Within The Roswell Report
Why No Roswell Aircraft Accident Report Existed
Army rules required permanent aircraft accident reports, but officials said a weather-balloon crash would not have triggered the same record.
On this page
- What 1947 accident rules required
- Why balloon incidents followed different reporting rules
- How nearby New Mexico crashes were ruled out
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Introduction
One question examined during the official Roswell investigations was why no permanent Army aircraft accident report exists for the July 1947 incident. At first glance, the absence of such a report has been cited by some as evidence that records were removed or concealed. However, the General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office, or GAO) approached the issue from a records-management perspective rather than by asking what crashed. Its conclusion was narrower: if the recovered object was treated as a weather balloon or balloon-borne equipment, the Army’s 1947 aircraft accident reporting rules did not require the preparation of a formal aircraft accident report.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
This distinction became an important part of the Roswell Report investigations. Rather than proving what fell near Roswell, the GAO examined which administrative procedures would have applied under the regulations in force at the time. That analysis helped explain why the absence of an aircraft accident file, by itself, could not be taken as evidence that one had been destroyed or deliberately withheld.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
What 1947 accident rules required
The GAO reviewed the Army Air Forces’ reporting requirements that governed aviation accidents in 1947. According to Army records officials, formal air accident reports were required for aircraft accidents and those reports were to be retained permanently. Consequently, had a military aeroplane crashed near Roswell, investigators would normally expect a permanent accident record to exist.[Intelligence Resource Program]irp.fas.orgIntelligence Resource Program GAOIntelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico…
To test that expectation, the GAO searched surviving records from July 1947. It identified four Army Air Forces aircraft accidents in New Mexico during that month, all of which involved military aircraft and all of which occurred after the initial Roswell press release on 8 July 1947. The Navy reported no air accidents in New Mexico during the same period. These findings demonstrated that the reporting system was functioning and that genuine aircraft accidents were being documented through the established process.[Intelligence Resource Program]irp.fas.orgIntelligence Resource Program GAOIntelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico…
The question therefore became whether the Roswell recovery belonged in that category at all.
Why balloon incidents followed different reporting rules
The Air Force advised the GAO that weather balloon crashes were not subject to the same reporting requirements as aircraft accidents. In other words, if personnel regarded the recovered object as a balloon or balloon-borne device rather than an aeroplane, existing regulations did not require preparation of a permanent aircraft accident report.[Intelligence Resource Program]irp.fas.orgIntelligence Resource Program GAOIntelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico…
Supporting memoranda gathered during the 1994 Air Force investigation reinforced this administrative distinction. One internal memorandum stated that weather personnel were not required to record ordinary weather balloon landings and that only meteorological data were routinely retained. Researchers also reported finding no weather archive documenting a Roswell balloon crash during the relevant period. Rather than indicating misconduct, this reflected normal record-keeping practice for balloon operations, which generated far less formal documentation than aircraft accidents.[DAF History]dafhistory.af.milDAF History The Roswell ReportDAF HistoryThe Roswell ReportDecember 1, 2010…
This difference became especially significant because the Air Force’s 1994 explanation identified the debris as belonging to Project Mogul, a classified balloon programme rather than a conventional aircraft. Although Project Mogul itself remained secret in 1947, the administrative handling of balloon recoveries would still have followed balloon-related procedures rather than aircraft accident regulations.[ESD]esd.whs.milROSWELL REPORT Fact versus Fiction in the…
How nearby New Mexico crashes were ruled out
Another part of the GAO’s review was determining whether the Roswell event might have been confused with a documented aircraft accident elsewhere in New Mexico.
The investigators compared known accident records with the timing of the Roswell incident. The four recorded Army Air Forces accidents all involved identifiable military aircraft, occurred after the Roswell announcement and were separately documented. None corresponded to the debris recovered on the Foster Ranch or matched the circumstances described in contemporary Roswell records. Likewise, the Navy reported no aviation accidents in New Mexico during July 1947 that could account for the event.[Intelligence Resource Program]irp.fas.orgIntelligence Resource Program GAOIntelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico…
This comparison served an important administrative purpose. It showed that the missing Roswell aircraft accident report was not explained by misfiling under another known crash investigation. Instead, the evidence supported the simpler conclusion that officials never classified the Roswell recovery as an aircraft accident requiring that reporting process.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
What the absence of an accident report does—and does not—show
The lack of a formal aircraft accident report has often featured in debates about Roswell, but the GAO treated it as a question of regulatory procedure rather than proof of any particular explanation.
Its investigation reached three related findings:
- Aircraft accidents in 1947 were subject to permanent reporting requirements.
- Weather balloon incidents were not governed by those same rules.
