Case: GG-2026-092
Status: Historic
Documentation rating: B
Location: Fort Knox, Kentucky
The Mantell Incident was one of the first major UFO cases investigated by the U.S. military and remains one of the most tragic. On January 7, 1948, Captain Thomas F. Mantell, a Kentucky Air National Guard pilot and World War II veteran, died when his F-51 Mustang crashed while pursuing an unidentified aerial object over Kentucky. The incident received national attention and became a foundational case in early American UFO history.
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