3. Experts' Short Lists

PART 3: Existing lists by various individuals

Have individual UFO researchers and UFO groups put forward lists of the top cases? Which cases did they list? How much overlap is there between the various lists? Do the same cases come up all the time, or do opinions differ significantly between researchers?

If the majority of ufologists accepted that, for various reasons (see PART 2: Challenges to produce lists of top cases), it is extremely desirable to formulate lists of the best UFO cases then one might expect lists of the top UFO cases to be relatively common and discussed frequently within the UFO literature. Unfortunately, this is not the case:

(1) It is relatively rare for UFO books or articles to list the cases which the author considers to be the best. A very limited number of UFO researchers and groups have nominated an individual case, or short list of cases, which they consider to represent the best evidence in support of their position. I refer to a number of such lists below. While the collection below may appear to be fairly extensive, it should be noted that these lists are collated as a result of reading approximately 960 UFO/SETI books and tens of thousands of webpages.

(2) Very few of the lists mentioned below were accompanied by even the most general of explanation as to why these cases were considered to be the “best”. Item by item justifications for including each case were even rarer, accompanying virtually none of these lists.

(3) The lists that have been produced are remarkable in their diversity. There is very little, if any, consensus among the relatively few ufologists prepared to nominate a list of the “best” cases.

(4) As far as I have been able to determine, no-one in the history of ufology has previously attempted to publish a collection of the various lists that have been produced and to provide references to such lists.

Rather than nominate a short list of the “best” cases, it is considerably more common for UFO books and articles to either suggest that it is impossible (or would be pointless) to list the best cases, or (far more frequently) to simply fail to expressly address the issue of which cases (if any) are worth focusing upon.

In preparing the contents of this article, I have generally resisted the temptation to simply ask ufologists to nominate their lists of the “best” cases. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, I wished to see what could be found within the UFO literature. This is what most skeptics would have to do, particularly as few of them would have the contact with ufologists that I have had over the years. Second, I wished to demonstrate the extent of my interest in this issue by circulating this article prior to troubling fellow researchers. Thirdly, I am aware that similar requests have been made in the past, and was aware of a relatively recent survey of ufologists by a Canadian film-maker, Paul Kimball (see Part 8). I had no desire to tread on Paul Kimball’s toes or reinvent the wheel.

However, this article may be regarded as an open invitation to researchers to let me know their nominations for the best UFO cases, preferably after they have reflected upon the contents of this article (particularly the Conclusion section, i.e. Part 29).

When reading UFO books and articles, it is sometimes difficult to tell which cases are being advanced as the most significant overall. For example, in Richard Dolan’s book “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” numerous cases are described in terms which imply they are something special, but only within a certain category of sighting (e.g. during the relevant year or involving a particular characteristic). To take just a few examples from the descriptions in that book, relevant cases include

Roswell (“the Holy Grail of UFO research”, see Footnote 3.01 –Case 4 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
McMinnville (a “first rate” photographic case”, see Footnote 3.02 and Case 17 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
1952 Washington sightings (“among the most compelling and dramatic UFO sightings in modern American history”, see Footnote 3.03 and Case 8 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
Senator Richard Russell’s sighting (“one of the key UFO sightings of the year”, see Footnote 3.04),
Lakenheath (“one of the best-documented encounters between the military and UFOs”, see Footnote 3.05 and Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
Zamora’s sighting at Socorro (“generally considered among the most compelling and interesting UFO encounters ever”, see Footnote 3.06 and Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
Shag Harbour (“a most extraordinary UFO incident”, see Footnote 3.07), and the Schirmer abduction case (“an extraordinary close encounter with alien entities”, see Footnote 3.08 and Case 20 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

Other than in the answers to a Fortean Times poll published in 2007 (see PART 9: Consensus lists : Fortean Times expert poll (2007)), it is extremely rare to find researchers prepared to nominate a single “best” case within the UFO literature. Some of the rare exceptions include:

(a) Stanton Friedman : He has said that the Betty and Barney Hill incident “is my favorite” (see Footnote 3.09 and Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);

(b) Ed Ruppelt : In his book “The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects” (1956) he commented in relation to a radar-visual jet chase incident on 5-6 August 1953 near Rapid City, South Dakota that “this was an unknown - the best” (see Footnote 3.10)

(c) Allen H Greenfield has commented that the Travis Walton incident (Case 11 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article), “may be the most iron-clad UFO case in history” (see Footnote 3.11).

Instead of nominating a single “best” cases, it is relatively more common (but still rare) for ufologists or UFO groups to be prepared to nominate 5 or 10 cases which are said to be “among” the best cases, or “representative” of the best cases. Details of various lists are reproduced below.

Groups that have been prepared to nominate lists of the “best” cases include NICAP and APRO.

NICAP : Jacques Vallee’s book “Challenge to Science : The UFO Enigma” (1966) included a list of 5 cases nominated by NICAP as being the best (see Footnote 3.12). Those cases were:

(1) Nash and Fortenberry (Case 44 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) Red Bluff (Case 93 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(3) Captain Sperry,
(4) Southwest, 1957,
(5) Socorro (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

APRO : Jacques Vallee’s book “Challenge to Science : The UFO Enigma” (1966) refers to a list of 5 cases nominated by APRO as being the best cases. Unfortunately, Jacques Vallee only names 3 of those cases, although the context indicates Socorro was one of the remaining cases (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article). The 3 cases listed by Jacques Vallee (see Footnote 3.13) were:

(1) Trindade (Case 26 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) Father Gill (Case 15 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).,
(3) the BOAC incident (Case 46 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

FUFOR, MUFON and CUFOS have all endorsed a document as containing “the best available evidence for the existence of UFOs”. That document and the list of cases that it contains are discussed in a later section of this article (see PART 11: Consensus lists : The Rockefeller Briefing Document).

