Best UFO cases - Experts' short lists

While the number of lists of cases produced below may superficially appear to contradict some of the points made in the introduction, it should be noted that the lists below are compiled as the result as part of a project lasting over 4 years and involving reading approximately 960 UFO books plus far, far more webpages and articles.



“Top 100 UFO Cases”
By Isaac Koi. Copyright 2004-2008.

PART 3: Existing lists of top cases by various individuals


If the majority of ufologists accepted that, for various reasons (see Part 2), 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 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 – see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread),

(*) McMinnville (a “first rate” photographic case”, see Footnote 3.02 and see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread),

(*) 1952 Washington sightings (“among the most compelling and dramatic UFO sightings in modern American history”, see Footnote 3.03 and see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread),

(*) 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 see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread),

(*) Zamora’s sighting at Socorro (“generally considered among the most compelling and interesting UFO encounters ever”, see Footnote 3.06 and see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread),

(*) 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 see Case 20 in the “Top 100” thread).

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

Other than in the answers to a Fortean Times poll published in 2007 (see Part 9), 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 see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread);
(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)
(a) Allen H Greenfield has commented that the Travis Walton incident (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread), “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 (see Case 44 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) Red Bluff (see Case 93 in the “Top 100” thread),
(3) Captain Sperry,
(4) Southwest, 1957,
(5) Socorro (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread).

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, Vallee only names 3 of those cases, although some of the context I presume Socorro was one of the remaining cases (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread). The 3 cases listed by Vallee (see Footnote 3.13) were:

(1) Trindade (see Case 26 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) Father Gill (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread).,
(3) the BOAC incident (see Case 46 in the “Top 100” thread).

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).

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) David Clarke
(9) Jerry Clark
(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
(UFO Researcher and Roswell resident)

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 (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread);
2. Zamora, Socorro (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread);
3. Area 51;
4. Travis Walton abduction (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread);
5. Great Pyramids of Giza;
6. Betty and Barney Hill abduction (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread);
7. 1952, Washington D.C. incident (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread);
8. Phoenix Lights;
9. Kenneth Arnold’s first sighting (see Case 1 in the “Top 100” thread);
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” (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread), “Shag Harbour”, “the White Sands landing in the 50s, and my own 1997 Interception experience”.





(2) Don Berliner
(Former Chairman of FUFOR)

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:

1947 - Kenneth Arnold, Cascade Mountains, Washington (see Case 1 in the “Top 100” thread);
1947 - Roswell, New Mexico, crash (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread);
1952 - Washington, D.C., radar/visual sightings over city (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread);
1952 - Glowing formation buzzes airliner near Norfolk, Virginia;
1952 - radar/visual sightings from RB-47 over southern USA (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread);
1956 - radar/visual sightings around RAF Lakenheath, England (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread);
1957 - Electromagnetic interference cases around Levelland, Texas (see Case 16 in the “Top 100” thread);
1961 - Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill in New England (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread);
1964 - Landing with occupants outside Socorro, New Mexico (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread);
1966 - "Swamp Gas" sightings in southeastern Michigan.

(3) Greg Bishop
(Author of "Project Beta")

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

(4) Thomas E Bullard
(Folklorist, did PhD in relation to UFOs)

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 (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
2) Barney and Betty Hill, 1961 (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
3) Exeter, New Hampshire, 1965 (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread).
4) The January, 2000, southern Illinois police chase case.
5) Robozero Marvel (1663 AD)

(5) James Carrion
(International Director of MUFON)

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):

1. Roswell (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. Cash Landrum (see Case 30 in the “Top 100” thread)
3. Betty and Barney Hill Abduction (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Delphos, Kansas landing (see Case 60 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. McMinnville Oregon photos (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
6. JAL Flight 1628 (see Case 89 in the “Top 100” thread)
7. 1952 UFOs over Washington DC (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread)
8. 1976 Iran Incident (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
9. America West Airlines Flight 564
10. Shag Harbour

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(6) Mark Cashman
(webmaster of “The Temporal Doorway” website)
In 1998, Mark Cashman 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 (see Case 16 in the “Top 100” thread)
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 (see Case 100 in the “Top 100” thread),
8. Beings in association with UFO- 1/1/70, Vancouver Isl., Canada
9. Sample gathering- Valensole, 1965 (see Case 22 in the “Top 100” thread)
10. Interest in humans- Kelly-Hopkinsville, Aug. 21, 1955 (see Case 14 in the “Top 100” thread)

