When you think of 10 UFO incidents over American military installations, you picture the most spine‑tingling, head‑scratching moments ever recorded. From glittering silver discs to red‑glowing saucers that apparently disabled nuclear missiles, the stories from United States Air Force bases read like a sci‑fi thriller, yet they are documented accounts that still puzzle investigators.

10 18 Silver Discs Hover Over Nellis AFB October 1951

In the autumn of 1951, deep inside Nevada’s secretive Yucca Flat—an area earmarked for nuclear testing—several service members reported spotting eighteen glittering, rotating discs hovering silently for roughly fifteen minutes. The event, kept under wraps until 1964, suffers from hazy recollections, with the exact date fluctuating between October 22 and October 30, and the sighting time ranging from 6:00 to 7:00 a.m., just before a scheduled nuclear detonation.

One primary witness, a 19‑year‑old identified only as “Mr. M,” also claimed to have seen several strange, fleeting creatures in the vicinity, which evaporated as quickly as they appeared. The metallic objects maintained a tight, soundless formation before vanishing in a matter of seconds.

Nellis Air Force Base has logged numerous UFO sightings over the decades, but this particular episode stands out, especially because a related incident would erupt more than ten years later, deepening the mystery surrounding the base’s aerial phenomena.

While the details remain sketchy due to the delayed report, the sheer number of discs and the simultaneous creature sightings make this a cornerstone case in the annals of military‑linked UFO lore.

10 UFO Incidents Overview

9 UFO Crashes In Nellis AFB April 1962

Newspaper articles from the era, coupled with later investigations by UFO researchers, reveal that an enigmatic craft plummeted onto Nellis Air Force Base on the night of April 18, 1962. The object’s journey began over the Atlantic, skimming New York, then sweeping across Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona before abruptly ending in a spectacular “brilliant red explosion” reported by the Las Vegas Sun.

Project Blue Book files later hinted at a possible cover‑up. An original radar entry marking an unidentified contact was retroactively altered to “insufficient data,” with no explanatory note. Moreover, the official record claimed there were “no visual” sightings, a clear contradiction to the vivid eyewitness accounts.

Rumors of scrambled Air Force jets attempting to intercept the object further fueled the intrigue, cementing this crash as one of the most mystifying UFO events in modern history.

8 UFO Deactivates Nukes At Malmstrom AFB March 1967

The Malmstrom incident is perhaps the most unsettling of all: on March 16, 1967, a luminous, red‑hued saucer hovered above the Montana installation. Captain Robert Salas observed the object for several minutes while multiple personnel also watched the eerie scene.

During that window, ten nuclear missiles under Salas’s supervision inexplicably went offline one after another. The craft then disappeared, leaving the missiles disabled for several hours before they spontaneously returned to operational status.

UFO scholars argue this was a deliberate demonstration of superiority, showcasing an intelligence capable of neutralizing the United States’ most powerful weapons. The episode remains officially unexplained.

7 Glowing Object Hovers Over Loring AFB October 1975

On the evening of October 27, 1975, personnel at Loring Air Force Base in Maine observed a luminous object hovering above the weapons storage area. The sighting occurred at approximately 7:45 p.m., and the craft displayed a single red beacon alongside a white strobe on its underside.

Witness Danny Lewis recounted that the object circled the base repeatedly before settling directly over the concealed weapons unit, where it lingered for roughly forty minutes before ascending and vanishing into the night.

Remarkably, the following evening the same phenomenon reappeared at almost the identical time, repeating the same circular pattern and hover. After several weeks of heightened alert and additional sightings, the mysterious activity abruptly ceased.

6 ‘Cat And Mouse’ UFO Chase Over Cannon AFB January 1976

On January 21, 1976, a student journalist known only as “Bruce” was testing radio transmitters overlooking Cannon Air Force Base when he noticed a string of lights resembling “bulbs on a string.” Through binoculars, the lights resolved into saucer‑shaped objects with a red glow emanating from their undersides.