Various lists by individual researchers are referred to below, including lists by the following researchers:

(1) Dennis Balthaser
(2) Don Berliner
(3) Greg Bishop
(4) Thomas E Bullard
(5) James Carrion
(6) Mark Cashman
(7) Bill Chalker
(8) Jerry Clark

(9) David Clarke
(10) Jerry Cohen
(11) Dwight Connelly
(12) Richard Dolan
(13) Hilary Evans
(14) Stanton Friedman
(15) Richard Hall
(16) Robert L Hall
(17) Gary Heseltine
(18) J Allen Hynek
(19) Paul Kimball
(20) Alfred Lehmberg
(21) Bruce Maccabee
(22) James McDonald
(23) Nick Pope
(24) Kevin Randle
(25) Jenny Randles
(26) Rich Reynolds
(27) Andy Roberts
(28) Robert Rosamund
(29) Brad Sparks
(30) Ronald Story
(31) Jacques Vallee

After referring to those lists of cases, I will also briefly mention lists of the best cases from the United Kingdom produced by several British reseachers (namely Jenny Randles, Dave Clarke and Andy Roberts).

In addition, I note that numerous members of ATS, a popular discussion forum, have nominated a diverse range of cases in Thread 143130.

(1) Dennis Balthaser

Dennis Balthaser wrote an article for the MUFON Journal in 2003 about his “ten favourite cases” (see Footnote 3.13A). He indicated that the list include “my ten favourite UFO cases” that he “personally feel are worth further investigation or research”, but stated (for reasons which are not entirely clear) that he did preferred “not to call them ‘my top 10 UFO cases’ ”. That article discussed the following 10 cases, “not in any order as far as importance to me”:

1. Roswell incident (Case 4 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
2. Zamora, Socorro (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
3. Area 51;
4. Travis Walton abduction (Case 11 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
5. Great Pyramids of Giza;
6. Betty and Barney Hill abduction (Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
7. 1952, Washington D.C. incident (Case 8 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
8. Phoenix Lights;
9. Kenneth Arnold’s first sighting (Case 1 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
10. Aztec New Mexico crash, March 1948.

Dennis Balthaser indicated that if he prepared a longer list of his “personal favourites” then the cases that would qualify would include “many other cases such as the Dulce underground base”, “the Maury Island Incident” (Case 12 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article), “Shag Harbour”, “the White Sands landing in the 50s, and my own 1997 Interception experience”.

(2) Don Berliner

In an interview by Milton Frank, Brazilian Ufology Center President, circulated on the UFO UpDates discussion List on 14 January 2007 (see Footnote 3.14), Don Berliner listed in chronological order “the top 10 cases of World Ufology” in his opinion:

(3) Greg Bishop

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Greg Bishop refers to the following 10 cases in chronological order, prefaced with the statement that “I do not choose these from an evidentiary standpoint, they are simply personal favourites” (see Footnote 3.59).

1. Flatwoods Monster – West Virginia, USA, 1952 (Case 38 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
2. Kelly-Hopkinsville – Kentucky, USA, 1955 (Case 14 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
3. Antonio Villas-Boas case – Brazil, 1957 (Case 7 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
4. Along Pan-American highway, Chile, 1950s.
5. Rex Heflin sighting and photos – Santa Ana, CA, USA, 1965 (Case 62 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
6. Mothman Sightings – West Virginia, USA, 1966.
7. Herbert Schirmer – Ashland, NB, USA, 1967 (Case 20 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
8. Pascagoula Abduction – Mississippi, USA, 1973 (Case 9 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
9. Scary Night – Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 1975.
10. Cash-Landrum Incident – Texas, USA, 1980 (Case 30 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

(4) Thomas E Bullard

Thomas E Bullard nominated the radar-visual case near Minot, South Dakota on 24 October 1968 in response to the question about “the most evidential” UFO case in a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 and indicated that he would add the following five cases that he has “studied at some length” that “seem worthy to me – the strange, well-supported, tried-and-tested survivors” (Footnote 3.60):

1) The Father Gill case from 1959 (Case 15 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
2) Barney and Betty Hill, 1961 (Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
3) Exeter, New Hampshire, 1965 (Case 29 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
4) The January, 2000, southern Illinois police chase case.
5) Robozero Marvel (1663 AD)

(5) James Carrion

In an interview in 2006, James Carrion, the International Director of the Mutual UFO Network, gave the following list of the “top 10 cases” (see Footnote 3.15):

(6) Mark Cashman

In 1998, Mark Cashman (webmaster of “The Temporal Doorway” website) presented a list (see Footnote 3.16) which he subsequently clarifed was a list of “10 cases I chose as representative of those cases suggestive of the ETH, not the 10 best cases of all time regardless of whether they are suggestive of ETH” (see Footnote 3.17).

1. Performance- Hill, 7/16/1952, Virginia, 120 g turns
2. Performance- Marignane, 1952, 18G acceleration,
3. Structure- Moreland, 7/13/1959, New Zealand,
4. Interest in and interference with vehicles- Levelland, 1957 (Case 16 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
5. Unconventional physics- Beaver Falls, PA photo, 1965
(luminosity, non-visible EM emissions)
6. Escape velocity (25k mph)- 4/24/1949, White Sands,
7. Departure to high altitude- Loch Raven Dam, 1958 (Case 100 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
8. Beings in association with UFO- 1/1/70, Vancouver Isl., Canada
9. Sample gathering- Valensole, 1965 (Case 22 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
10. Interest in humans- Kelly-Hopkinsville, Aug. 21, 1955 (Case 14 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

(7) Bill Chalker

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Bill Chalker referred to the following 10 cases, with an indication that the list represents his “personal 'top ten' regional Australasian case list” (Footnote 3.61).

1. 31 August 1954 : Sea Fury case, near Goulbourn, NSW, Australia
2. 23 July 1992 : Peter Khoury “Hair of Alien” DNA case, Sydney, Australia
3. 27 June 1959 : Father Gill sighting (Case 15 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. 30 September 1980 : George Blackwell, Rosedale, Victoria, Australia
5. 8 August 1993 : Kelly Cahill’s abduction experience
6. 19 January 1966 : George Pedley’s UFO nest encounter (Case 99 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
7. 14 April 1966 : Ron Sullivan’s “bent headlight beam” experience
8. 6 April 1966 : Westall school daylight UFO landing encounter.
9. 1977–78 : Gisborne UFO abduction milieu
10. May – August 1973 : Tyringham Dundurrabin intense UFO flap

Since the top cases in this list are not in chronological order, and since the list begins with Bill Chalker favourite case, the order of the cases may reflect Bill Chalker’s views as to their respective evidential merit.

