Within The Roswell Report
What Did the GAO Really Find on Roswell
The congressional audit found only two direct 1947 records and no hidden documentary trail confirming an alien recovery.
On this page
- Which agencies and archives were searched
- The two surviving records from July 1947
- What the audit could and could not establish
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Introduction
The 1995 investigation by the US General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office, or GAO) did not attempt to determine whether an extraterrestrial craft crashed near Roswell. Instead, Congress asked a much narrower question: what official records relating to the July 1947 incident still existed, whether records that should have been preserved had disappeared, and what reporting rules would have applied at the time. The resulting audit is often cited by both sceptics and UFO proponents, but its actual findings were more limited than either side sometimes suggests. The GAO established that only two contemporaneous government records directly referred to the Roswell incident, that important Roswell Army Air Field records had been destroyed at some point without a documented disposal trail, and that it found no hidden documentary archive supporting claims of an alien recovery.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
Which agencies and archives were searched
The GAO carried out a broad records search after Representative Steven Schiff requested an independent review in 1994. Rather than focusing solely on Air Force files, investigators examined records across multiple agencies that could reasonably have held documentation if an unusual military recovery had occurred.
The search included:
[department of defense]gao.justia.comdepartment of defense se records, including Army Air Forces and Air Force archives. * National Archives holdings.[archives.gov]archives.govProject BLUE BOOKUnidentified Flying Objects | National Archives…
- Federal Bureau of Investigation records.
- Central Intelligence Agency files.
- National Security Council records.[gao.justia.com]gao.justia.comdepartment of defensedepartment of defense
- White House Office of Science and Technology Policy records.
- Department of Energy holdings.
- Other federal repositories containing classified and historical military records.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
The audit also reviewed historical regulations governing accident reporting and records retention. This mattered because one of Congress’s concerns was whether any mandatory reporting system in 1947 would have generated documents that should still exist.
The GAO concluded that Army regulations required permanent retention of aircraft accident reports. However, investigators found no evidence that the Roswell recovery was ever classified administratively as an aircraft accident. If military personnel regarded the recovered object as a weather balloon or balloon-borne equipment, no equivalent permanent accident report was required under the regulations then in force. This distinction is important because it limits what missing paperwork can reasonably be expected to exist.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeNSIAD-95-187 Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell…
The two surviving records from July 1947
One of the clearest outcomes of the audit was identifying the only two surviving federal records created during July 1947 that directly referred to the Roswell incident.
The first was a Roswell Army Air Field historical report prepared by the 509th Bomb Group. It briefly noted that personnel had recovered a reported “flying disc” before military authorities later identified the object as a radar-tracking balloon. The document did not suggest that an extraordinary craft or non-human occupants had been recovered.[Justia GAO Reports]gao.justia.comGAO Reports Justia GAO ReportsJustia GAO ReportsJustia GAO Reports - NSIAD-95-187 - Government Records - Department of Defense…
The second was an FBI teletype dated 8 July 1947. The message recorded information received from military sources stating that the recovered object resembled a high-altitude weather balloon fitted with a radar reflector. The FBI neither investigated the incident independently nor endorsed alternative explanations; the teletype simply documented information being passed between agencies during the public confusion surrounding the event.[Justia GAO Reports]gao.justia.comGAO Reports Justia GAO ReportsJustia GAO ReportsJustia GAO Reports - NSIAD-95-187 - Government Records - Department of Defense…
These two documents remain significant because they are contemporaneous records created during the original events rather than recollections recorded decades later. Equally important is what they do not contain: neither document mentions extraterrestrial technology, alien bodies, or a secret recovery programme.
Why destroyed records mattered—but only up to a point
Perhaps the most discussed part of the GAO report concerns missing records from Roswell Army Air Field.
Investigators discovered that several categories of administrative records from the relevant period—including outgoing message files and other base records—had been destroyed. They were unable to determine precisely when some records were disposed of or under what authority because documentation of the destruction itself could not always be located.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
This finding has often been interpreted in sharply different ways.
Supporters of a cover-up argue that destroyed records may have contained evidence of an extraordinary recovery. The GAO, however, did not reach that conclusion. Instead, it reported a records-management problem: some files that historians would have preferred to examine no longer existed, and the surviving administrative trail did not fully explain their disposal. Missing records therefore created an evidentiary gap rather than positive evidence for any particular theory.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
The report also noted that records destruction was not unique to Roswell. Many routine military administrative records from the late 1940s were disposed of under retention schedules that differed substantially from modern archival practices.
What the audit could and could not establish
The GAO’s conclusions were deliberately restrained because its assignment was limited to documentary evidence.