One craft stayed stationary while two others swooped down toward the ground before moving over a nearby town, where streetlights appeared to dim sequentially as the UFOs passed. Bruce returned the next night, this time with fellow journalists positioned on rooftops. Just before 1:00 a.m., four glowing objects reappeared, prompting the scramble of several F‑111 jets.

Despite the fighter interception, the aerial intruders evaded capture, disappearing vertically within seconds after a 45‑minute chase. Freedom‑of‑Information Act requests later confirmed multiple F‑111s were indeed launched, and Bruce reported receiving unsettling warnings after publicly discussing the event.

5 Red Object Over Ellsworth AFB August 1953

On the evening of August 5, 1953, residents of Blackhawk, South Dakota, witnessed a glowing red craft heading toward Ellsworth Air Force Base. Many of the witnesses were seasoned members of the Ground Observer Corps, lending credibility to their reports.

Volunteer observer Mrs. Kellian promptly filed a sighting with base radar operators, who confirmed the object on their screens and dispatched personnel for visual confirmation. An aircraft already on patrol was redirected to intercept, but as it approached, the UFO accelerated away, evading capture. A second jet also scrambled, only to meet the same outcome.

The Air Force ultimately classified the phenomenon as “unknown,” with no further official investigation, leaving the case shrouded in mystery.

4 Alien Battle Over McChord AFB October 1972

In October 1972, two airmen—Steven Briggs and Dennis Hillsgeck—were stationed at the Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) facility adjacent to McChord Air Force Base when a high‑pitched whine alerted them to an overhead saucer‑shaped object. The craft descended rapidly, prompting the emergence of two humanoid figures that seemed intent on entering the facility.

The airmen called for backup, and after roughly fifteen minutes, a security police officer, Sergeant Darren Alexander, arrived with a canine unit. He observed both the craft and one of the beings on the ground. Reacting instinctively, Alexander drew his revolver and discharged six rounds at close range, after which the creature vanished, leaving the officer bewildered.

This dramatic encounter, revealed by former government agent Robert Collins in 2001, continues to divide UFO researchers, with skeptics questioning the veracity of the claims.

3 Abductee Crash‑Lands At Edwards AFB Summer 1971

In the summer of 1971, a startling incident unfolded near Edwards Air Force Base when a loud, otherworldly roar was followed by a fiery crash. Bystanders reported seeing three grey‑haired humanoids and a woman clad in a tight, pink jumpsuit amidst the wreckage.

Military trucks quickly sealed off the area, removing both the debris and the strange occupants. While the Air Force later claimed the crash involved a conventional military vehicle, UFO researcher Albert Rosales located the woman—identified as Lorraine Dvorak Cordini—and facilitated hypnotic regression sessions.

During regression, Lorraine described being abducted from her home, outfitted in the pink suit, and taken aboard a larger orbital ship for examination. She was then placed in a smaller craft, which crashed near Edwards, after which she awoke in a military hangar surrounded by large‑headed alien beings distinct from her captors. The story remains highly contested.

2 UFO Sighting Over Larson AFB December 1952

On December 22, 1952, an off‑duty technician driving toward Larson Air Force Base in Washington observed a vague, hat‑shaped object hovering above the installation. Intrigued, he pulled over, exited his vehicle, and obtained a steadier view of the craft.

The UFO performed breathtaking maneuvers, glowing brighter as its speed increased. At one point, the witness claimed the object rolled in mid‑air, exposing a red‑glowing underside. After hovering for roughly fifteen minutes, the technician resumed his journey, satisfied that nothing further was afoot.

1 UFO Incident Over Minot AFB October 1968

Unusual activity has long plagued Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, but the most striking episode occurred just after 2:00 a.m. on October 24, 1968. While performing “above‑ground security” for an underground operation, a small unit reported a massive glowing object hovering overhead.

