With the latest buzz about government investigations into unidentified flying objects (UFOs), previously classified records from the U.S. Air Force reveal details about Bucks County’s own past sightings.
Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s study of UFOs, which spanned from 1952 to 1969, included several local reports and investigations.
Project Blue Book was based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and looked to determine if UFOs were a threat to national security and to scientifically analyze UFO-related data. Out of 12,618 reports collected, 701 remained unexplained, with the majority attributed to misidentifications of natural phenomena or man-made objects, like planes, spotlights, and weather balloons.
Below are the Bucks County-related reports we uncovered:
Langhorne – Sept. 24, 1966 – A person reported a “very bright” object that was moving toward the northern horizon around 9:26 p.m. It had no sound. It was also observed through a telescope and a drawing showed a large white circle with a white ring around it. U.S. Air Force Major Hector Quintanilla Jr. found the report did not have sufficient information for further evaluation.
Morrisville – Sept. 3 to 4, 1966 – A couple in Morrisville Borough reported a UFO sighting to Johnsville Naval Air Station in Warminster Township. The couple reported seeing a very bright white light in the sky around 10:35 p.m. and it remained visible for nearly 20 minutes. U.S. Air Force Major Hector Quintanilla Jr. found that the report was “not sufficient for evaluation.”
Doylestown – Nov. 15, 1966 – a person reported flashing lights brighter than the brightest stars around 10:30 p.m. in the eastern sky. U.S. Air Force Major Hector Quintanilla Jr. found that the report was “not sufficient for evaluation.”
Newtown – Nov. 15. 1966 – A resident reported a glowing red-green light in the eastern sky. The object stayed in one spot but then moved up and down before going back to the original spot. The person reported seeing the object for one hour. An investigation found the person likely saw Sirius rising. Sirius is the brightest star in the night and means “glowing” in Greek.
Yardley – Jan. 24, 1967 – A round object described as big as a planet to the size of a moon was reported from Bucks County to Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York in the southeast sky. The New York air force base’s control tower were among the witnesses before the object disappeared over the horizon. An investigation determined the object was decaying pieces of a satellite returning to Earth’s atmosphere.
Morrisville – Jan 25, 1967 – A Levittown woman, a Newtown resident, and two boys reported seeing an illuminated object with a very bright tail that was traveling in the northern sky for three to five minutes around 10:30 p.m. as the group traveled back to Levittown after a movie. The woman wrote that the object was “so different” that it could not be compared to anything else. She added: “The first thing that came to my mind was that it must be a ‘flying saucer.'” Investigators determined the sighting was possibly a satellite.
Bristol and Philadelphia – Nov. 14, 1959 – Reports came in that a bright orange object shaped like an inverted dish with a structure on the top that pulsated was seen for four minutes before fading away. A Philadelphia resident, who was an amateur astronomer, reported seeing the object from Northeast Philadelphia heading toward the Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge across the Delaware River in Bristol Township. According to declassified records, there were photos taken of the object using 35mm film and a telephoto lens. An investigation determined that the sighting most likely was related to 250 million candlepower photo flares dropped by a U.S. Air Force aerial photo plane that was performing a planned mission between Fort Dix in New Jersey and Bristol. The sighting time lines up with the mission. An officer from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey noted that the mission was announced over Philadelphia radio stations in advance. The photos were reviewed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and returned to the photographer, according to a June 1959 letter by U.S. Air Force Major Lawrence J. Tacker.
None of the local reports were found to be little green men, but the reports were logged and several investigated.
The declassified records are accessible through the National Archives via the Freedom of Information Act.
The fascination with UFOs continues in pop culture and even official government agencies.
The military maintained a secret UFO study titled the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP) from 2007 to 2012. It became public due to several news outlets reporting in 2017.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense opened the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office to look into “unidentified aerial phenomena” or “unidentified anomalous phenomena” reports. The Pentagon has since confirmed several pictures and videos of unidentified objects taken by service members.
In the time since, government officials said they have found no evidence that confirms objects of alien origin and some officials have raised concern some of the reports are linked to advanced technology by adversarial nations.
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