The Incident at Exeter
A teenager ran into a police station shaking, saying a silent object with red lights had swooped at him in a field. Two officers went back with him and saw it too.
What was reported
In the early hours of 3 September 1965, 18-year-old Norman Muscarello arrived at the police station in Exeter, frightened, saying a large object with pulsing red lights had come down towards him near a farm. An officer, Eugene Bertrand, drove him back to the spot.
There, both said, the object rose from behind trees and came towards them, silent, with red lights flashing in sequence. A second officer, David Hunt, arrived and saw it too. A writer, John Fuller, later made it famous in the book 'Incident at Exeter'.
Explanations offered
The US Air Force first said the witnesses had seen aircraft from a military exercise. The officers pointed out that the exercise had ended before their sighting. Later suggestions include a refuelling aircraft or an advertising plane with lights. No explanation has been agreed.
- When
- 3 September 1965
- Where
- Exeter, New Hampshire, USA
- Witnesses
- A teenager and two police officers
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.