Within minutes, multiple reports flooded in from various locations around the base, and the phenomenon persisted throughout the night. At approximately 3:30 a.m., a B‑52 bomber crew observed the craft, describing it as resembling a “miniature sun placed on the ground.”

Project Blue Book investigated the incident, but by that stage the program’s investigative vigor had waned. The sighting remains officially unexplained, though a whistle‑blower claimed a similar event two years earlier that allegedly caused the base’s nuclear missiles to shut down—an allegation the Air Force denied despite contemporary newspaper reports of frequent UFO sightings in the area.

William Howard Hughes Jr. had a successful career in the Air Force in the 1980s. Already a captain by his early 30s, he was on the fast track to a stellar service career after he’d been with the outfit for much of his adult life. Known for hard work and dependability, he was being promoted steadily.

By 1983, he was assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While there, he had access to top-secret missile launch codes and warning systems information as part of a NATO program. He owned his own home in Albuquerque and lived alone. In July of that year, he was sent on a project in the Netherlands and ordered to return to base on August 1. He never reported back.

Hughes vanished into thin air, taking all his knowledge of classified and sensitive information with him. More than three decades later, he resurfaced. Here’s the crazy true story behind his disappearance.

Related: 10 Missing Persons Cases With Incredibly Odd Endings

10 Cold War Concerns

From the very beginning, Hughes’s disappearance was big news. The United States was in the midst of the Cold War with Russia at the time. Considering his classified knowledge of weapons systems, Hughes’s unknown whereabouts posed a national security risk. The threat of nuclear war with Russia and other hostile powers loomed large in that era.

So when Hughes seemingly vanished into thin air, the American government took action. They began looking into whether Hughes had defected to the Soviet power. When asked about the possibility of the captain defecting to Russia with state secrets, one Air Force official bluntly told a newspaper reporter, “that has to be an option.” ^[1]

9 Major Money Movement

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons 

After the Netherlands trip, Hughes failed to return to Kirtland at the beginning of August. Immediately, the Air Force began an investigation. Ten days later, they officially classified him as absent without leave. During their search, officials found Hughes had been seen withdrawing money from ATM locations in Albuquerque. In total, Hughes took out more than $28,000 in cash from 19 different ATMs around the city. His car was also found at the city’s airport. Officials began to suspect the obvious: he was fleeing from something. But when they searched his home, investigators found to-do lists written out and notes about books he intended to read upon his return.^[2]

8 Declared a Deserter

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Winter came with no sign of Hughes. Finally, on December 9, 1983, the Air Force declared him to be a deserter. The crime is serious: During war, it is punishable with execution. In peacetime, Hughes faced the threat of five years in prison. By January 1984, his absence caught the attention of national media. Hughes’s photo was published in newspapers around the country.

In addition, Air Force officials sent his information to police departments nationwide. The Pentagon confirmed publicly that a captain “with top secret access is missing under mysterious circumstances.” Even so, the government tried to downplay concerns Hughes was a spy or that he had defected. The FBI told media outlets, “there is no indication of espionage at this point.” Behind the scenes, officials scrambled to find him.^[3]

7 Hughes’s Sister Speaks Out

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Months after Hughes’s disappearance, his family began speaking out. His sister Christine was mortified by his absence, claiming it was “totally out of character for the Bill we knew.” Cryptically, she also told reporters that he was always careful about staying in close contact in his adult life, and “we do not feel he disappeared voluntarily.”

Police departments across the country began acting on tips. The Air Force conducted lengthy interviews with Hughes’s family, friends, and coworkers. Still, nothing came of the investigation. As Christmas came around more than a year after the captain had vanished, Christine again mourned the loss. “The holidays are the worst time,” she told a Seattle newspaper. “We make sure we’re together to try and help each other through.”^[4]

6 Secret Sabotage?

While the Air Force continued its search, Hughes’s story slipped off the front page. But it roared back several years later, in 1986. That year, Pentagon officials worried the missing captain was somehow sabotaging missile launches. The Los Angeles Times reported on a “bizarre pattern” of failed explorations and missile tests in the United States and France.