The audit established several points with reasonable confidence:
- Congress’s requested records search found only two surviving contemporaneous federal documents directly mentioning the Roswell incident.
- Some Roswell Army Air Field records had been destroyed, with incomplete documentation explaining their disposal.
- No previously hidden archive documenting recovery of an alien spacecraft was located despite extensive searches across multiple agencies.
- Existing reporting regulations did not necessarily require the creation of permanent accident reports for the recovery of balloon equipment.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
Just as importantly, the GAO recognised what it could not prove.
The investigation could not reconstruct every lost document from July 1947. It could not determine the exact contents of destroyed records. Nor did it independently establish that Project Mogul was responsible for the debris. While the report described the Air Force’s ongoing historical investigation and later acknowledged its explanation, the GAO’s own role was confined to determining what documentary evidence existed and whether records had been appropriately managed.[Government Accountability Office]gao.govnsiadGovernment Accountability OfficeGovernment Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico |…
The lasting significance of the GAO search
The GAO audit remains one of the most important official examinations of Roswell because it addressed a specific historical question: whether there was an undisclosed paper trail supporting extraordinary claims.
Its answer was neither a confirmation of an alien recovery nor an absolute vindication of every later Air Force explanation. Instead, it documented a sparse surviving record. Investigators found only two direct contemporaneous references, identified gaps caused by destroyed military records, and found no evidence of a concealed archive recording the recovery of an extraterrestrial craft. Those findings continue to frame later discussions of the Roswell investigations by distinguishing between what surviving government records actually show and what has been inferred from their absence.[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.justia.com
Title: GAO Reports Justia GAO Reports
Link:https://gao.justia.com/department-of-defense/1995/7/government-records-nsiad-95-187/
Source snippet
Justia GAO ReportsJustia GAO Reports - NSIAD-95-187 - Government Records - Department of Defense...
3.
Source: gao.gov
Title: nsiad 95 187
Link:https://www.gao.gov/assets/nsiad-95-187.pdf
Source snippet
Government Accountability OfficeNSIAD-95-187 Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell...
4.
Source: archives.gov
Title: Project BLUE BOOK
Link:https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos
Source snippet
[Unidentified]({{ 'unidentified/' | relative_url }}) Flying Objects | National Archives...
5.
Source: gao.gov
Link:https://www.gao.gov/products/154832
6.
Source: gao.justia.com
Title: department of justice
Link:https://gao.justia.com/department-of-justice/1995/7/
7.
Source: gao.justia.com
Title: department of defense
Link:https://gao.justia.com/department-of-defense/1995/7/
8.
Source: sgp.fas.org
Link:https://sgp.fas.org/othergov/roswell.html
Additional References
9.
Source: govinfo.gov
Title: GAOREPORTS NSIAD 95 187
Link:https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD
Source snippet
GAO/NSIAD-95-187 - Government Records: Results of a Search for Records Concerning the 1947 Crash Near Roswell, New Mexico - GAOREPORTS-NS...
10.
Source: ufouap.com
Title: The GAO said the records were des
Link:https://www.ufouap.com/articles/roswell-series-government-investigations/
Source snippet
Roswell, Part 3: Project Mogul, Destroyed Records, and the Questions Nobody Has Answered — UFOUAPFebruary 26, 2026 — February 26, 2026 ·...
Published: February 26, 2026
11.
Source: oocities.org
Title: The GAO [Roswell Report]({{ ‘the-roswell-report/’ | relative_url }})
Link:https://oocities.org/area51/corridor/8148/gao.html
Source snippet
July 30, 1995 — Barry Bitzer July 28th, 1995 Schiff Receives, Releases Roswell Report (missing documents leave unanswered questions) Wash...
Published: July 30, 1995
12.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Roswell Incident Explained: Crash, Cover-Up, Witnesses & What We Know
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRnOUO7TMJo
Source snippet
James McAndrew - The Roswell Report: Case Closed I FULL AudioBook English...
13.
Source: youtube.com
Title: James Mc Andrew
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXSf6znxNZI
Source snippet
Technical Analysis of the Roswell Incident: What Really Crashed in 1947?...
14.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwgYcnatLm0
Source snippet
The Roswell Incident Mystery Finally Solved...
15.
Source: youtube.com
Title: USA: UFO ANTI-SECRECY GROUP DEMONSTRATION
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuaLed7Jnu4
Source snippet
The Roswell Incident Explained: Crash, Cover-Up, Witnesses & What We Know...
16.
Source: af.mil
Link:https://www.af.mil/The-Roswell-Report/quot/
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: ufoexplorations.com
Title: roswell crash records destroyed methods and culprits revealed
Link:https://www.ufoexplorations.com/roswell-crash-records-destroyed-methods-and-culprits-revealed