Locations of Fort Knox and Franklin, Kentucky, United States
On 7 January 1948, 25-year-old Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, died when he crashed his P-51 Mustang fighter plane near Franklin, Kentucky, United States, after being sent in pursuit of an unidentified flying object (UFO). Mantell pursued the object in a steep climb and disregarded suggestions to level his altitude. At high altitude, he blacked out from a lack of oxygen; his plane went into a downward spiral and crashed. The incident was among the most publicized of early UFO reports.[1] Later investigation by the United States Air Force's Project Blue Book indicated that Mantell died chasing a Skyhook balloon, which, in 1948, was a top-secret project that he would not have known about.[1][2]
- ^ a b Ruppelt, Edward J. (1956). "Chapter Three". The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects. Cambridge, UK: Doubleday Books. pp. 44–45, 50, 56.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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