The list included the Challenger disaster, which killed all seven crew members upon launch. In the bombshell report, Hughes was named by officials as a sabotage suspect. One Pentagon source asserted there was “a clear link between Hughes and possible sabotage of the American and French launches.” Another insider claimed he was “worth his weight in gold to the Russians.” But the government still couldn’t find him.^[5]

5 The Cold War Cools Off

Whatever happened to Hughes, the end of the Cold War proved to cool concern over his disappearance. As the 1980s ended, the Russian threat began to wane. In 1991, the Soviet Union fell, and the unofficial Cold War essentially ended. Government officials leveled down their concern over certain missile secrets and stopped worrying openly about Russian spies and double agents. The focus on Hughes dropped in kind.

According to SFGate, William Howard Hughes’s name was not mentioned at all in press reports from 1987 to 2017. Still, that doesn’t mean Air Force officials weren’t still looking for him. And in 2018, in the most unexpected way, they finally came face to face with the man who had disappeared suddenly so many years before.^[6]

4 Finally Found—35 Years Later

In June 2018, agents with the U.S. Department of State traveled to Daly City, California, for an investigation. They questioned a man living there about inconsistencies with his passport. The man claimed to be Barry Timothy O’Beirne, but the agents couldn’t verify his identity. As they questioned him, the man cracked. Under investigation, he admitted that he was really William Howard Hughes.

Finally unmasked after decades in silence, Hughes confirmed he deserted the Air Force in 1983. He told the agents he had been “depressed” about his career. So he moved to California and created a new life. For 35 years, he went undetected. He even married a woman in the area, and they lived happily together. But the passport issue brought his secret life to a sudden end. The agents arrested the former captain and took him into custody “without incident.”^[7]

3 An Anonymous Life Upended

Hughes and his wife had spent their years in a two-bedroom townhouse in Daly City. The couple was liked by neighbors, who told media outlets they knew Hughes as “Tim.” One neighbor called him “very pleasant.” Another reported regularly seeing him at the local gym. Several neighbors reported “Tim” was a big baseball fan and always wore a San Francisco Giants hat on outings around town. Neighbors assumed he was retired.

As it turned out, Hughes worked as a consultant and actuary under his assumed identity for his post-Air Force life. One work colleague remembered him as “very smart” and “always joking.” Never did he cause trouble or draw attention to himself. Neighbors didn’t have any inkling about Hughes’s backstory until the media descended. “I guess you never know a person until you dig deep,” one local told a news outlet.^[8]

2 Consequences Finally Come

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Upon his arrest, Hughes was taken to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. There, investigators questioned him about his life and career. He insisted he was never a spy. Instead, he repeated claims about being “depressed” while working in the Air Force. Classified projects on missile capabilities and Soviet threats evidently took their toll on the former captain. Nevertheless, the military outfit prosecuted him for desertion.

In September 2018, he was found guilty of the charge and sentenced to spend 45 days in a military prison. A month later, he lost an appeal of the sentence and was ordered to serve his time. After facing the consequences of his 35-year-old actions, Hughes was dishonorably discharged from the service branch.^[9]

1 And Just Like That, He Vanished Again

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

After serving his time, Hughes disappeared once more. No longer wanted by the Air Force, he was free to go as he pleased, and he did so. His siblings, so concerned about Hughes’s fate after his disappearance back in 1983, never came forward publicly in the years after he was found. It is unknown if they have ever seen him since his reappearance.

In a sad twist, the woman he had been married to filed to annul their partnership two months after his arrest. It would seem he never told her of his real identity, and she couldn’t bear to live with his fake name following the discovery. As for Hughes, he has vanished again. SFGate reports that as of August 2022, his “current whereabouts are unknown.” The man who went missing from the Air Force in 1983 is lost in the wind once more—and this time, probably for good.^[10]

Since the very earliest days of aviation, birds have posed a threat to aircraft. The idea that a small, winged animal could bring down a massive plane seems surprising, but such accidents have caused numerous near-misses as well as devastating crashes and deaths.