(7) Bill Chalker
(Australian ufologist)
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 (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
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 (see Case 99 in the “Top 100” thread)
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) David Clarke
(British academic and UFO skeptic)

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) (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread).
2. RAF Farnborough, Hampshire (see FT164:43).
3. Livingston incident, Scotland, 1979 (see Case 86 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Exercise Mainbrace sightings, September and October 1952 (see Case 90 in the “Top 100” thread).
5. Rendlesham Forest (see FT204:32–39) (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread).
6. PC Alan Godfrey’s encounter, Todmorden, 28 November 1980 (see Case 56 in the “Top 100” thread).
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 (see Case 91 in the “Top 100” thread).
10. Alitalia UFO, 21 April 1991. (See FT194:23).

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(9) Jerry Clark
(author of "The UFO Encyclopedia")

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):

1. Arnold Sighting (see Case 1 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. BOAC Sighting (see Case 46 in the “Top 100” thread)
3. Cash-Landrum CE2 (see Case 30 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Chiles-Whitted Sighting (see Case 10 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. CE1s
6. CE2s
7. CE3s
8. Coyne CE2 (see Case 25 in the “Top 100” thread)
9. Cressy Sighting
10. Damon CE2
11. Daylight Discs
12. Delphos CE2 (see Case 60 in the “Top 100” thread)
13. Dr. X Case (see Case 77 in the “Top 100” thread)
14. Everglades CE2
15. Exeter CE1 (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread)
16. Falcon Lake CE2 (see Case 50 in the “Top 100” thread)
17. Fishersville CE2
18. Fort Monmouth Radar/Visual Case
19. Gill CE3 (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
20. Green Fireballs and Other Southwestern Lights
21. Hessdalen Lights
22. Hill Abduction Case (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
23. Iran CE2 (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
24. Itaipu Fortress Incident (see Case 70 in the “Top 100” thread)
25. JAL Sighting (see Case 89 in the “Top 100” thread)
26. Kelly-Hopkinsville CE3 (see Case 14 in the “Top 100” thread)
27. Kinross Case (see Case 54 in the “Top 100” thread)
28. Kuwait Sightings
29. Lakenheath-Bentwaters Radar/Visual Case (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
30. Langenburg CE2
31. Lavonia CE2
32. Laxson CE3
33. Levelland Sightings (see Case 16 in the “Top 100” thread)
34. Lubbock Lights (see Case 31 in the “Top 100” thread)
35. McMinnville Photos (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
36. Marshall County CE2
37. Montana Film (see Case 41 in the “Top 100” thread)
38. Moore Case (see Case 66 in the “Top 100” thread)
39. Morocco Sightings
40. Muroc Air Base Sightings (see Case 71 in the “Top 100” thread)
41. Nash-Fortenberry Sighting (see Case 44 in the “Top 100” thread)
42. New Zealand Film (see Case 57 in the “Top 100” thread)
43. Ocala Radar/Visual Case
44. Portage County Sightings
45. Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14
46. RB-47 Radar/Visual Case (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread)
47. Red Bluff Sightings (see Case 93 in the “Top 100” thread)
48. Ririe CE3
49. Salt Lake City Sighting
50. Senator Russell Sighting
51. Socorro CE2/CE3 (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread)
52. Stonehenge CE3
53. Tombaugh Sighting (see Case 43 in the “Top 100” thread)
54. Trans-en-Provence CE2 (see Case 65 in the “Top 100” thread)
55. Trindade Island Photographs (see Case 26 in the “Top 100” thread)
56. Utah Film (see Case 64 in the “Top 100” thread)
57. Valensole Disappearance (sic)
58. Washington National Radar/Visual Case (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread)
59. Westchester Sightings

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 (see Case 25 in the “Top 100” thread),
(b) Portland County Sightings,
(c) RB-47 case (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread),
(d) the Socorro CE2/CE3 (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread).

