August 29, 1997: Best of Open Lines - Mel's Hole, Area 51 Pilot, Bugs, Robert Salas, & more..
The second hour features the classic call from a man identifying himself as a pilot flying a homebuilt Long-EZ aircraft directly into restricted Area 51 airspace. He describes searchlights, a scrambled F-16, and something rising from an underground elevator before the call cuts out abruptly. The program also includes segments on Bigfoot, with a caller named Dan from Missouri describing a nighttime encounter with a creature standing ten to twelve feet tall, accompanied by a blue ball of light.
An update from Mel reveals he has signed a lucrative lease agreement for his property and plans to emigrate to Australia, with a stipulation that his remains be disposed of in the hole upon his death.
Key Moments
Mel returns: 80,000 feet of fishing line, no echo, dogs won't go near: Mel Waters describes lowering shark-fishing line spool by spool - past 5,000 yards - with a triangular one-pound weight, sending a roll of Lifesavers down to test for water, and getting no echo back. His dogs refuse to go near the hole.
Jimmy Joe's Long-EZ flight into Area 51 airspace: A caller's girlfriend faxes in saying her boyfriend is airborne north of Las Vegas in a homebuilt Long-EZ painted with a red cross, planning to penetrate the Area 51 restricted zone. Live on air he reports crossing the line, sees searchlights, and an F-16 scrambling on afterburner.
Robert Salas: Echo Flight ICBMs shut down by UFO: Former missileer Robert Salas describes the morning a UFO was reported by his security team over a Malmstrom launch facility while five of his missiles went off alert; minutes later Echo Flight reported the same thing - losing all ten of their nuclear ICBMs simultaneously.
Salas on the Russian ICBM going into launch sequence: Salas and Art Bell discuss the parallel Russian incident in which a UFO hovered over a Soviet ICBM silo and the missiles went into launch mode by themselves - the consoles were torn apart afterward and nothing wrong was ever found.
Books by This Guest
Selected titles from the guest bibliography. Use them as context for this appearance, not required listening.
