Instead, the officer, in this case Major Henderson, forwarded incomplete data to Project Blue Book. There, they decided they didn't have enough data to solve the puzzle, so they stamped it with insufficient data, said they thought it was Jupiter, and closed the case. Apparently no one thought to pick up the telephone and see if the missing data could be recovered so that they would be able to solve the case.
Now, more than thirty-five years later, we have had books written about the Hill case. It is considered one of the best and is responsible for bringing the whole of the abduction phenomenon into the mainstream. Both Barney and Betty Hill were seen as honest individuals who were telling, frankly, an incredible story. It is clear that they had not invented the tale consciously. They were not involved in some elaborate hoax to push themselves into the spotlight. They believed what they said.
But let's think about what the Air Force could have done, especially since it was their job to do it. They could have taken the Hills back to the road and had them point out where they had seen the object. An officer could have used a compass to determine the direction to the object from the road, and he could have determined the elevation, two facts that the Air Force didn't have.
Had that been done, wouldn't the Air Force have been able to say the UFO sighting was the result of Jupiter, if Jupiter was in the right position to cause the sighting? Had the Air Force done that, wouldn't a number of questions about the case been resolved? Instead of having more than thirty-five years of speculation, wouldn't we have been able to suggest a plausible explanation for the sighting rather than slapping the insufficient data label on it. And, wasn't it the job of the Air Force to find solutions rather than just label cases.
In 1955, a sixty-one year-old elementary school teacher reported much the same thing as the Hills. She watched an object for about an hour and a half as it seemed to pace her car. She believed that the object was tracking her and was afraid that she would be captured.
The official Blue Book file showed that "One pear shaped obj, similar to light bulb, seemed to be intense blue light. Light appeared in front of observer's car. Observer stated obj was seen on all sides of her car, and believed obj was interested in capturing her and her car. Obj left with approach of dawn, disappearing behind mountain range to east."
Under comments it was noted, "Ascribe report to psychological causes of witness."
It was also noted that the witness was "apparently sincere. No publicity was givin (sic) in local papers. Observers belief that object was interested in capturing her and auto and was persistent enough to stay for 1 and one-half to 2 hrs, leaving only with approaching dawn. Observer is apparently intelligent but possibility of paranoiac symptoms."
This case is important because it foreshadows the Hill sighting by six years. It suggests that something other than a "viewing" of a particularly bright planet or star has happened. But the Air Force didn't bother to investigate farther. They had an answer. The woman was paranoid. We all know that UFOs don't pace cars or capture people. Those who believe such things are obviously paranoid.
Had the Air Force searched their own files, as I did, they would have found this case which suggests something might be happening. Suddenly the Hills, believing they were being followed by a UFO isn't so strange. In fact, if we examine the history of UFO sightings, we find that it is a pattern that is repeated a number of times. Military and airline pilots had reported that strange craft paced their aircraft and people driving the highways had suggested UFOs had followed them. What this demonstrates is not a psychological problem, but a reported occurrence that seemed to have been by missed the Air Force investigators.
But we do see a pattern in the Air Force investigation. The school teacher was paranoid and therefore additional investigation was not required. The Hills were crazy, had even sought psychiatric help, and therefore additional investigation was not required. We see in the Hill file the one officer's notes about emotional maturity. He hammered that point home believing that Barney Hill was not emotionally mature.
Even if we reject the idea of alien abduction, here was a case that deserved to be reviewed. The Air Force paid lip serve to the regulations, interviewed Barney Hill on the telephone and then used the lack of investigation as proof that there was nothing to the case. After all, if it was an important case, there would have been more of an investigation by the Air Force.
What we also see, in this case is the anger with which some officers approached their mission. They didn't want to be chasing flying saucers because everyone knows those things aren't real. Rather than answer the questions about the case, rather than take the time and put in the effort to learn the facts, they rejected the story as told because, to them, it was incredible. This is one of those cases that can't be true and therefore it is not true.
Again, the case itself, in this one instance, isn't important. It is the attitude of the officers who investigated it. They couldn't be troubled with doing the job they were required to do by Air Force regulation. In the end, they were able to label the case, and that is all that that they really cared about. It didn't count against them because it didn't land in the "unidentified" category. All we have to do is ignore the fact that with a little effort, they might have been able to put the right label on the case. That, it seems, was too much trouble for them.
October 2, 1961: A Daylight Disc
At night there are many things that can fool those not familiar with the sky. Bright stars, artificial satellites, radio towers, and even the pattern of lights on an aircraft can conspire to fool even the most careful observer. During the day, the number of atmospheric phenomena that exist is reduced, and it is easier for people to identify even the unusual when the sun is out to provide additional clues.
Waldo J. Harris, a private pilot and real estate broker from the Salt Lake City area, encountered, according to the Project Blue Book files, a natural phenomenon on October 2, 1961. Others have suggested that it was the classic daylight disc.
Harris, himself, provided a long account of the sighting. He wrote, "About noon… I was preparing to take off in a Mooney Mark 20A from North- South runway at Utah Central Airport when I noticed a bright spot in the sky over the Southern end of the Salt Lake Valley. I began my take-off run without paying much attention to the bright spot as I assumed that it was some aircraft reflecting the sun as it turned. After I was airbourne and trimed (sic) for my climb-out I noticed that the bright spot was still about in the same position as before. I still thought it must be the sun reflecting from an airplane, so I made my turn onto my cross-wind leg of the traffic pattern, and was about to turn downwind when I noticed that the spot was in the same spot still. I turned out of the pattern and proceeded toward the spot to get a better look.
"As I drew nearer I could see that the object had no wings nor tail nor any other exterior control surfaces protruding from what appeared to be the fusilage (sic). It seemed to be hovering with a little rocking motion. As it rocked up away from me I could see that it was a disc shaped object. I would guess the diameter about 50 to 55 feet, the thickness in the middle at about 8 to 10 feet. It had the appearance of sand-blasted aluminum. I could see no windows or doors or any other openings, nor could I see any landing gear doors, etc., protruding nor showing.
"I believe at the closest point I was about 2 miles from the object at the same altitude, or a little above, the object. It rose abruptly about 1000 ft above me as I closed in giving me an excellent view of the underneath side, which was exactly like the upper side as far as I could tell. Then it went off on a course of about 170 degrees for about 10 miles where it again hovered with that little rocking motion.