(10) Jerry Cohen
(UFO researcher)
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) (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread)
(6) Portage County, Ravenna Ohio (1966.0417) (see Case 73 in the “Top 100” thread)
(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) (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
(11) Belgium UFO (1989/90) (see Case 40 in the “Top 100” thread)
(12) Police UFO, Illinois (2000.0105)

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(11) Dwight Connelly
(Author and MUFON Journal editor)

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

(1) Betty & Barney Hill (1961) (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
(2) Buff Ledge abductions (1968)
(3) Hickson/Parker, Pascagoula (1971) (see Case 9 in the “Top 100” thread)
(4) Travis Walton abduction case (1975) (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread)
(5) Kentucky abductions (1976) (see Case 68 in the “Top 100” thread)
(6) Allagash abductions (1976)
(7) Kelly Cahill encounter (1993)
(8) Apparent abduction on video tape (1996)
(9) DNA analysis of possible alien hair (1992-1998)
(10) McMinnville photos (1950) (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
(11) Delphos case (1971) (see Case 60 in the “Top 100” thread)
(12) Father Gill's New Guinea sighting (1959) (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
(13) Various animal mutilation cases
(14) Roswell (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread)
(15) Various crop circles
(16) New Berlin UFO repair case (1964)
(17) Various implant cases
(18) Cash-Landrum encounter (see Case 30 in the “Top 100” thread)
(19) Stanley Romanek case

(12) Richard Dolan
(“UFOs and the National Security State")

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) (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. McMinnville photos (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
3. Zamora’s sighting at Socorro (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Senator Richard Russell’s sighting
5. The 1954 humanoid sightings

(13) Hilary Evans
](Author)

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 (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. Crop Circles enigma,
6. Betty and Barney Hill (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(14) Stanton Friedman
(Well-known UFO researcher)

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

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 (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) Hills (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread),
(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):

1. The Betty and Barney Hill case (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. Roswell (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread)
3. The Yukon mother ship case
4. The RB 47 case (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread).
5. Rendlesham, 1980 (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread).
6. Iran, 1976 (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread).
7. McMinnville, Oregon, 1950 (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread).
8. The Travis Walton case, Arizona (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread).
9. Malmstrom Air Force Base.
10. Delphos, Kansas (see Case 60 in the “Top 100” thread).

Stanton Friedman has also referred (see Footnote 3.23) with apparent approval to the list of 41 cases in the testimony Dr James E. McDonald's 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
(Researcher and author)

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) (see Case 93 in the “Top 100” thread)
3) Socorro, New Mexico; Lonnie Zamora (1964.0424) (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread)
4) Minot AFB, North Dakota (1967.0305)
5) Mansfield, Ohio; Coyne (1973.1018) (see Case 25 in the “Top 100” thread)
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) (see Case 73 in the “Top 100” thread)
13) Everglades; James Flynn (1965.0315)
14) Tehran, Iran (1976.0919) (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
15) Split Rock Pond, New Jersey; Simons (1966.1015)
16) Atlanta, Missouri; Overstreet (1969.0404)
17) Huffman, Texas; Cash/Landrum (1980.1229) (see Case 30 in the “Top 100” thread)
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
(behavioural scientist)

Robert L Hall (a 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 (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
(2) RB-47 case (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread)
(3) Hollywood on 5-6 February 1960
(4) Arrey, New Mexico on 24 April 1949
(5) Red Bluff, California on 13 August 1960 (see Case 93 in the “Top 100” thread)
(6) Admiralty Bay on 16 May 1961
(7) Redlands, California on 2 February 1968

(17) Gary Heseltine
(British Detective Constable)

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 (see Case 41 in the “Top 100” thread).
3. The RAF Lakenheath radar-visual sighting of August 13–14, 1956 (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread).
4. Colonel Gordon Cooper, UFO landing at Edwards Air Force Base in 1957 (see Case 79 in the “Top 100” thread).
5. Tehran, Iran, Jet Chase, early hours of 19 September 1976 (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread).
6. Rendlesham Forest, 26-28 December 1980 (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread)
7. Japan Airlines, 17 November 1986 (see Case 89 in the “Top 100” thread).
8. Belgium, night of 30–31 March 1990 (see Case 40 in the “Top 100” thread).
9. The Tether Incident, STS 75, 1997.
10. Campeche region of Mexico, March 2004.

