Type: Government Investigation
Source: United States Air Force Project Blue Book
Official Air Force documentation covering witness interviews, investigative notes, and proposed explanations for the Levelland sightings.
The Project Blue Book Levelland Case File documents the November 2–3, 1957 UFO incident in Levelland, Texas, where 15 independent witnesses reported a glowing object causing their vehicles' engines and electrical systems to fail. Project Blue Book dispatched Staff Sgt. Norman Barth to investigate, but he spent only seven hours interviewing witnesses and found no physical evidence of a landed craft.
Official Conclusion: The Air Force classified the case as "explained" or "probable ball lightning," attributing the sightings to St. Elmo’s fire or rare atmospheric electrical phenomena caused by stormy conditions.
Criticism: Ufologists and scientists like Dr. J. Allen Hynek and James E. McDonald later disputed the weather explanation, noting that no thunderstorms were present during the sightings and that ball lightning cannot stop car engines.
Case Status: The official file labeled the incident as "solved" to reassure the public, but the case remains a prominent example of a "close encounter of the second kind" in UFO history due to the high number of credible witnesses and the lack of a fully satisfactory explanation.