As a parenthetical note, it could be that Hynek was not consulted after the "Swamp Gas" disaster. Hynek, on hearing about the sightings in Michigan in March 1966, made an off the cuff remark that it "sounded like swamp gas." Reporters hearing that, ran with the explanation. It resulted in a memo from the Air Force suggesting that Dr. Hynek not issue any more statements because of the negative publicity.
Powers continued, writing, "I thought at first that during the latter part of your experience, after you had lost the object and then re-acquired it, that you and Mr. Houston (sic) might have spotted Venus, and thought it was the same object at a higher altitude: I spoke to Major Quintanilla on the telephone at the time I gave him the results of my telephone interview, and told him of this idea. Now I have additional information, chiefly from Mr. William Weitzel, which appears to make that hypothesis incorrect. I now understand that you and other witnesses did notice Venus and the Moon, and saw the object in motion relative to them, as well as being able to see a shape. At no time, however, did I suppose that the earlier part of the sighting involved anything other than an airborne object."
It made no difference to Blue Book investigators. They had a theory to explain the sighting. It made no difference to them that the witnesses were talking of seeing an object, not a point of light, that it had been within a hundred feet of them, and had illuminated the highway. The purpose of Project Blue Book by this time was to explain UFO sightings and that is exactly what they had done.
Although there were attempts by several people to persuade the officers at Blue Book to change their opinion, it never happened. Hynek, the scientific consultant even suggested the case be re-evaluated as an unidentified. James McDonald called the satellite and Venus explanation an "absurdity."
McDonald, in fact, wrote, "The fact Officer Huston saw the object coming in out of the northwest sky clearly rules out his seeing Venus, yet at that time the first two officers had been following the object for a much longer time than Echo requires to transit the full sky. This, plus the four-witness descriptions of vertical ascent at the termination of the sighting are calmly swept aside… "
The facts of the case were overlooked and ignored as the Air Force worked to hammer the explanation into the hole they had created. What strikes me is that the witnesses reported the size and shape of the object, seeing it close to the ground, and watching it as it lifted into the sky. It was in sight long enough for them to get a good look at it. Yet all of this is ignored as the Air Force reported the various witnesses had seen a satellite and Venus.
If we go through the Air Force files, and I have done that, we can find dozens of cases of Venus being reported as a UFO. These are easy to find. The witness will talk of a bright point of light that seems to fly erratically, never far from the horizon. If it was a morning sighting, then the object disappears, slowly fading from view as the sun comes up, this is clearly Venus. If it is an evening sighting, with the object eventually lost on the horizon, then this too, is Venus.
The point is, there are very distinctive descriptions that allow us to suggest Venus as the real culprit when appropriate. Yet, there isn't a case in which Venus is the answer and in which the witnesses provide a description of the object, suggest it close to the ground, and who also see Venus in the sky where it should be.
Once again we have a case that has a label slapped on it, but we have no answer. The police officers saw something very unusual early that morning. They chased it until it lifted into the sky, disappearing. It was not Venus, a satellite, or any of the other mundane explanations that have been offered about it.
There is a post script to this report and that revolves around the lives of the men involved in the case. It has little to do with the Air Force investigation, though the answer offered by Quintanilla certainly made them look like they were not the brightest humans to ever walk the face of the planet.
Within six months of the sighting, Spaur had left law enforcement and was working as a painter. Spaur's marriage ended in divorce. One night he walked into the house, and for reasons that he said he did not understand, flew into a rage, grabbing his wife and shaking her. She filed charges and he spend a brief period in jail.
H. Wayne Huston resigned from the police force within months of the sighting. He moved to Seattle and became a bus driver. He told reporters that he had quit because of the sighting. He said that people laughed at him. He suggested that city officials didn't like police officers who saw flying saucers. Or maybe it was that city officials didn't care if police officers saw flying saucers, they just didn't want them to report those sightings to the Air Force.
Neff's wife said that the chase had changed him as well. He had been in a state of shock when she first saw him after the chase. Later he refused to talk about it, saying that he would not tell a soul if one landed in his backyard. According to his wife, he had been through the wringer.
These weren't the first, nor the last, police officers who had lost their jobs after reporting flying saucers. The list is long and almost endless. And, in a few cases it seems to be the result of an effort to discredit the officer who made the report.
But the facts remain. The police officers, in communications with their superiors, chased something across parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania on April 17. Other officers, hearing those radio messages, went out and saw the same thing. If Blue Book was a search for the truth, and for information, they would have done more than make a few telephone calls, and one "investigative" trip. They would have attempted to find out what really happened.
October 24, 1968: Why not Minot?
There are thousands of cases in the Project Blue Book files that seem to have plausible explanations attached to them. It seems as if the investigation conducted by Air Force officers has been complete so that there should be no reason to question them. Then there are cases in which the explanations become so convoluted that it is extraordinary that anyone was able to come up with the solution.
I am reminded of a scene in Joseph Wambaugh's The Glitter Dome in which the police officers are talking about the solution to a difficult case. They have finally been able to rule it a suicide and clear the books. Their explanation seems plausible, but it is clear from the dialogue that they worked very hard to make it seem plausible. It is also clear that neither officer accepts the answer as real. It just cleared the books. At the very end of the story, referring to a different investigation, one of them comments that they finally solved one.
In the Minot case, it seems as if the Air Force investigators were working very hard to provide a solution that would be acceptable to higher ranking officers. At no time does it seem that they care if they have the correction solution, only that it is acceptable.
According to the Project Record Card, the conclusion for the sightings that took place are: "Ground-Visuaclass="underline" 1. Probable (Aircraft)(B-52). 2. Probable Astro (Sirius). Radar: Possible (Plasma). Air-Visuaclass="underline" Possible (Plasma)."
In the comments section, the investigating officer wrote, "The ground visual sightings appear to be of the star Sirius and the B-52 which was flying the area. The B-52 radar contact and the temporary loss of UHF transmission could be attributed to plasma, similar to ball lightning. The air-visual from the B-52 could be the star Vega which was on the horizon at the time, or it could be a light on the ground, or possibly a plasma."