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(18) J Allen Hynek
(Researcher and consultant to Project Blue Book)

Following an interview with Associated Press, J Allen Hynek was quoted as saying in relation to Socorro (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread) 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
(Canadian researcher and film producer)

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

(1) RB-47 (1957) - USA (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread)
(2) McMinnville (1950) – USA (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
(3) Kelly Johnson / Lockheed case (1953) - USA http://www.nicap.dabsol.co.uk/lockufoinc.htm
(4) The 1952 Washington flap (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread), when combined with the Nash-Fortenberry sighting (see Case 44 in the “Top 100” thread) 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 (see Case 89 in the “Top 100” thread)

(20) Alfred Lehmberg
(Webmaster of "Alienview")

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) (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread)
6. Malmstrom Air Force Base (1975.1107)
7. F-4 Incident, Iran (1976.0900) (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
8. Belgium UFO (1989/90) (see Case 40 in the “Top 100” thread)
9. Police UFO, Illinois (2000.0105)

(21) Bruce Maccabee
(Researcher and optical physicist)

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):

(1) Feb. 28, 1904 USS Supply sighting, off coast of California
(2) June 24, 1947 Kenneth Arnold sighting (see Case 1 in the “Top 100” thread)
(3) June 24, 1947 Fred Johnson sighting (see Case 69 in the “Top 100” thread)
(4) April 24, 1949 Charles B Moore and navy personnel sighting (see Case 66 in the “Top 100” thread)
(5) May 24, 1949 Rogue River, Oregon sighting
(6) April 27, 1950 White Sands movie film
(7) May 11, 1950 McMinnville, Oregon sighting (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread)
(8) July 2, 1952 Trindade Island photographs (see Case 26 in the “Top 100” thread)
(9) April 24, 1964 Socorro, New Mexico (Zamorra sighting) (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread)
(10) Sept. 13, 1966 Gemini 11 in orbit (photos unidentified)
(11) Sept. 19, 1976 Tehran, Iran (Iranian jet case) (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
(12) December 31, 1978 New Zealand Sightings (see Case 57 in the “Top 100” thread)
(13) August 9, 1980 Kirtland AFB
(14) December 2, 1981 Columbia, CT
(15) November 14, 1986 Japan Air Lines over Alaska (Terauchi) (see Case 89 in the “Top 100” thread)
(16) November 1987 - July 1988 First Phase of Gulf Breeze Sightings (see Case 23 in the “Top 100” thread)
(17) January 8, 1990 Gulf Breeze Multiple Witness Sighting
(18) September 16, 1992 Gulf Breeze Sighting of a Ring of Lights
(19) March 8, 1995 Grenoble, France radar incident
(20) July 2, 1998 Ticonderoga, NY video

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(22) James McDonald
(American physicist and UFO researcher)

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 (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread)
(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 (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
(3) Jackson, Ala. 14 November 1956
(4) Norfolk, Va., 30 August 1957
(5) RB-47 case 19 September 1957 (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread)
(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
(British researcher and former MOD civil servant)

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

(24) Kevin Randle
(Researcher of UFOs and Roswell)

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

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

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(25) Jenny Randles
(British researcher)

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 (see Case 22 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. 2 Nov 1968, SE France
5. 19 September 1976, Tehran, Iran (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
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 (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread)

(26) Rich Reynolds
(UFO blogger)

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 (see Case 37 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. 1948 Chiles-Whitted episode (see Case 10 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. 1952 Washington National Airport sightings (see Case 8 in the “Top 100” thread)
6. 1953 Penderecki event at Fairy Lake in Ontario, Canada
7. 1956 Lakenheath-Bentwaters radar/visual contacts (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
8. Exeter, New Hampshire sighting(s) of 1965 (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread)
9. 1966 Ann Arbor/Dexter-Hillsdale, Michigan sightings
10. Coyne Helicopter confrontation over Mansfield, Ohio, October 1973 (see Case 25 in the “Top 100” thread)

(27) Andy Roberts
(British skeptic)

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) (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread).
2. RAF Farnborough, Hampshire (see FT164:43).
3. Livingston incident, Scotland, 1979 (see Case 86 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Exercise Mainbrace sightings, September and October 1952 (see Case 90 in the “Top 100” thread).
5. Rendlesham Forest (see FT204:32–39) (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread).
6. PC Alan Godfrey’s encounter, Todmorden, 28 November 1980 (see Case 56 in the “Top 100” thread).
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 (see Case 91 in the “Top 100” thread).
10. Alitalia UFO, 21 April 1991. (See FT194:23).

