1897.0417 Crash at Aurora

 

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Alleged airship crash in Aurora, Texas on 17th April 1897 involving reports of a badly disfigured pilot not an inhabitant of this world.

Reported in the 19th April 1897 edition of the Dallas Morning News.

 

 

Claims to fame

 

This incident is Case 51 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article, since it was referred to in 53 of the books covered by that article.

Isaac Koi’s “ICES” Rating for this sighting = 3,380 (out of a potential score of 14*14*14*14 i.e. 38,416)

 

(1) “Impact” Rating of 13 (out of a potential score of 14), because it is Case 51 in Isaac Koi's "Top 100" article.

(2) “Credibility” Rating of 4 (out of a potential score of 14), because several authors have given considerable evidence that this incident was a hoax..

(2) “Expert” Rating of 5 (out of a potential score of 14). It is given this relatively low rating because (at the time of writing) it has not been included in any of the short lists of the best cases produced by various UFO researchers that have been compiled by Isaac Koi (see the “Best UFO Cases" article at PART 3: Existing lists by various individuals), and it is sometimes mentioned by UFO researchers as a good example of a hoax. For example, Jerome Clark has written several items giving evidence for his conclusion that this was a hoax.

(4)“Strangeness” Rating of 13 (out of a potential score of 14): While the true nature of the "bodies" shown on the photograph are not immediately obvious upon looking at the Bonilla photos, there are no details or structures visible that rule out a number of mundane explanations (e.g. birds or insects). Similarly, Bonilla's accompanying account does make a specific mundane source clear but does not provide any details which (even if they are all true and accurate) would exclude a number of mundane explanations. The Bonilla photos are therefore given a relatively low “Strangeness” Rating. It would be helpful to have the photos considered by somone familiar with taking photos of the Sun and/or to compare the Bonilla photos with photos of various objects crossing in front of the Sun.

 

 

 

Sections below:

1. Web Resources

2. Book References

3. Other material

 

 

 

Contemporary press article:

 

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Photo of Aurora cemetry:

 

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Web Resources

Wikipedia article at : Aurora, Texas airship crash (1897)

This incident is discussed on the AboveTopSecret.com (“ATS”) internet discussion forums in Thread 270137.

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Book References

Reported in 19th April 1897 Dallas Morning News. Image of article, and complete text, available online at: http://ufologie.net/press/dallasmorningnews17apr1897.htm . Complete text also presented in full in “The UFOs that never were” (2000) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) by Jenny Randles and Andy Roberts and David Clarke at pages 25-26 (in Chapter 1, “Once Upon a Time in the West” by David Clarke) of the London House hardback edition.

For discussion of the alleged crash at Aurora see the following:

 

Year

Discussion by:

 

No. of Pages

1986

Andrews, George C in his “Extra-Terrestrials Among Us” (1986) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 81-82 (in Chapter 2) of the Llewellyn softcover edition, at pages 92-94 of the Llewellyn paperback edition.

2

1980

APRO in “The Encyclopedia of UFOs” (1980) edited by Ronald Story (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 32 of the NEL hardback edition in an entry entitled “Aurora (Texas) airship hoax”.

1

1998

Bartholomew, Robert E and Howard, George S in their “UFOs and Alien Contact” (1998) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 203-204 (in Chapter 9) of the Prometheus hardback edition.

2

2003

Bartholomew, Robert E. and Radford, Benjamin in their “Hoaxes, Myths and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking” (2003) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 41, 43 (in Chapter 3) of the Prometheus softcover edition.

2

1975

Clark, Jerome and Coleman, Loren “The Unidentified” (1975) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 27 (in the unnumbered section entitled “UFOland: Other Worlds and the Otherworld”, part 2) of the Warner paperback edition.

1

2000

Clark, Jerome in his “Extraordinary Encounters : An Encyclopedia of Extraterrestrials and Otherworldly Beings” (2000) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 34-35 (in an entry entitled “Aurora Martian”), 81-82 (in an entry entitled “Dead extraterrestrials”) of the ABC-Clio hardback edition.

4

1989

Clark, Jerome in “The Fringes of Reason” (1989) (edited by Ted Schultz) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 153 (in the unnumbered chapter entitled “Crashed Saucers: The Ultimate Secret?”) of the Harmony Books softcover edition.

1

1990

Clark, Jerome in his “The UFO Encyclopedia: 1st edition: Volume 1 – UFOs in the 1980s” (1990) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 57 (in an entry entitled “Crashes of UFOs”) of the Apogee hardback edition.

1

1992

Clark, Jerome in his “The UFO Encyclopedia: 1st edition: Volume 2 – Emergence of a Phenomenon” (1992) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 110-113 (forming part of an entry entitled “Crashes of UFOs in the Nineteenth Century”), 192 (in an entry entitled “Hoaxes Through 1959”) of the Omnigraphics hardback edition.