(8) Jerry Clark

In 1998, Jerry Clark stated that the following entries from the second edition of his UFO Encyclopedia “address many of the best cases on which rests the argument that UFOs may be extraordinary anomalies” (see Footnote 3.18):

The following year (in 1999), Jerry Clark posted a much shorter list of cases (see Footnote 3.19) which was subsequently taken by John Rimmer as being a list of Jerry Clark’s “best cases” (see Footnote 3.20). Jerry Clark stated: “For some convincingly documented cases which have stubbornly withstood the assaults of pelicanists, see The UFO Encyclopedia, 2nd Ed.,on …” and then listed the following cases:

(a) the Coyne CE2 (Case 25 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(b) Portland County Sightings,
(c) RB-47 case (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(d) the Socorro CE2/CE3 (ee Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

(9) David Clarke

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, British UFO skeptics David Clarke and Andy Roberts provided comments jointly which refer to the following 10 cases, with an indication that the list represents their “Top Ten list of ‘classic’ unresolved UFO cases, incorporating our two ‘best’ cases, and reflecting our bias towards UK incidents that we have personally investigated or researched” (Footnote 3.62):

1. RAF Lakenheath-Bentwaters (see FT213:28-32) (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
2. RAF Farnborough, Hampshire (see FT164:43).
3. Livingston incident, Scotland, 1979 (Case 86 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. Exercise Mainbrace sightings, September and October 1952 (Case 90 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
5. Rendlesham Forest (see FT204:32–39) (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
6. PC Alan Godfrey’s encounter, Todmorden, 28 November 1980 (Case 56 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
7. Cynthia Appleton “contactee” story, Birmingham, 1957-58. (see FT191:32-38)
8. Ilkley alien photo, West Yorkshire, 1 December 1987.
9. Stephen Darbishire photo, Coniston, Cumbria, February 1954 (Case 91 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
10. Alitalia UFO, 21 April 1991. (See FT194:23).

(10) Jerry Cohen

Jerry Cohen’s website includes the following list of cases entitled “Author’s Select Cases” (see Footnote 3.21):

(1) Edwards AFB Case (1957.0502)
(2) Kirtland AFB (1957.1104)
(3) "The Sebago" (1957.1105)
(4) Hynek Blue Book Case (1965.0505)
(5) Exeter, New Hampshire (1965.0903) (Case 29 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(6) Portage County, Ravenna Ohio (1966.0417) (Case 73 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(7) Malmstrom Air Force Base (1967.0316)
(8) Redlands, California (1968.0204)
(9) Malmstrom Air Force Base (1975.1107)
(10) F-4 Incident, Iran (1976.0900) (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(11) Belgium UFO (1989/90) (Case 40 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(12) Police UFO, Illinois (2000.0105)

(11) Dwight Connelly

Dwight Connelly’s book “The World's Best UFO Cases” includes chapters on the following incidents (see Footnote 3.22):

(12) Richard Dolan

Richard Dolan’s book “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” does not contain a list expressly identified as being a list of the cases that he considers to be the “best”. However, in a concluding chapter he does list several sightings and asks how they can be explained (see Footnote 3.22). By implication, this appears to be a list of the UFO cases which Richard Dolan considers to be the best. The relevant cases are:

1. Lakenheath (1956) (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
2. McMinnville photos (Case 17 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
3. Zamora’s sighting at Socorro (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. Senator Richard Russell’s sighting
5. The 1954 humanoid sightings

(13) Hilary Evans

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Hilary Evans responded “As for the ten ‘best cases’, this is, of course, an impossible request. … really, there’s hardly a case in the files that doesn’t have its own dimension of speculation and wonder!” (Footnote 3.63). Despite that response, he did go on to discuss a limited number of specific cases. Those cases were:

1. Hessdalen lights
2. 1980 Piedmont, Missouri, observations by Harley Rutledge.
3. 1974 report ‘The Utah UFO display’.
4. 1959 Boinai Father Gill sightings (Case 15 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
5. Crop Circles enigma,
6. Betty and Barney Hill (Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

(14) Stanton Friedman

As noted above, Stanton Friedman has said that the Betty and Barney Hill incident “is my favorite” (see Footnote 3.09 and Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

In response to a suggestion that he refuses to “produce a single case”, Stanton Friedman has referred to the following cases (see Footnote 3.58):

(1) RB 47 (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) Hills (Case 2 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(3) Salt Lake City.

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Stanton Friedman began by stating that he doesn’t “like top-10 lists”. However, he went on to state that “here is a fast pass...” and listed the following ten cases (Footnote 3.64):

Stanton Friedman has also referred (see Footnote 3.23) with apparent approval to the list of 41 cases in the testimony of Dr James E. McDonald to a congressional hearing on 29 July l968, i.e. the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics’ “Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects”, chaired by Congressman J Edward Roush (see Footnote 3.58 and also Footnote 3.24, and see entry below in relation to James McDonald).

(15) Richard Hall

Richard Hall’s article “The Science of UFOs: Fact vs. Skepticism” referred to 20 cases, summarised in a list prepared by Bob Young(see Footnote 3.25). Those 20 cases are briefly listed below:

1) Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona (1952.0501)
2) Red Bluff, California; Carson/Scott (1960.0813) (Case 93 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
3) Socorro, New Mexico; Lonnie Zamora (1964.0424) (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4) Minot AFB, North Dakota (1967.0305)
5) Mansfield, Ohio; Coyne (1973.1018) (Case 25 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
6) Langenburg, Saskatchewan, Canada; Fuhr (1974.0901)
7) Santa Monica, California; Hallstrom (1978.0101)
8) Kuwait; (1978.1109)
9) Eastlake, Ohio; (1988.0304)
10) Bovina, Texas; Tollefson (1995.0525)
11) Damon, Texas; McCoy/Goode. (1965.0903)
12) Ravenna, Ohio; Spaur/Neff (1966.0417) (Case 73 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
13) Everglades; James Flynn (1965.0315)
14) Tehran, Iran (1976.0919) (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
15) Split Rock Pond, New Jersey; Simons (1966.1015)
16) Atlanta, Missouri; Overstreet (1969.0404)
17) Huffman, Texas; Cash/Landrum (1980.1229) (Case 30 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
18) Colby, Kansas; Carter (1972.0819)
19) LaPoint, Utah (1967.1110)
20) Algodonales, Cadiz, Spain (1972.0609)

Richard Hall subsequently clarified that whilst for the purposes of debate “willing to base [his] argument on [the first] 18 [of the above] cases”, his position “is and always has been that it is the cumulative evidence of many hundreds of cases of the type illustrated in this article (see UFOE-II), and associated physical evidence of various types, and recurring patterns closely similar or identical to the cases illustrated in this article, are what make the ETH the most likely interpretation” (see Footnote 3.26).

