Welcome back! This week we're taking a look at ufologists' response to the Air Force's findings.
Missed Parts 1 and 2? Don't worry! Click below to get started.
James E. McDonald
McDonald disputed the Air Force's ball lightning/electrical storm theory. He said there was no electrical storm in the area the night of November 2, 1957.
He testified before a House committee in 1968 and said "one famous [UFO] case was at Levelland, Texas...ten vehicles were stopped within a short area, all independently in a 2-hour period. There was no lightning or thunderstorm, and only a trace of rain.
J. Allen Hynek
Hynek also disagreed with the Air Force's conclusions. He wrote that "as the person responsible for the tracking of the new Soviet satellite Sputnik, I was on a virtual around-the-clock duty and was unable to give it any attention whatsoever. I am not proud today that I hastily concurred in [the Air Force's] evaluation as 'ball lightning' on the basis of information that an electrical storm had been in progress in the Levelland area at that time.
"This was shown not to be the case. Observers reported overcast [skies] and mist but no lightning."
Hynek went on to say that "had [he] given it any thought whatsoever, [he] would soon have recognized the absence of any evidence that ball lightning can stop cars and put out headlights."
Other Dissent
Skeptics have also noted that the Air Force investigator didn't interview nine out of the fifteen witnesses, and those same nine witnesses were left out of Project Blue Book's final report.
You'd think the Air Force would be interested in everyone who witnessed the UFOs that night. Why avoid interviewing nine of them? Why not even mention them in the final report?