5

1998

Clark, Jerome in his “The UFO Encyclopedia: The Phenomenon from the Beginning - 2nd edition” (1998) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 261-263 of Volume 1:A-K (forming part of the entry entitled “Crashes and Retrievals of UFOs in the Nineteenth Century” at pages 257-264), 504 (forming part of an entry entitled “Hoaxes” at pages 504-519) of the Omnigraphics hardback edition.

4

1990

Clarke, David and Roberts, Andy in their “Phantoms of the Sky: UFOs – A Modern Myth?” (1990) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 125 (in Chapter 6) of the Hale hardback edition.

1

2000

Clarke, David in “The UFOs that never were” (2000) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) by Jenny Randles and Andy Roberts and David Clarke at pages 25-31 (in Chapter 1, “Once Upon a Time in the West” by David Clarke) of the London House hardback edition.

7

1981

Cohen, Daniel in his “The Great Airship Mystery” (1981) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 103-121 of the Dodd Mead hardback edition (in Chapter 8 generally, “The Texas Spaceship Crash”).

19

1998

Fitzgerald, Randall in his “The Cosmic Test Tube” (1998) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 183 (in Section 2), 280 (in Section 4) of the Moonlake Media softcover edition.

2

1980

Gansberg, Alan and Gansberg, Judith in their “Direct Encounters: The Personal Histories of UFO Abductees” (1980) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 41 (in Chapter 2) of the Walker & Co hardback edition.

1

1975

Gaulding, Lyle in “Extraterrestrial Intervention: The Evidence” (1975) (edited by Bergier, Jacques and the Editors of INFO) at page 41 (in Part 2, unnumbered chapter entitled “Mysteries of the Airship Age”) of the Signet paperback edition.

1

1999

Hall, Michael David in his “UFOs : A Century of Sightings” (1999) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 4-5 (in Chapter 1) of the Galde Press softcover edition.

2

1976

Holzer, Hans in his “The UFOnauts” (1976) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 35-36 (in Chapter 2) of the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback edition.

2

1975

Hynek, J Allen and Vallee, Jacques in their “The Edge of Reality” (1975) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 181-183 (in Chapter 6) of the Henry Regnery hardback edition.

3

1975

Jacobs, David Michael in his “The UFO Controversy in America” (1975) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 16-17 of the Indiana hardback edition, pages 13-14 of the Signet paperback edition (Chapter 1).

2

1975

Keel, John A in his “The Mothman Prophecies” (1975) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 15 (in Chapter 2) of the 1991 I-Net softcover edition, at pages 21-22 of the Panther paperback edition entitled “Visitors from Space”.

1

1974

Klass, Philip J in his “UFOs Explained” (1974) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 259-263 (in Chapter 24, “Mysterious Airships of the 1890s”) of the Random House hardback edition, at pages 307-311 of Random House paperback edition.

5

1968

Klass, Philip J in his “UFOs – Identified” (1968) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 280-281 (in Chapter 24) of the Random House hardback edition.

2

1999

Kurland, Michael in his “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Extraterrestrial Intelligence” (1999) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 80-81 (in Chapter 8) of the Alpha Books softcover edition.

2

1997

Marrs, Jim in his “Alien Agenda” (1997) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages xix-xxv (in the Introduction) of the Harper Collins paperback edition.

7

1974

McWane, Glenn and Graham, Davis in their “The New UFO Sightings” (1974) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 98-99 (in Chapter 4) of the Warner paperback edition.

2

2003

Moffitt, John in his “Picturing Extraterrestrials : Alien Images in Modern Mass Culture” (2003) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 256 of the Prometheus hardback edition.

1

2002

Moseley, James and Pflock, Karl in their “Shockingly Close to the Truth!” (2002) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 321 (in Chapter 17) of the Prometheus hardback edition.

1

1992

Nickell, Joe and Fischer, John F in their “Mysterious Realms” (1992) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 82 (in Chapter 6) of the Prometheus hardback edition.

1

2002

Nixon, Neil in his “Pocket Essentials : UFOs” (2002) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 18 (in Chapter 1) of the Pocket Essentials softcover edition.

1

1994

Peebles, Curtis in his “Watch the Skies!” (1994) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 196-199 of the Smithsonian hardback edition, pages 237-241 of the Berkley paperback edition (Chapter 13). (Contains relatively lengthy extract of relevant Dallas Morning News report).

5

2001

Picknett, Lynn in her “The Mammoth Book of UFOs” (2001) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 14-17 (in Chapter 1) of the Robinson softcover edition.

