Sep 25, 2026 · 1 hr 13 min · 16 segments
This week we dive into the infamous Mantell UFO Incident, the first UFO encounter resulting in a mans death. The only question is, was this an accident? Or did the UFO shoot Thomas Mantell out of the…
January 7th, 1948.
It's the early afternoon.
There are still training missions and air towers watching the sky diligently in case of a possible Russian attack.
And at 1.30 PM, Godman Air Tower received a call from Kentucky Highway State Patrol about an unidentified craft being reported by concerned citizens.
When they looked on their radar, there was a massive craft detected.
But they didn't have to just look at the radar.
Because as they looked out their window, high in the sky, they saw a bright metallic craft.
There were reports from all over Kentucky, from several towns miles apart, that all saw this giant craft in the sky.
and we had reports from police officers all the way down to civilians talking about seeing this thing.
This caught the attention of several personnel at Fort Knox, including army generals and base commander Guy Hicks, who observed the craft through his binoculars.
According to his report, they described a strange cone-like craft with a bulbous red top that had to be between 100 to 300 feet in diameter.
Now at this time, a training flight of four P-51 Mustangs were in the area, and they were instructed to intercept the object.
The men in these planes, Lieutenant A. Clements, Lieutenant Hammond, Lieutenant R. Hendricks, and leader of the flight, Captain Thomas Mantell.
The four P-51 Mustangs began to go towards the area.
However, Hendricks had to return to base where he was low on fuel.
So the other three, Clements, Hammond, and Mantell, began to fly towards the craft.
Several civilians on the ground saw three specs close in on Godman Airfield and begin the ascent to the anomaly.
Mantell then established radio contact with Godman Air Tower and spoke to operator Quinton Blackwell.
Mantell confirmed seeing the object, saying,
The object is directly ahead of me and above me now.
moving at about half my speed,
which is about 180 miles per hour for the object.
January 7th, 1948.
It's the early afternoon.
There are still training missions and air towers watching the sky diligently in case of a possible Russian attack.
And at 1.30 PM, Godman Air Tower received a call from Kentucky Highway State Patrol about an unidentified craft being reported by concerned citizens.
When they looked on their radar, there was a massive craft detected.
But they didn't have to just look at the radar.
Because as they looked out their window, high in the sky, they saw a bright metallic craft.
There were reports from all over Kentucky, from several towns miles apart, that all saw this giant craft in the sky.
and we had reports from police officers all the way down to civilians talking about seeing this thing.
This caught the attention of several personnel at Fort Knox, including army generals and base commander Guy Hicks, who observed the craft through his binoculars.
According to his report, they described a strange cone-like craft with a bulbous red top that had to be between 100 to 300 feet in diameter.
Now at this time, a training flight of four P-51 Mustangs were in the area, and they were instructed to intercept the object.
The men in these planes, Lieutenant A. Clements, Lieutenant Hammond, Lieutenant R. Hendricks, and leader of the flight, Captain Thomas Mantell.
The four P-51 Mustangs began to go towards the area.
However, Hendricks had to return to base where he was low on fuel.
So the other three, Clements, Hammond, and Mantell, began to fly towards the craft.
Several civilians on the ground saw three specs close in on Godman Airfield and begin the ascent to the anomaly.
Mantell then established radio contact with Godman Air Tower and spoke to operator Quinton Blackwell.
Mantell confirmed seeing the object, saying,
The object is directly ahead of me and above me now.
moving at about half my speed,
which is about 180 miles per hour for the object.
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