The Mantell Incident
Sent up to identify a huge object over Kentucky, a fighter pilot kept climbing after it and never came back.
What was reported
On the afternoon of 7 January 1948, state police and the control tower at Godman Field, near Fort Knox, reported a large, bright object in the sky. Four P-51 Mustangs of the Kentucky Air National Guard, led by Captain Thomas Mantell, were asked to take a look.
Mantell kept climbing after the object, describing it as metallic and enormous, even after the others turned back. He lost consciousness at high altitude without oxygen, and his plane came down near Franklin. The death of a pilot chasing a 'flying saucer' made headlines across the country.
Explanations offered
At first the Air Force said it was the planet Venus. Later investigators concluded Mantell had most likely been chasing a Skyhook balloon, a huge high-altitude research balloon from a Navy programme that was then secret. In sunlight it would have looked bright and metallic, and launches were taking place at the time.
- When
- 7 January 1948
- Where
- Near Franklin, Kentucky, USA
- Witnesses
- Control tower staff at Godman Field, police and the pilots
- Status
- Mostly explained
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.