(16) Robert L Hall

Robert L Hall (behavioural scientist) has presented a list of cases as “examples of hard core cases” in which he finds “familiar explanations, including systematic misperception, implausible” (see Footnote 3.27). He listed:

(1) Lakenheath (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(2) RB-47 case (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(3) Hollywood on 5-6 February 1960
(4) Arrey, New Mexico on 24 April 1949
(5) Red Bluff, California on 13 August 1960 (Case 93 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(6) Admiralty Bay on 16 May 1961
(7) Redlands, California on 2 February 1968

(17) Gary Heseltine

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Gary Heseltine listed the following cases , with an indication that they are his “top ten, in chronological order” (Footnote 3.65):

1. On 11 August 1944, whilst over France, a Lancaster bomber crew.
2. The Great Falls, Montana, cine footage from August 1950(Case 41 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
3. The RAF Lakenheath radar-visual sighting of August 13–14, 1956 (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
4. Colonel Gordon Cooper, UFO landing at Edwards Air Force Base in 1957 (Case 79 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
5. Tehran, Iran, Jet Chase, early hours of 19 September 1976 (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
6. Rendlesham Forest, 26-28 December 1980 (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
7. Japan Airlines, 17 November 1986 (Case 89 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
8. Belgium, night of 30–31 March 1990 (Case 40 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
9. The Tether Incident, STS 75, 1997.
10. Campeche region of Mexico, March 2004.

(18) J Allen Hynek

Following an interview with Associated Press, J Allen Hynek was quoted as saying in relation to Socorro (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article) that it was “one of the soundest, best substantiated reports as far as it goes” (see Footnote 3.28).

Hynek also appears to have selected his top 20 cases.

On 5 April 1996, there a one day House Armed Services Committee hearing on Unidentified Flying Objects was chaired by H Mendel Rivers. Witnesses at the hearing were Harold Brown (Secretary of the Air Force), Major Hector Quintanilla Jr (Chief of Project Blue Book) and Dr J Allen Hynek. Hynek said “I have set aside for further study some 20 particularly well-reported UFO cases which, despite the character, technical competence and number of the witnesses, I have not been able to explain. I have done this to illustrate that neither I nor the Air Force hide the fact that there are unexplained reports…” (see Footnote 3.29). Menzel has written that “When Condon asked Hynek for these cases in February 1968, Hynek refused on the basis that, by then, the Colorado investigation would shortly come to an end, and he did not want to run the risk of having potentially valuable data rendered useless or jeopardized for future work, through careless processing of the material” (see Footnote 3.30).

I note in passing that of the dozens of critical reviews that I have read of the Condon Report, most complain that the Condon study failed to address the “best” cases but I do not recall a single one of those critical reviews mentioning that Hynek had refused to provide to Condon a list of the top 20 cases that he had mentioned in public.

However, Hynek did send Menzel a list of 11 cases (see Footnote 3.31). Unfortunately, neither Menzel nor Hynek appear to have published the relevant list of cases, nor have I seen any other researcher publish (or even mention) the relevant list. It is possible that the relevant list can be found within copies of relevant correspondence between Menzel and Hynek.

(19) Paul Kimball

Paul Kimball’s nominations of the top 10 cases (see Footnote 3.32), in no particular order, are:

(1) RB-47 (1957) - USA (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(2) McMinnville (1950) – USA (Case 17 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(3) Kelly Johnson / Lockheed case (1953) - USA http://www.nicap.dabsol.co.uk/lockufoinc.htm
(4) The 1952 Washington flap (Case 8 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article), when combined with the Nash-Fortenberry sighting (Case 44 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article) and the Paul Hill sighting - USA
(see here.
(5) Vins-sur-Caramy (1957) - France (see here)
(6) Minot AFB (1968) - USA (see here)
(7) Yukon multiple witness case (1996) - Canada (see here
(8) Shag Harbour (1967) - Canada (see here)
(9) Killeen / Fort Hood case (1949) - USA
see:
http://www.nicap.org/texas/texassightings.htm
(10) JAL Flight 1628 (1986) - Japan / USA (Case 89 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

(20) Alfred Lehmberg

In emails sent to the UFO UpDates email discussion List on 28 May 2004 (see Footnote 3.33) and approximately 2 years later, on 8 April 2006 (see Footnote 3.34), Alfred Lehmberg has included the following list of cases (and referred to the discussion of these cases on Jerry Cohen’s website):

1. Kirtland AFB (1957.1104)
2. Hynek Blue Book Case (1965.0505)
3. Malmstrom Air Force Base (1967.0316)
4. Redlands, California (1968.0204)
5. Exeter, New Hampshire (1965.0903) (Case 29 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
6. Malmstrom Air Force Base (1975.1107)
7. F-4 Incident, Iran (1976.0900) (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
8. Belgium UFO (1989/90) (Case 40 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
9. Police UFO, Illinois (2000.0105)

(21) Bruce Maccabee

Bruce Maccabee responded to a challenge on the Internet in 1999 to produce “a list of the ten UFO cases giving the best evidence for an extraterrestrial origin for the UFO phenomenon” by providing the following list, which he acknowledged was “definitely biased toward those cases which [he had] worked on” (see Footnote 3.35):

(22) McDonald, James

One of the members of the Condon team, Roy Craig, has referred to Dr James McDonald having a list of his selection of the “best” cases. Roy Craig’s book includes the following two references to such a list:

(a) Roy Craig stated that “[Dr James E McDonald] kept a list of the ten or twenty ‘best cases’ which indicated to him that something strange was observed. He discussed those cases in detail at numerous talks to groups of fellow scientists and to political leaders” (see Footnote 3.37).
(b) Roy Craig referred to the endless sparring that would occur if investigators pursued Dr James McDonald’s “twenty best UFO cases”, commenting that “As soon as the investigator showed several of the twenty to have no merit, those were simply dropped from the list and replaced with different cases” (see Footnote 3.38).