In 1905, Wilbur Wright—one of the two famous pioneering aviator brothers—wrote in his journal, “Twice passed over fences into Bread’s cornfield. Chased flocks of birds on two rounds and killed one which fell on top of upper surface and after a time fell off when swinging a sharp curve.” The plane didn’t crash, and no people were injured, but that would soon change.
https://wrightstories.com/bird-strikes/

Here are ten of the most infamous bird-related air disasters

10 Miracle on the Hudson

The most famous bird-strike incident in recent years has to be US Airways flight 1549. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was at the controls of the Airbus 320 when it took off from LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009. With five crew members and 150 passengers on board, the flight heading to Charlotte, North Carolina, should have been a routine one. But minutes after takeoff, the plane ran directly into a flock of Canadian geese.

The sometimes-migratory Canadian goose can be a large bird, with heights ranging from up to 48 inches (122 centimeters) and weights up to 24 pounds (11 kilograms). One large goose hitting a plane could be dangerous, but a whole flock of them was enough to damage both engines of the huge airliner. Unable to restart the engines, Captain Sullenberger made the decision to set the plane down on the Hudson River. And less than five minutes after the strike, he landed on the water, saving the lives of all 155 people aboard.

The air disaster captivated the world, and the story was eventually made into a major motion picture, Sully, starring Tom Hanks. ^[1]

9 Losing Three Engines

Unfortunately, the passengers and crew of Eastern Airlines flight 375 weren’t as lucky. On October 4, 1960, the Lockheed L188A Electra took off from Logan Airport. Within moments, the plane flew into a flock of starlings. Although starlings are fairly small birds, weighing in at only a mere 3.5 ounces (100 grams), they do flock in huge numbers, sometimes 100,000 birds at a time.

When the plane hit the flock, a number of birds were sucked into engines 1, 2, and 4. Then, with a sudden and disastrous loss of power, the plane rolled and plunged into Winthrop Bay. Sixty-two people died in the crash, and the airplane was completely destroyed. During the investigation, 75 starling carcasses were found on the runway.

Imagine such tiny birds causing the deadliest bird-strike airplane crash in history!^[2]

8 A Flock of Gulls

Captain Sullenberger wasn’t the only hero pilot who saved the lives of his passengers and crew after a bird strike. On August 15, 2019, a Ural Airlines Airbus A321 taking off from Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport collided with a flock of gulls. The flight’s captain, Damir Yusupov, was able to land the plane in a nearby cornfield, saving the lives of everyone on board. Although there were a reported seventy injuries, only one was serious enough to require hospitalization. Yusupov was praised as a hero, and images of grateful survivors standing in a cornfield brought to mind the survivors of flight 1549 standing on the watery wings in the Hudson.

Because of the crash, officials investigated the presence of birds and discovered them flocking around two nearby illegal landfills.^[3]

7 Gear up for Landing

On Thursday, September 15, 1988, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-260 struck a flock of pigeons. When the plane was about 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) above the ground, it lost power, and the engines began backfiring. Able to gain some altitude, the pilot turned away from nearby Lake Tana to return to the runway. During the return, both engines failed. The captain still tried to perform a gear-up landing, but when the 737 touched down, it broke apart and erupted in fire.

Initial reports said 31 of the 102 people on board died in the crash but warned there could be more deaths as two people could not be found. The final death toll was put at 35.^[4]

6 Beware the Whistling Swans

Pigeons, starlings, gulls, and geese aren’t the only birds to have caused crashes. In 1962, it was a flock of swans. On Friday, November 23, 1962, a Vickers 745D Viscount airplane, United Airlines flight 297, took off from Newark, heading to Washington, D.C. During the flight, it ran into a flock of whistling swans. Although whistlers are typically the smallest type of swans, they do have an average weight of 16 pounds (7.25 kilograms)—enough to bring down a commercial airplane.

