The Kecksburg UFO incident occurred on December 9, 1965, at Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, United States, when a fireball was reported by citizens of six U.S. states and Canada over Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Astronomers said it was likely to have been a meteor bolide burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle. NASA released a statement in 2005 reporting that experts had examined fragments from the area and determined they were from a Soviet satellite, but that records of their findings were lost in 1987. NASA responded to court orders and Freedom of Information Act requests to search for the records. The incident gained wide notoriety in popular culture and UFOlogy, with speculation ranging from extraterrestrial craft to debris from the Soviet space probe Kosmos 96, and is often called “Pennsylvania’s Roswell”.
First Appearance UFO sighting/incident — Dec 9, 1965
First Publisher ○
Appearance List Article: “Fireballs Are Blamed in Elyria Grass Blazes” in The Spokesman-Review (December 10, 1965), “U.F.O. Starts Many Fires” in The Spokesman-Review (December 10, 1965), “Flaming Streak Across Sky Identified as Great Meteor: Blamed for Grass and Woods Fires in North States” in Chicago Tribune (December 11, 1965), “Fireballs Are Blamed in Elyria Grass Blazes” in Cleveland Plain-Dealer (December 10, 1965), “‘Flaming Ball’ Crashes South of Pittsburgh, Sets Fires in 3 States” in Philadelphia Inquirer (December 10, 1965), “Great Lakes Fireball” in Sky & Telescope (February 1966). Podcast: Astonishing Legends: Episode 184 Kecksburg Revisited with Stan Gordon.
Sample Read Astonishing Legends: Episode 184 Kecksburg Revisited with Stan Gordon [YT]
Description The Kecksburg UFO incident occurred on December 9, 1965, at Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, United States, when a fireball was reported by citizens of six U.S. states and Canada over Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. Astronomers said it was likely to have been a meteor bolide burning up in the atmosphere and descending at a steep angle. NASA released a statement in 2005 reporting that experts had examined fragments from the area and determined they were from a Soviet satellite, but that records of their findings were lost in 1987. NASA responded to court orders and Freedom of Information Act requests to search for the records. The incident gained wide notoriety in popular culture and UFOlogy, with speculation ranging from extraterrestrial craft to debris from the Soviet space probe Kosmos 96, and is often called “Pennsylvania’s Roswell”.