I have read quite a bit of McDonald’s material on UFOs, some of which is not easily obtainable and not referred to very often in other UFO literature. However, I have not seen any list within that material which is expressly labelled as referring to the “best cases”.

On the positive side, I have found a numerous different lists within McDonald’s material on UFOs which refer to various different cases. Those lists include:

(a) a list of 41 cases within McDonald's written testimony submitted to a congressional hearing on 29 July l968, i.e. the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics’ “Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects”, chaired by Congressman J Edward Roush (available free online at Footnote 3.24). However, those lists do not appear to represent an attempt to identify the 41 “best” cases. Instead, those 41 cases comprise several shorter lists addressing, for example, claims that astronomers do not report UFOs and claims that pilots do not report UFOs (see Footnote 3.24). In a letter dated 2 April 1971, McDonald himself referred to the relevant discussion as relating to “over 30 selected UFO cases of scientific significance” (see Footnote 3.39).

(b) A relatively long chronological list of “some UFO cases of interest”, containing approximately 125 cases, dated 13 March 1967 (see Footnote 3.40).

(c) A of “Some Illustrative UFO Reports”, containing a numbered list of 10 reports, to “bring out” the allegedly “essential similiarity” of UFO reports from around the world (see Footnote 3.41).

(d) A numbered list of 18 cases “selected for a variety of reasons” (see Footnote 3.42).

After fairly intense efforts, the closest I have come to short lists of the cases which McDonald viewed as the “best” were, ironically, found in the most easily obtainable of the numerous sources I examined, i.e. in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972), edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page.

That source contains two relatively short lists by McDonald which appear to reflect his views of the best cases, firstly, considered by the Condon report to be explained, and, secondly, those considered by the Condon report to be unexplained:

(a) Firstly, McDonald has listed several cases considered explained in the Condon Report which McDonald regarded as “both unexplained and of strong scientific interest” (see Footnote 3.43):

(1) Flagstaff, Arizona, 20 May 1950
(2) Washington, D.C., 19 June 1952 (Case 8 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(3) Bellefontaine, O., 1 August 1952
(4) Haneda AFB, Japan, 5 August 1952
(5) Gulf of Mexico, 6 December 1952
(6) Odessa, Washington, 10 December 1952
(7) Continental Divide, N. M., 26 January 1953
(8) Seven Isles, Quebec, 29 June 1954
(9) Niagara Falls, N. Y., 25 July 1957
(10) Kirtland AFB, N. M., 4 November 1957
(11) Gulf of Mexico, 5 November 1957
(12) Peru, 30 December 1966
(13) Holloman AFB, 2 March 1967
(14) Kincheloe AFB, 11 September 1967
(15) Vandenberg AFB, 6 October 1967
(16) Milledgeville, Ga., 20 October 1967

(b) Secondly, McDonald has listed several cases “conceded to to be unexplainable in the Condon Report and containing features of particularly strong scientific interest” (see Footnote 3.44):

(1) Utica, N. Y., 23 June 1955
(2) Lakenheath, England, 13 August 1956 (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(3) Jackson, Ala. 14 November 1956
(4) Norfolk, Va., 30 August 1957
(5) RB-47 case 19 September 1957 (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(6) Beverly, Mass., 22 April 1966
(7) Joplin, Mo., 13 January 1967
(8) Donnybrook, N. D., 19 June 1966
(9) Haynesville, La., 30 December 1966
(10) Colorado Springs, Colo., 13 May 1967

(23) Nick Pope

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Nick Pope listed the following cases as being his top ten. Since the list is not in chronological order, and begins with the case that he viewed as most valuable, it is possible that the order reflect Nick Pope’s respective ranking of these cases (Footnote 3.66):

1. Rendlesham Forest Incident, December 1980 (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
2. The Belgian Wave, March 1990 (Case 40 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
3. The Cosford Incident, March 1993.
4. RAF Lakenheath/RAF Bentwaters, August 1956 (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
5. Manchester Airport, 1995.
6. Captain Zaghetti’s Sighting, 1991.
7. Pitlochry Photograph, 1990.
8. Iranian Intercept, 1976 (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).
9. North Sea Overtake, 1990.
10. Captain Graham Sheppard, 1967.

(24) Kevin Randle

In an interview in 1998, Kevin Randle said that his "favourite" case was Roswell (Case 4 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article), and stated that “other good cases include” the following (see Footnote 3.45):

(1) Roswell (Case 4 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) the photographic part of the Lubbock Lights (Case 31 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(3) Levelland, TX in 1957 (Case 16 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(4) the Montana Movie (Case 41 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(5) Lonnie Zamora in 1964 (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(6) Bentwaters,
(7) The Belgium sightings (Case 40 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

(25) Jenny Randles

As part of a survey by the Fortean Times in 2007 of various researchers of the ten cases from 1947 onwards that interested them the most, Jenny Randles stated that she generally declines requests to provide a “top ten” list “as no case is immune from resolution”. Instead, her list is subject to the caveat that “this is a list of cases (in date order) that interest me right now. All may, or may not, become explained”. She also indicates that her list is limited to cases “with which I have either had direct involvement or have had the opportunity to meet witnesses / or investigators and discuss the evidence” (Footnote 3.67).

1. Sept/Oct 1947, Himalayan Foothills, Tibet
2. 24 May 1964, Burgh Marsh, Cumbria.
3. 1 July 1965, Valensole, France (Case 22 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. 2 Nov 1968, SE France
5. 19 September 1976, Tehran, Iran (Case 47 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
6. 9 March 1977, Nelson, Lancashire
7. 6 June 1977, Barnard Castle, Durham
8. 17 September 1977, Newmill, Cornwall
9. 13 Mar 1980, Haselor, Warwickshire.
10. 26 December 1980, Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

(26) Rich Reynolds

Rich Reynolds’s blog, “The UFO Iconoclast(s)”, includes an entry entitled “The Really Best Top Ten UFO Incidents” (see Footnote 3.60) which lists the following incidents:

1. Ezekiel encounter
2. 1608 Nice, France visuals
3. 1917 Fatima incidents (Case 37 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. 1948 Chiles-Whitted episode (Case 10 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
5. 1952 Washington National Airport sightings (Case 8 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
6. 1953 Penderecki event at Fairy Lake in Ontario, Canada
7. 1956 Lakenheath-Bentwaters radar/visual contacts (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
8. Exeter, New Hampshire sighting(s) of 1965 (Case 29 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
9. 1966 Ann Arbor/Dexter-Hillsdale, Michigan sightings
10. Coyne Helicopter confrontation over Mansfield, Ohio, October 1973 (Case 25 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)

(27) Andy Roberts

(28) Robert Rosamund

In the transcript of an interview circulated on 14 January 2007 (see Footnote 3.46), Robert Rosamund (BUFORA Chairperson) was asked by Milton Frank (Brazilian Ufology Center President) for his opinions on the “most important” cases.