4

1999

Randle, Kevin and Russ Estes and William Cone in their “The Abduction Enigma” (1999) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 118-119 (in Chapter 7) of the Forge hardback edition.

2

1997

Randle, Kevin and Estes, Russ in their “Spaceships of the Visitors” (1997) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 29-30 (in Part 2) of the Fireside softcover edition.

2

1991

Randle, Kevin D and Schmitt, Donald R in their “UFO Crash at Roswell“(1991) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK)at page 265 (in Appendix C) of the Avon paperback edition.

1

1995

Randle, Kevin in his “A history of UFO crashes” (1995) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 175-176 (in Appendix A, “The UFO Crash Data Base”) of the Avon paperback edition.

2

2002

Randle, Kevin in his “Case MJ-12” (2002) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 51-52 (in Chapter 3) of the Harper Torch paperback edition.

2

1997

Randle, Kevin in his “Conspiracy of Silence” (1997) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 10 (in Chapter 1) of the Avon paperback edition.

1

1999

Randle, Kevin in his “Scientific Ufology” (1999) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 201-202 (in Chapter 7) of the Avon softcover edition.

2

1988

Randle, Kevin in his “The October Scenario” (1988) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 107, 109-110 (in Part 3, unnumbered section entitled “From Ancient Astronauts To The Great Airships”) of the Berkley paperback edition.

3

1994

Randles, Jenny and Hough, Peter in their “The Complete Book of UFOs” (1994) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 21-22 (in Chapter 1) of the Piatkus softcover edition.

2

2000

Randles, Jenny in her “The Little Giant Encyclopedia of UFOs” (2000) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 24 (in Part 1, “A UFO Timeline”) of the Sterling softcover edition.

1

1995

Randles, Jenny in her “UFO Retrievals” (1995) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 14-18 (in Chapter 1) of the Blandford softback edition.

5

1992

Randles, Jenny in her “UFOs and How to See Them” (1992) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 10 (in Chapter 1) of the Brockhampton Press hardback edition.

1

1988

Roberts, Andy in “Phenomenon“ (1988) (edited by John Spencer and Hilary Evans) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 98 (Part 2, in the unnumbered chapter entitled “The Legend of the Crashed Saucers”) of the MacDonald hardback edition.

1

1987

Roberts, Andy in “UFO: 1947-1987” (1987) (edited by Hilary Evans with John Spencer) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 157 of the Fortean Tomes softcover edition (in Chapter 2.6.2, entitled “Saucerful of Secrets”).

1

1980

Sachs, MargaretThe UFO Encyclopedia“ (1980 (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 23-24 of the Corgi softback edition in an entry entitled “Aurora, Texas”. Also Included in a list entitled “Chronological list of UFO sightings” at page vii.

2

1989

Schellhorn, G Cope in his “Extraterrestrials in Biblical Prophecy” (1989) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 363 (in Chapter 17) of the Horus softcover edition.

1

1967

Steiger, Brad and Whritenour, Joan in their “Flying Saucers are Hostile” (1967) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 92-93 (in Chapter 6) of the Tandem paperback edition.

2

1981

Story, Ronald in his “UFOs and the Limits of Science” (1981) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 37-39 (in Chapter 1) of the NEL Hardback edition.

3

1990

Vallee, Jacques in his “Confrontations: A Scientist's Search for Alien Contact” (1990) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 39-40 (in Chapter 2) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition.

2

1970

Vallee, Jacques in his “Passport to Magonia” (1970) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 184 (in the Appendix entitled “A Century of UFO Landings (1868-1968)”) of the Regnery hardback edition, with the relevant Appendix omitted from the Tandem paperback edition.

1

1991

Vallee, Jacques in his “Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception” (1991) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 21 (in Chapter 1) of the Ballantine Books paperback edition.

1

1999

Vallee, Jacques in Peter Sturrock’s “The UFO Enigma“ (1999) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 237-238 (in Chapter 27, section entitled “The Alleged Crash at Aurora, Texas”) of the Warner Aspect hardback edition. The relevant chapter is based on the following article: Jacques Vallee “Physical Analysis of Ten Cases of Unexplained Aerial Objects with Material Samples” Journal of Scientific Exploration (1998) 12 at pages 359-375 and is available online at: “http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/articles/ufo_reports/vallee_phys/toc.html

2

1987

Watson, Nigel in “UFO: 1947-1987” (1987) (edited by Hilary Evans with John Spencer) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at page 27 of the Fortean Tomes softcover edition (Chapter 2.1.3, entitled “Before the Flying Saucers Came”).

1

2005

Wood, Ryan in his “MAJIC Eyes Only” (2005) (available on Amazon USA and on Amazon UK) at pages 3, 24-32 of the Wood Enterprises hardback edition.

10

 

 

Other Material