May 26, 1997: Open Lines | Art & Ramona's UFO Sighting #2
Art details his frantic attempts to report the sighting to Nellis Air Force Base, Edwards Air Force Base, and McCarran Airport, all of which deny any knowledge. Callers quickly corroborate the sighting, including a deputy sheriff in southern New Mexico, a woman in Arizona's Verde Valley who watched five such objects cluster together, and a man in Henderson, Nevada who observed the same craft from Black Mountain. The consistency of the independent accounts is striking.
The second half of the program features the remarkable story of John McKinnon, a television station manager in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, who was fired and had police confiscate his tapes after producing programs modeled on Art's format covering UFO witnesses and unconventional guests.
Key Moments
The Memorial Day daylight sighting: Art describes spotting a high-altitude jet leaving a double contrail, then noticing just below it a silver, cylindrical, glowing object. Through good binoculars he and Ramona watched it stop, hover near the contrail for four to six minutes, then accelerate south, gain altitude, and disappear to a pinpoint - all silent, in broad daylight.
Nellis, McCarran, and Edwards all deny knowledge: Art recounts calling Nellis Air Force Base (told nothing in the air for an hour), the local sheriff (zero reports), McCarran (no luck), and finally the Edwards control tower, where the operator says they only optically observe and have no radar - and recognized Art's voice when he gave his name at the end.
Time pinned at 11:40 AM Pacific: Art locks the timing for would-be witnesses and air traffic controllers: the sighting started at 11:40 AM Pacific and they watched through about 11:50 AM, asking anyone at Nellis, Hughes Tower, McCarran, or Sky Harbor to come forward.
Verde Valley caller corroborates with five objects: A caller named Fran in central Arizona's Verde Valley independently describes the same double contrail and bright glowing object pendulum-swinging in place, then joined by four more objects that clustered and shot off southeast at high altitude - between roughly 11:05 and 11:45 AM.