In response to a question about the “the top 10 cases of World Ufology”, he referred to several cases which “remain unexplained and otherwise unanswered” and specifically mentioned:

(1 )The Travis Walton case (Case 11 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) Socorro (Case 5 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(3) Roswell (Case 4 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

It should be noted that Robert Rosamund’s response was subject to the following caveat : “The problem is that like many previous 'cornerstone' UFO cases, the possibility of evidence emerging to explain them away hangs in the air awaiting the moment to materialize whether we like it, agree with it or otherwise acknowledge it or not. As we have learned in the past (and often to our cost) nothing in this subject is cast in stone and little remains sacrosanct”.

(29) Brad Sparks

In 1999, Brad Sparks stated that he was “not ready to present a full Best Case list for OEH [the Objective Existence Hypothesis, which is that an unexplained physical phenomenon does exist], though I would certainly put on such a list” the following cases (see Footnote 3.47):

(1) the RB-47 case (Case 63 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) the Trent/McMinnville stereo photos (Case 17 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(3) the Rogue River, Oregon, sighting,
(4) the 6 June 1949, Killeen Base observation network sighting, the “world's first UFO triangulation”,
(5) Gemini 11 astronaut sighting and photos,
(6) Skylab-3 astronaut sighting and photos, and
(7) the Cash-Landrum case (Case 30 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

(30) Ronald Story

Ronald Story has written an interesting book entitled “UFOs and the Limits of Science” (discussed in some detail in Part 6 of this article) which focuses around a list “of ten ‘best’ cases’”. He selected these 10 cases since they “to me represent the strongest UFO evidence on record”.

The relevant cases selected by Ronald Story as the 10 “best” cases were (see Footnote 3.48):

In addition to chapters devoted to each of the above 10 cases, Ronald Story’s book contains further chapters devoted to discussing various issues. A chapter entitled “UFO photographs” (see Footnote 3.49) identifies 4 photographic cases which Story states “I have chosen as the ‘best’, in terms of their combined strangeness and reliability”. Those cases are:

1. Wellington/Kaikoura, New Zealand, 31 December 1978 (“the most puzzling picture sequence of all”) (Case 57 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
2. McMinnville, Oregon, 11 May 1950 (Trent case photos) (Case 17 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
3. Great Falls, Mont, 5 or 15 August 1950 (Mariana film) (Case 41 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article);
4. Trindade Island, Brazil, 16 January 1958 (IGY photos) (Case 26 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

(31) Jacques Vallee

Jacques Vallee has referred to the data of “our circumspect ‘Invisible College’ (a network of scientists who are privately investigating the mystery)” as being “probably the most detailed and best-investigated set of UFO cases ever selected”. Unfortunately, he failed to indicate the relevant selection of cases (see Footnote 3.50).

In another of his books, Jacques Vallee indicated that he considered that “The Valensole case is the best-authenticated close encounter incident in continental Europe” (see Footnote 3.51 and Case 22 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

It may be possible to draw inferences as to Jacques Vallee’s views on the “best” cases from some comments he made in a yet further book. He has complained that many ufologists confuse “the most publicized cases” with “the most convincing”. In particular, he has complained that the following cases “seem to be totally unknown” (see Footnote 3.52, and see also the discussion in Part 5 of this article), possibly indicating that he considered that these cases are among the most convincing:

(1) the Kelly landing,
(2) the Bismarck case,
(3) the Walesville incident (Case 92 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(4) the Loch Raven Dam (Case 100 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

UK TOP 10s

Finally, I shall briefly refer to several lists produced of the top UK cases. Such lists have been produced by:

(a) Dave Clarke,
(b) Jenny Randles,
(c) Andy Roberts,
(d) Robert Rosamund.

(a) Dave Clarke

Dave Clarke has listed the following 10 cases as being “top in terms of their intrinsic interest, i.e. involving some form of corroboration, ie. radar/visual, after-effects on witnesses, etc” (see Footnote 3.53):

1. Lakenheath-Bentwaters 13/14 Aug 1956 (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
2. RAE Farnborough sightings by RAF Test Pilots, 1950
3. RAF Little Rissington & RAF Topcliffe sightings Sept/Oct 1952 (Case 81 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
4. Rendlesham - BUT only the events of the 'first night' (Penniston/Burroughs etc) (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
5. Livingston, Scotland 1979 [Bob Taylor case] (Case 86 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
6. RAF West Freugh April 1957
7. Solway Firth 'spaceman' photo
8. Cynthia Appleton 'space baby' contactee case, 1950s Birmingham
9. Altitalia incident 1991
10. East Anglia incident 1957 involving USAF F-84D Sabre jets

(b) Jenny Randles

In 2004, I started a discussion on the Ufologyinuk forum regarding my progress in relation to the writing of this article and raising various related issue. Jenny Randles helpfully responded by referring to her book a list at the end of her book “UFO Study” (l981). The list within that book is entitled “Ten significant Cases” and stated that the list "should not be regarded as my 'Top Ten'” (see Footnote 3.54). However, in her email in 2004 (see Footnote 3.55) Jenny Randles commented that the list “was in fact a British top ten” (although her views have since changed in relation to some of the sightings discussed in that list).

The relevant list included the following:

1: LITS 2 April 1976 Bury, Greater Manchester
2: Low Definition 11 September l962
3: Medium Definition 24 Feb l979
4: The Peter Day Movie Film 11 January l973
5: CE 1 9 March l977 Nelson, Lancashire
6: CE 2 6 June l977 Barnard Castle, Durham
7: CE 2 17 September 1977 Newmill, Cornwall
8: Landing 22 February l979 Meanwood, Yorks
9: CE 3 1 September l978 Anglesey
10: CE 4 16 October l973 Wellington, Somerset

In 2004, Jenny Randles indicated that she would probably now substitute the final case in the above list with the November 1980 Alan Godfrey CE 4 (see Footnote 3.55 and Case 56 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)).

