:29:50,871 Now this guy's a helicopter pilot himself, so he's very familiar with what helicopters look like at night. 238 00:29:52,872 --> 00:29:59,872 And he's certain that this large object, a disc-type thing with a reddish light, is not another helicopter. 239 00:30:04,873 --> 00:30:12,874 The next day, when he gets back to the base, he asks his friend who works in the air traffic control tower if he knows anything about what happened. 240 00:30:12,874 --> 00:30:19,875 The friend claims nobody at the tower knows anything, so he starts asking around among his other pilot buddies. 241 00:30:19,875 --> 00:30:21,875 None of them seem to know anything either. 242 00:30:23,875 --> 00:30:25,876 Now this seems really strange to him. 243 00:30:25,876 --> 00:30:30,876 Usually, if anything happens on a base, it makes its way through the Great Vine pretty quickly. 244 00:30:31,876 --> 00:30:35,877 But for some reason, in this case, nobody seems to know anything. 245 00:30:35,877 --> 00:30:42,878 And finally, after asking around for a bit, one of his pilot buddies tells him he better stop asking questions if he cares at all about his job. 246 00:30:46,878 --> 00:30:57,880 Were the helicopters witnessed by Cache and Landrum and the Fort Hood pilot part of a top-secret UFO project operating out of Fort Hood, Texas? 247 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:03,880 Numerous witnesses have reported seeing helicopters escorting UFOs in and around Fort Hood. 248 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,881 Why would this keep happening over and over in this area? 249 00:31:09,881 --> 00:31:15,882 At some point, you have to ask, is the military working in partnership with extraterrestrials? 250 00:31:16,882 --> 00:31:24,883 A news reporter that has filmed a segment at Fort Hood learned that there was a special helicopter unit involved with UFOs called the Blue Boys. 251 00:31:27,883 --> 00:31:32,884 The Blue Boys supposedly operate out of a section of Fort Hood called Gray Army Airfield. 252 00:31:32,884 --> 00:31:37,884 This helicopter unit may be responsible for escorting and transporting UFOs. 253 00:31:37,884 --> 00:31:39,885 They may even be storing them on the base. 254 00:31:42,885 --> 00:31:48,886 If the Blue Boys are transporting UFOs to Fort Hood, where could they be storing them? 255 00:31:50,886 --> 00:31:56,887 Gray Army Airfield was a top-secret facility that was built with numerous underground tunnels originally designed to store atomic weapons. 256 00:31:58,887 --> 00:32:04,888 These tunnels could be a perfect location for the military to store recovered UFOs. 257 00:32:05,888 --> 00:32:08,888 Who knows what the military is doing with these UFOs? 258 00:32:09,888 --> 00:32:13,889 We have testimony from an individual who worked in an underground bunker at Fort Hood. 259 00:32:15,889 --> 00:32:21,890 He actually stated the technology that is being applied in this underground complex would remind someone of a science fiction thrill. 260 00:32:21,890 --> 00:32:25,890 It is unbelievable what they know and can do from this area. 261 00:32:28,891 --> 00:32:32,891 The question is, is this technology our own or is it extraterrestrial? 262 00:32:36,892 --> 00:32:41,892 I believe that the military have interaction with these beings as we have heard in the stories. 263 00:32:42,892 --> 00:32:46,893 That might not be the whole picture. They might be another layer to that onion. 264 00:32:47,893 --> 00:32:53,894 Does the U.S. military have a secret UFO research facility at Fort Hood? 265 00:32:53,894 --> 00:32:59,895 And could it be tied to a history of reoccurring UFO sightings in Texas? 266 00:33:01,895 --> 00:33:02,895 Coming up... 267 00:33:02,895 --> 00:33:09,896 More than a hundred servicemen reported seeing strange, illuminated flying objects in different shapes and configurations buzzing around the area. 268 00:33:10,896 --> 00:33:21,897 Deep in the heart of Texas, one of the most extraordinary UFO flaps on file takes place directly over Fort Hood when we return. 269 00:33:21,897 --> 00:33:46,900 The most frequent mass UFO sightings in Texas all fall within an area sometimes referred to as the Texas Corridor, including one of the largest military sightings in U.S. history. 270 00:33:52,901 --> 00:34:05,903 Spring, 1949. The skies over Camp Hood, now known as Fort Hood, are filled with unusual objects. 271 00:34:07,903 --> 00:34:14,904 Fort Hood may have been one of the first times when UFOs have been seen around and above military complexes. 272 00:34:15,904 --> 00:34:24,905 In 1949, over the course of four months, March through June, the heavily guarded facility of Camp Hood experiences a record number of UFO sightings. 273 00:34:26,905 --> 00:34:33,906 More than a hundred servicemen reported seeing strange, illuminated flying objects in different shapes and configurations buzzing around the area. 274 00:34:34,906 --> 00:34:44,907 In 1949, Camp Hood was one of three national stockpile sites where nuclear weapons were stored. Security over this whole area was paramount. 275 00:34:47,908 --> 00:34:53,908 The situation was so serious that a very high-level conference was held at Camp Hood to discuss this whole situation. 