NEVADA UFO ROUND-UP

by Skylaire Alfvegren

Continued...

Driving towards Las Vegas, Long was 30 miles west of Tonopah when his engine died. Failing to restart his car, his ears were assaulted with a high-pitched droning hum which eminated from four disc-shaped craft resting on the ground between three and four hundred yards from the highway. Curious, Long walked to within 50 feet of the identical objects, which he estimated were 50 feet in diameter, between ten and 15 feet high, with a dark ring around the outside. Along with the strange hum which became almost painful the closer he came, the objects emitted an intense glow. Each was capped by a transparent dome on top, and rested on three hemispherical landing legs.

As he approached, the objects retracted their landing gear and rose 50 feet into the air, traveling slowly north across the freeway and disappearing behind some small hills. The lieutenant inspected the landing site, where the craft had left depressions, but no evidence of heat. The encounter lasted 20 minutes. Upon returning to his car Long found that it started with no problem and ran perfectly. He drove on to Indian Springs Air Force Base and reported the sighting to the base Security Office. A memo in the Blue Book files outlined the Air Force’s problem:

“The damage and embarrassment to the Air Force would be incalculable if this officer allied himself with the host of “flying saucer” writers, experts and others who provide the Air Force with countless charges and accusations. In this instance, as matters now stand, the Air Force would have no effective rebuttal, or evidence to disprove any unfounded charges.”

The sighting had to be explained, or at least explained away. A psychologist was contacted, and the best he could do was suggest it was “road hypnosis,” that the lieutenant had hallucinated while driving. Untenable as that may seem, the official Blue Book explanation lists the occurrence as “physiological” in nature, thereby ensuring no further investigation. Over the years, many investigators have noted the credibility of the case. When Jack Webb produced the TV series Project UFO, he based one of the 26 episodes “Incident in the Nevada Desert” on Long’s case.

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