More recently, Jenny Randles has responded to the list of 10 British cases proposed by Dave Clarke by suggesting adding the following cases (see Footnote 3.56):

1: 11 September 1962 Alexandria, Egypt (see FSR Vol 26 No 1)
2: 9 March 1977 Nelson, Lancashire (FSR Vol 23 No 2)
3: 6 June l977 Barnard Castle, Co Durham (FSR Vol 23 No 5)
4: 17 September 1977 Newmill, Cornwall (FSR Vol 24 No 1)
5: 24 February 1975 Leiston, Suffolk (FSR VOl 21 No 5)

In 2006, Andy Roberts presented a list of his “top few mystery cases” from Britain (see Footnote 3.57):

(1) Alan Godfrey: November 1980 (Case 56 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(2) Jessie Roestenberg: October 1954
(3) Lakenheath-Bentwaters 13/14 Aug 1956 (Case 21 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(4) Ilkley Alien: December 1987
(5) RAF Little Rissington sightings Sept/Oct 1952
(6) Rendlesham (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(7) Bob Taylor encounter: Livingston, Scotland 1979 (Case 86 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article)
(8) Solway Firth 'spaceman' photo: May 1964
(9) Stephen Derbishire photo: Feb 1954
(10) Cynthia Appleton 'space baby' contactee case, 1950s/early 60s Birmingham

(d) Robert Rosamund

In the transcript of an interview circulated on 14 January 2007 (see Footnote 3.46), Robert Rosamund (BUFORA Chairperson) was asked by Milton Frank (Brazilian Ufology Center President) Robert Rosamund was asked about the “most important UFO CASE in UK”. He referred to “fascinating cases on record” and specifically mentioned:

(1) the Livingston case in Scotland (Case 86 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article),
(2) Rendlesham forest (Case 18 in Isaac Koi's “Top 100” article).

FOOTNOTES

[Footnote 3.01] Dolan, Richard M in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at page 49-68 (in Chapter 2) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 20-31 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.02] Dolan, Richard M in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at page 140 (in Chapter 3) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at page 85 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.03] Dolan, Richard M in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 171-175, 176-177, 178-179 (in Chapter 4) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 104-109 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.04] Dolan, Richard in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 261-262 (in Chapter 5) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 181-182 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.05] Dolan, Richard M. in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 267-268 (in Chapter 5) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 187-188 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.06] Dolan, Richard M. in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 362-365 (in Chapter 7) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 273-275 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.07] Dolan, Richard M in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 433-434 (in Chapter 8) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 337-338 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.08] Dolan, Richard in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at pages 437-438 (in Chapter 8) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at pages 341-342 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.09] For Stanton Friedman’s comment, see:
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2006/dec/m27-005.shtml

[Footnote 3.10] Ruppelt, Edward J in his "The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects" (1956) at pages 232-235 (in Chapter 17) of the original 17 chapter Doubleday hardback edition, at pages 302-306 of the Gollancz hardback edition, at pages 304-308 of the Ace paperback edition, at pages 232-235 of the 1959 revised Doubleday 20 chapter hardback edition, at pages 167-169 of the reprinted Source Books softcover edition. The first of these editions (i.e. the original 17 chapter hardback edition) has the same page numbering as the version available free online at:
http://www.nicap.org/rufo/contents2.htm

[Footnote 3.11] Allen H Greenfield (ed), Ufology Notebook 3/1 (1976) as quoted by Robert Sheaffer in his “The UFO Verdict” (1980) at page 20 (in Chapter 3) of the Prometheus softback edition and in his “UFO Sightings: The Evidence” (1998) at pages 37-38 (in Chapter 3) of the Prometheus hardback edition.

[Footnote 3.12] Vallee, Jacques and Vallee, Janine in their “Challenge to Science : The UFO Enigma” (1966) at page 286 (in Appendix 5) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition, at page 236 of the Tandem paperback.

[Footnote 3.13] Vallee, Jacques and Vallee, Janine in their “Challenge to Science : The UFO Enigma” (1966) at page 286 (in Appendix 5) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition, at page 236 of the Tandem paperback.

[Footnote 3.13A] Dennis Balthaser’s article entitled “My ten favourite cases” in the MUFON Journal, November 2003, pages 20, 21 and 22.

[Footnote 3.14] For Don Berliner’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2007/jan/m14-012.shtml

[Footnote 3.15] For James Carrion’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2006/dec/m30-004.shtml

[Footnote 3.16] For Mark Cashman’s list, see email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/jun/m08-017.shtml

[Footnote 3.17] Mark Cashman’s clarification in email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/jun/m11-029.shtml

[Footnote 3.18] See Jerry Clark’s comments at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/oct/m22-033.shtml

[Footnote 3.19] See Jerry Clark’s email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/jul/m31-010.shtml

[Footnote 3.20] See John Rimmer’s email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/aug/m03-010.shtml

[Footnote 3.21] See Jerry Cohen’s website at:
http://www.cohenufo.org/authorsc.html

[Footnote 3.21] See Dwight Connelly’s book “The World's Best UFO Cases”.

[Footnote 3.22] Richard M Dolan in his “UFOs and the National Security State: Volume 1” (2000) at page 488 (in the Conclusion) of the Keyhole softcover edition, at page 390 of the 2002 revised Hampton Road softcover edition.

[Footnote 3.23] See Stanton Friedman’s email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/jun/m08-019.shtml

[Footnote 3.24]See McDonald’s evidence to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Astronautics “Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects”, available free online at:
http://ncas.sawco.com/ufosymposium/contents.html
http://www.project1947.com/shg/symposium/contents.html

[Footnote 3.25] See email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2001/apr/m06-009.shtml

[Footnote 3.26] See Richard Hall’s email at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2001/apr/m07-007.shtml

[Footnote 3.27] Hall, Robert L in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) at page 219 (in Chapter 9) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).

