July 29, 1978🇺🇸Crash
Retrieval

Dayton, Ohio: MUFON Symposium on UFO Retrievals

At the 1978 MUFON UFO Symposium in Dayton, Ohio, ufologist Leonard Stringfield revealed data from over 50 informants on alleged recoveries of alien vehicles and bodies. He shared 17 accounts of potential crash retrievals, sparking debate due to unnamed sources.

Date
July 29, 1978
Location
Dayton, Ohio🇺🇸
Type
Crash
Country
🇺🇸 United States
Map

Background

Symposium Overview The ninth annual MUFON UFO Symposium occurred on July 29–30, 1978, in Dayton, Ohio, at the Dayton Convention Center, near the former Project Blue Book site at Wright-Patterson AFB. The event focused on historical views of close encounters, drawing record attendance and international ufologists.

Stringfield's Retrieval Claims Leonard H. Stringfield announced gathering details from more than 50 individuals about supposed recoveries of extraterrestrial craft and deceased occupants. He presented 17 witness statements supporting around 9–10 instances of downed UFOs, marking the start of his series of seven status reports on such incidents. Controversy arose from his decision not to disclose witness identities.

Keyhoe's Secrecy Lecture Donald E. Keyhoe gave a talk titled "Behind the UFO Secrecy," asserting that government concealment of UFOs represented the largest deception in U.S. history. This highlighted ongoing debates on official suppression.

Significance Stringfield's disclosures elevated crash-retrieval research in ufology, influencing later investigations despite skepticism over source anonymity. The symposium solidified MUFON's role in documenting UFO phenomena.

Connections