During the flight, at least two birds struck the plane, one of them hitting a stabilizer. The structure was so weakened that the plane became uncontrollable. It crashed to the ground from approximately 6,000 feet, killing all 17 people aboard.^[5]

5 The Birdman Meets His Fate

The very first recorded death caused by a bird strike occurred in 1912. Calbraith Perry Rodgers became the 49th licensed aviator in the world after practicing flight for only one month. Learning of a $50,000 prize being offered by publisher William Randolph Hearst to the first person to fly from coast to coast in under 30 days, Rodgers purchased a 35-horsepower Model EX biplane from the Wright Company.

From the start, Rodgers’s journey was fraught with problems. Being partially deaf, having no navigation tools, and flying a plane Oliver Wright claimed wasn’t up to the trip resulted in numerous hard landings, engine failures, and even crashes. Rodgers realized he would never be able to make the trip in 30 days but was determined to finish anyway, and on December 10, 1911, he did exactly that. His national celebrity didn’t last for long. Just a few months later, on April 3, 1912, while performing at an air show in California, his plane flew into a flock of birds and crashed before a crowd of hundreds. The popular aviator, interestingly called “The Birdman,” was killed on impact.^[6]

4# Thunderbirds Lose Support Crew

Created in 1953, The Thunderbirds precision flying group was formed as the U.S. Air Force’s official demonstration team. Their exciting performances still provide thrills to audiences worldwide. But in 1958, the USAF mourned the loss of some of their own.

On Thursday, October 9, 1958, a Fairchild C-123B Provider was carrying a team of supporters for the Thunderbird flyers when it flew into a formation of geese. The aircraft crashed near Payette, Idaho, killing all 19 aboard.

A monument to the crew still stands in Payette, and a ceremony was held in 2018 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the tragedy.^[7]

3 Cockpit Takeover

It isn’t just engines that can be damaged when planes and birds collide. Sometimes, an injury to the crew can have catastrophic consequences. On Wednesday, December 10, 1969, an Ilyushin IL-14P plane operated by Aeroflot/Georgia crashed about four minutes after takeoff. All 17 people aboard died in the crash, which occurred at about 1150 feet (350 meters) over the sea about 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometers) from Makhachkala, Russia.

According to subsequent reports, the cause of the crash was said to be a collision between the plane and a large flock of birds that destroyed the cockpit, not the engine. The report also mentions possible injuries to the crew and the involuntary descent of the aircraft.^[8]

2 Geese Problems

Planes are not the only airborne vehicles affected by bird strikes. On November 19, 2017, air ambulance Bell 407 N620PA was downed when the helicopter collided with a flock of geese. The pilot and two others on board were killed in the crash near Stuttgart, Arkansas.

After the crash, twelve bags of feathers and bird remains were recovered from the crash site and examined by the Smithsonian Institute. Their investigation concluded the remains were snow geese. The white feathers of the geese were actually found embedded in the pilot’s clothing and boot.^[9]

1 Red Hawk Down

Sometimes, it doesn’t even take an entire flock to bring down an aircraft. The deadly crash of a Marine helicopter at Camp Pendleton in 2011 was surprisingly caused by one single bird.

On September 19, 2012, the AH-1W Cobra twin-engine attack helicopter collided with a red-tailed hawk, one of the largest birds in North America. Investigators say the female hawk, weighing about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms), with up to a 4-foot (1.2-meter) wingspan, struck the helicopter. Within one minute of impact, the rotor and top of the transmission separated from the vehicle. The helicopter broke apart and crashed to the ground, killing both Marine pilots on board. The crash also caused a 120-acre brush fire that had to be put out by other planes and helicopters dumping tons of fire retardant in the area.^[10]