276 00:34:53,908 --> 00:35:04,910 They brought in the Fourth Army, the Air Force Office of Special Investigation, AFOSI, Office of Naval Intelligence and the FBI to study what was going on. 277 00:35:07,910 --> 00:35:19,912 Despite the urgency of the situation, government officials cannot agree on a course of action. Eventually, the base commander decides to take matters into his own hands. 278 00:35:20,912 --> 00:35:27,913 After two weeks of nightly sightings, the commander of Fort Hood devises a plan of action by establishing special UFO patrols. 279 00:35:28,913 --> 00:35:36,914 Each patrol is assigned to specific areas of the base, and each team has four men, an instrument man, a timer, a recorder, and a radio operator. 280 00:35:37,914 --> 00:35:44,915 So the idea was that when a team would spot a UFO, they would track the exact elevation and azimuth of the object. 281 00:35:44,915 --> 00:35:53,916 The radio operator would call out the location of the object and the direction it's going to other teams, which would then know where to look. 282 00:35:54,916 --> 00:36:02,917 Azimuth is the angle of an object in relation to north. You combine that with the object's elevation and you can pinpoint its exact location in the sky. 283 00:36:03,917 --> 00:36:07,918 This kind of data is critical when trying to prove the existence of UFOs. 284 00:36:08,918 --> 00:36:16,919 The plan seems foolproof and it has the support of every man who has participated for the first time in history everybody wants to get on the patrols. 285 00:36:17,919 --> 00:36:23,920 But since the Air Force has prime responsibility for UFO investigations, the plan has to be coordinated through them. 286 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,920 A copy of the order is rushed to the Air Force with everyone standing by for the minute they say go. They don't. 287 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:37,921 These patrols would have provided an excellent opportunity to get some concrete data on at least one type of UFO. 288 00:36:38,921 --> 00:36:46,922 It's something that should have been done from the start. Speeds, altitudes, and sizes that are estimated just by looking at a UFO are miserably inaccurate. 289 00:36:47,922 --> 00:36:51,923 But this plan could have provided us with some real information, indisputable evidence. 290 00:36:53,923 --> 00:36:56,924 So why doesn't the Air Force approve the plan? 291 00:36:56,924 --> 00:37:05,925 Some people believe that this is because realistically the Air Force did not want lower level operations confirming the reality of UFOs. 292 00:37:06,925 --> 00:37:12,926 It doesn't surprise me that the Air Force shut him down because it sounds like an individual action, an individual plan. 293 00:37:13,926 --> 00:37:20,927 This is a curious guy. You don't want that in a base commander. You want the guys that are going to do what they're told and keep their mouths shut. 294 00:37:20,927 --> 00:37:30,928 Despite the Air Force's unwillingness to approve official UFO patrols at Fort Hood, Texas, sighting reports continue to flood in. 295 00:37:32,928 --> 00:37:39,929 Because so many sightings are taking place, a standardized form is created. On one night alone, 50 sightings are reported. 296 00:37:40,929 --> 00:37:49,930 Finally, after four months, the sightings stop. The Air Force collects all of the reports on the sightings, but ultimately sweeps them under the rug, waiting for them to be forgotten. 297 00:37:50,930 --> 00:37:57,931 Could this event in Texas have been one of the United States most defining UFO moments? 298 00:37:58,931 --> 00:38:06,932 We had mass UFO sightings for an extended period of time over Camp Hood and a base commander willing to authorize a serious investigation. 299 00:38:07,932 --> 00:38:10,933 This could have been the turning point for UFO investigations in America. 300 00:38:11,933 --> 00:38:19,934 If the investigation had been approved, we could have collected indisputable evidence allowing for public awareness that these entities exist. 301 00:38:21,934 --> 00:38:35,936 Although this event did not lead to national public awareness, it still may have played a significant role in our UFO history and be a clue to why UFOs are drawn to Texas. 302 00:38:36,936 --> 00:38:44,937 The sightings at Camp Hood are a major UFO event, and it may be that this event triggered a government's desire to have a secret UFO facility at this location. 303 00:38:45,937 --> 00:38:50,938 It's possible that the UFOs were originally attracted to Camp Hood because of the nuclear weapons stored there. 304 00:38:51,938 --> 00:38:59,939 What's interesting is that those same underground storage facilities that housed those nuclear weapons could now be housing a secret military UFO operation. 305 00:39:02,939 --> 00:39:07,940 Fort Hood is located directly in the middle of this UFO corridor. 306 00:39:08,940 --> 00:39:14,940 Is Fort Hood the missing link to Texas's unexplained UFO activity? 307 00:39:15,941 --> 00:39:26,942 State of Texas has Texas-sized UFO cases. Perhaps as UFO groups like Mufon continue to investigate, one day we'll understand what is attracting these UFOs. 308 00:39:28,942 --> 00:39:35,943 For now, the truth behind the strange objects that light up the Texas skies remains elusive. 309 00:39:37,943 --> 00:39:46,944 But keep your eyes peeled when traveling through the Lone Star State, because you may become a witness to the next big sighting.