[Footnote 3.28] Klass, Philip J “UFOs Explained” (1974) at page 109 (in Chapter 12) of the Random House hardback edition, at page 129 of Random House paperback edition.

[Footnote 3.29] Quoted by Menzel, Donald H in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) at page 139 (in Chapter 6) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).

[Footnote 3.30] Menzel, Donald H in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) at pages 140-141 (in Chapter 6) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).

[Footnote 3.31] Menzel, Donald H in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) at pages 139-140 (in Chapter 6) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).]

[Footnote 3.32] For Paul Kimball’s comments, see:
http://www.ufo-planet.net/forum/archive/index.php?t-2528.html

[Footnote 3.33] For Alfred Lehmberg’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2004/may/m28-011.shtml

[Footnote 3.34] For Alfred Lehmberg’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2006/apr/m10-016.shtml

[Footnote 3.35] For Bruce Maccabee’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/apr/m03-005.shtml

[Footnote 3.36] not used

[Footnote 3.37] Craig, Roy in his “UFOs – An Insider’s View” (1995) at page 189 (in Chapter 11) of the UNT softback edition.

[Footnote 3.38] Craig, Roy in his “UFOs – An Insider’s View” (1995) at page 212 (in Chapter 12) of the UNT softback edition.
[Footnote 3.39] McDonald, James E, letter dated 2 April 1971 to the editor of the “Tucson Daily Citizen”, included within “UFOs and Science: The Collected Writings of James E McDonald” (1995, compiled and edited by Valerie Vaughan) at page 32 of the FUFOR paperbound edition.

[Footnote 3.40] McDonald, James E “Chronological List of Some UFO Cases of Interest, dated March 13, 1967”, included within “UFOs and Science: The Collected Writings of James E McDonald” (1995, compiled and edited by Valerie Vaughan) at pages 95-99 of the FUFOR paperbound edition.

[Footnote 3.41] McDonald, James E “UFOs – An International Scientific Problem” (presented on 12 March 1968, at the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute “Astronautics Symposium”, Montreal, Canada). The relevant extract is included within “UFOs and Science: The Collected Writings of James E McDonald” (1995, compiled and edited by Valerie Vaughan) at pages 121-131 of the FUFOR paperbound edition.

[Footnote 3.42] McDonald, James E “UFOs: Greatest Scientific Problem of Our Times?” (prepared for presentation on 22 April 1967, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors). The relevant extract is included within “UFOs and Science: The Collected Writings of James E McDonald” (1995, compiled and edited by Valerie Vaughan) at pages 200-215 of the FUFOR paperbound edition.

[Footnote 3.43] McDonald, James E in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) in a footnote at page 56 (in Chapter 5) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).

[Footnote 3.44] McDonald, James E in “UFO’s: A Scientific Debate” (1972) (edited by Carl Sagan and Thornton Page) in a footnote at pages 55-56 (in Chapter 5) of the Barnes and Noble hardback edition (with the same page numbering in the Norton paperback edition).

[Footnote 3.45] For Kevin Randle’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/may/m09-018.shtml

[Footnote 3.46] For Robert Rosamund’s comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2007/jan/m14-011.shtml

[Footnote 3.47] For Brad Sparks’ comments, see :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/apr/m04-008.shtml

[Footnote 3.48] Ronald Story in his “UFOs and the Limits of Science” (1981) at pages 21-22 (in the Introduction) of the NEL Hardback edition, at page 24 of the revised softcover edition entitled “Sightings”.

[Footnote 3.49] Ronald Story in his “UFOs and the Limits of Science” (1981) at pages 105-115 (in Chapter 4 generally) of the NEL Hardback edition, at pages 115-133 of the revised softcover edition entitled “Sightings”.

[Footnote 3.50] Jacques Vallee in his “Messengers of Deception : UFO Contacts and Cults” (1979) at page 4 (in the Prologue) of the 1980 revised Bantam paperback edition.

[Footnote 3.51] Jacques Vallee in his “Confrontations” (1990) at page 96 (in Chapter 7) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition.

[Footnote 3.52] Jacques Vallee and Janine Vallee in their “Challenge to Science : The UFO Enigma” (1966) at page 286 (in Appendix 5) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition, at page 236 of the Tandem paperback.

[Footnote 3.53] Email by Dave Clark to the Ufologyinuk discussion forum on 18 November 2006, in thread entitled “The list and the way forward...”.

[Footnote 3.54] Jenny Randlesin her book “UFO Study” (1981).

[Footnote 3.55] Email by Jenny Randles to the Ufologyinuk discussion forum on 29 November 2004, in thread entitled “British Top Ten”.

[Footnote 3.56] Email by Jenny Randles to the Ufologyinuk discussion forum on 19 November 2006, in thread entitled “The list and the way forward...”.

[Footnote 3.57] Email by Andy Roberts to the Ufologyinuk forum on 19 November 2006, in thread entitled “The list and the way forward...”.

[Footnote 3.58] Email by Stanton Friedman at :
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1999/jul/m27-002.shtml

[Footnote 3.59] Contribution by Greg Bishop to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2nqzwy
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/519/greg_bishops_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.60] Contribution by Thomas E Bullard to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2pzuo3
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/520/thomas_e_bullards_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.61] Contribution by Bill Chalker to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2mn3c8
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/516/bill_chalkers_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.62] Contribution by David Clarke and Andy Roberts to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/3aucfw
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/523/david_clarke_and_andy_roberts_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.63] Contribution by Hilary Evans to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2sx5le
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/524/hilary_evanss_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.64] Contribution by Stanton Friedman to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2vtr5c
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/517/stanton_friedmans_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.65] Contribution by Gary Heseltine to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2kyzo5
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/518/gary_heseltines_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.66] Contribution by Nick Pope to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/2uln9h
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/521/nick_popes_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.67] Contribution by Jenny Randles to the Fortean Times website, June 2007. Available online at:
http://tinyurl.com/3ay6jv
http://www.forteantimes.com/strangedays/ufofiles/522/jenny_randless_ufo_top_ten.html

[Footnote 3.68] Post on “The UFO Iconoclasts” entitled “The Really Best Top Ten UFO Incidents” dated 13 June 2007. Available online at:
http://ufocon.blogspot.com/2007/06/really-best-top-ten-ufo-incidents.html

Category: Best UFO Cases