of familiar or known objects or
unidentified aircraft.
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REPORTING AIR ACCIDENTS
According to press accounts from July 1947, Army Air Forces personnel from
RAAF were involved in the recovery of an airborne object near Roswell.
Therefore, if an air accident report was prepared, it should have been
prepared in accordance with Army regulations. According to an Army records
management official, in 1947 Army regulations required that air accident
reports be maintained permanentiy. An Air Force official said there was no
similar requirement to report a weather balloon crash.
According to an Air Force official who has worked in the records management
field since the inid-1940s, air accident reports prepared in July 1947 under
Army regulations should have been transferred to Air Force custody in
September 1947, when the Air Force was established as a separate service.
The Air Force Safety Agency isresponsible for maintalning reports of air
accidents. We examined its microflim records to determine whether any air
accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. We identified
four air accidents during this time period.(2) All of the accidents involved
military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred after July 8, 1947 -- the
date the RAAF public information office first reported the crash and
recovery of a "flying disc" near Roswell. According to the Army Air Forces'
Report of Major Accident, these four accidents occurred at or near the towns
of Hobbs, Albuquerque, Carrizozo, and Alamogordo, New Mexico. Ouly one of
the four accidents resulted in a fatality. The pilot died when the aircraft
crashed during an attempted take-off.
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Footnote:
(2) These records do not include information regarding mishaps of air
vehicles belonging to civilian or other government agencies. These