(28) Robert Rosamund
(Chairman of BUFORA)

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 (see Case 11 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) Socorro (see Case 5 in the “Top 100” thread),
(3) Roswell (see Case 4 in the “Top 100” thread).

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
(UFO Researcher)

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 (see Case 63 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) the Trent/McMinnville stereo photos (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread),
(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 (see Case 30 in the “Top 100” thread).

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

(30) Ronald Story
(Author)

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):

1. Newport News, Virginia, 14 July 1952 (Nash-Fortenberry case) (see Case 44 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. Lakenheath AFB, England, 13-14 August 1956 (multiple radar-visual) (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
3. Levelland, Texas, 2-3 November 1957 (Car stop cases) (see Case 16 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Boianai, New Guinea, 26, 28 June 1959 (Father Gill case) (see Case 15 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. Whitefield, New Hampshire, 19 September 1961 (Betty & Barney Hill case) (see Case 2 in the “Top 100” thread)
6. Exeter, New Hampshire, 3 September 1965 (Incident at Exeter) (see Case 29 in the “Top 100” thread)
7. Ravenna, Ohio, 17 April 1966 (Spaur chase case) (see Case 73 in the “Top 100” thread)
8. Mansfield, Ohio, 18 October 1973 (Coyne helicopter case) (see Case 25 in the “Top 100” thread)
9. Tehran, Iran, 18 September 1976 (Iranian jet case) (see Case 47 in the “Top 100” thread)
10. Wellington/Kaikoura, New Zealand, 31 December 1978 (New Zealand film multiple radar-visual) (see Case 57 in the “Top 100” thread)

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”) (see Case 57 in the “Top 100” thread);
2. McMinnville, Oregon, 11 May 1950 (Trent case photos) (see Case 17 in the “Top 100” thread);
3. Great Falls, Mont, 5 or 15 August 1950 (Mariana film);
4. Trindade Island, Brazil, 16 January 1958 (IGY photos) (see Case 26 in the “Top 100” thread).

(31) Jacques Vallee
(Ufologist)

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 see Case 22 in the “Top 100” thread).

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 (see Case 92 in the “Top 100” thread),
(4) the Loch Raven Dam (see Case 100 in the “Top 100” thread).

[edit on 17-2-2008 by IsaacKoi]

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 (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
2. RAE Farnborough sightings by RAF Test Pilots, 1950
3. RAF Little Rissington & RAF Topcliffe sightings Sept/Oct 1952 (see Case 81 in the “Top 100” thread)
4. Rendlesham - BUT only the events of the 'first night' (Penniston/Burroughs etc) (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread)
5. Livingston, Scotland 1979 [Bob Taylor case] (see Case 86 in the “Top 100” thread)
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 see Case 56 in the “Top 100” thread)).

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)

(c) Andy Roberts


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

(1) Alan Godfrey: November 1980 (see Case 56 in the “Top 100” thread)
(2) Jessie Roestenberg: October 1954
(3) Lakenheath-Bentwaters 13/14 Aug 1956 (see Case 21 in the “Top 100” thread)
(4) Ilkley Alien: December 1987
(5) RAF Little Rissington sightings Sept/Oct 1952
(6) Rendlesham (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread)
(7) Bob Taylor encounter: Livingston, Scotland 1979 (see Case 86 in the “Top 100” thread)
(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 (see Case 86 in the “Top 100” thread),
(2) Rendlesham forest (see Case 18 in the “Top 100” thread).

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 (subscription required):
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 (subscription required):
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2007/jan/m14-012.shtml

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

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

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

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

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

[Footnote 3.20] See John Rimmer’s email at (subscription required):
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 (subscription required):
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:
ncas.sawco.com...
http://www.project1947.com/shg/symposium/contents.html

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

[Footnote 3.26] See Richard Hall’s email at (subscription required):
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 (subscription required):
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2004/may/m28-011.shtml

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

[Footnote 3.35] For Bruce Maccabee’s comments, see (subscription required):
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 (subscription required):
http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/1998/may/m09-018.shtml

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

[Footnote 3.47] For Brad Sparks’ comments, see (subscription required):
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 Randles in 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 (subscription required):
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
tinyurl.com...
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:
ufocon.blogspot.com...