- Therefore, if the recovered object was handled administratively as a balloon, the absence of an aircraft accident report would be expected rather than unusual.[Intelligence Resource Program]irp.fas.orgIntelligence Resource Program GAOIntelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico…
The GAO also acknowledged a separate issue: some Roswell Army Air Field administrative records and outgoing message files from the period had been destroyed under circumstances that could not later be fully reconstructed. That destruction complicated historical research, but it did not alter the specific conclusion regarding aircraft accident reporting requirements. The two questions—missing administrative files and the absence of an aircraft accident report—were treated as distinct issues.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
Within the broader Roswell Report investigations, this administrative analysis addressed a common misconception. The official position was not that every crash involving airborne equipment should have produced an aircraft accident file. Rather, it was that balloon recoveries and aircraft crashes followed different reporting systems, making the lack of a Roswell aircraft accident report consistent with the military’s stated classification of the recovered debris.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: gao.gov
Title: nsiad 95 187
Link:https://www.gao.gov/products/nsiad
Source snippet
Government Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |...
2.
Source: gao.gov
Link:https://www.gao.gov/products/154832
3.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The [Roswell UFO Crash]({{ ‘roswell-ufo-crash/’ | relative_url }}) (Overview)
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZltLHh_WsZs
Source snippet
The Roswell Incident...
4.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Roswell Incident
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50PLMwyfKc
Source snippet
What Actually Crashed at Roswell in 1947? (The Declassified Truth)...
5.
Source: sgp.fas.org
Title: Project on Government Secrecy United States General Accounting Office
Link:https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/roswell.pdf
Source snippet
FAS Project on Government SecrecyUnited States General Accounting Office...
6.
Source: irp.fas.org
Title: Intelligence Resource Program GAO
Link:https://irp.fas.org/gao/nsi95187.htm
Source snippet
Intelligence Resource ProgramGAO - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico...
7.
Source: dafhistory.af.mil
Title: DAF History The Roswell Report
Link:https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/AFD-101201-038.pdf
Source snippet
DAF HistoryThe Roswell ReportDecember 1, 2010...
Published: December 1, 2010
8.
Source: esd.whs.mil
Link:https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/roswell.pdf?ver=2017-05-22-113531-807
Source snippet
ROSWELL REPORT Fact versus Fiction in the...
9.
Source: sgp.fas.org
Link:https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/roswell.html
Source snippet
28, 1995 — GAO Report on Roswell, NM UFO Crash * * * PDF Version > # General Accounting Office > > * * * > > Government Records: > Result...
10.
Source: af.mil
Link:https://www.af.mil/The-Roswell-Report/quot/
Additional References
11.
Source: youtube.com
Title: What really happened at Roswell: the sound channel and sky whales
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdSX-7vWyS8
Source snippet
This list provides directly relevant documentaries and technical breakdowns examining the 1947 Roswell debris recovery, including militar...
12.
Source: oocities.org
Title: All of The accidents involved mili
Link:https://oocities.org/area51/corridor/8148/gao.html
Source snippet
The GAO Roswell ReportJuly 30, 1995 — RESULTS IN BRIEF In 1947, regulations required that air accident reports be maintained air accident...
Published: July 30, 1995
13.
Source: gao.justia.com
Title: government records nsiad 95 187
Link:https://gao.justia.com/department-of-defense/1995/7/government-records-nsiad-95-187/
Source snippet
GAO Reports - NSIAD-95-187 - Government Records - Department of DefenseJuly 28, 1995 — GOVERNMENT RECORDS Results of a Search for Records...
Published: July 28, 1995
14.
Source: archives.gov
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos
Source snippet
Project BLUE BOOK - [Unidentified]({{ 'unidentified/' | relative_url }}) Flying Objects | National ArchivesJune 25, 2024 — THE "ROSWELL INCIDENT" The National Archives has been...
Published: June 25, 2024
15.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGqVaXFDneQ
Source snippet
The Roswell Incident Mystery Finally Solved...
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Roswell Incident Mystery Finally Solved
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz0vYcc4KiI
Source snippet
What really happened at Roswell: the sound channel and sky whales...
17.
Source: ufotransparency.com
Title: 1995 07 28 gao roswell report nsiad 95 187 gao nsiad 95 187 roswell 1995
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/1995-07-28-gao-roswell-report-nsiad-95-187-gao-nsiad-95-187-roswell-1995
18.
Source: scribd.com
Title: Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction | PDF | Unidentified Flying Object
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/831210606/Roswel-Fact-or-Fiction
19.
Source: ufotransparency.com
Title: decade 1990s roswell report fact vs fiction 1994 dtic ada326148
Link:https://ufotransparency.com/files/decade-1990s-roswell-report-fact-vs-fiction-1994-dtic-ada326148
20.
Source: scribd.com
Title: Roswell Incident Report Overview | PDF | Unidentified Flying Object
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/239712223/roswell-pdf