All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S19E14.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR:
Mysterious orbs of light

reported all over the world.

Enormous cylindrical objects
hovering high above the Earth.

And massive triangular craft
that appear out of thin air.

Throughout history,

people have witnessed objects
of all shapes and sizes

up in the sky.

Now, we're going
to take a look back

at the top ten examples

of what ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

are, in fact, alien craft--

craft that just
may hold the proof

that Earth has been visited
by extraterrestrials.

♪

People love to tell me about

their favorite UFO sightings,

and some of them are
pretty astonishing.

But you may be surprised to hear

that many of the flying craft
that we're seeing today

may have also been seen
thousands of years ago.

This countdown takes a look
at the various types of objects

that have been witnessed
in the sky again and again.

At number ten on our list
of the top ten alien craft--

the Flying V.

NARRATOR:
Kent, New York.

New Year's Eve, 1982.

A group of partygoers spots

a gigantic
V-shaped craft overhead

with red, white,
and green lights.

The colors suddenly vanish,

and then the object
illuminates the ground

with a blinding white light.

Over the next few months,

Hudson Valley authorities are
bombarded with similar reports.

PHILIP IMBROGNO:
Usually, UFOs just appear

to a small number of people,
and they disappear.

In this case, people were
stopped on the highways.

People were running
out of their houses

watching this enormous object
pass over,

the size of a football field.

DAVID CHILDRESS: It's estimated
that as many as 5,000 people

called in and made reports
of this giant V.

And the witnesses said that
this flying triangle

was completely silent.

And that it was flying
very slowly, if at all,

and was often just hovering

right in place
and then would slowly turn,

and then ultimately fly off
in another direction.

So that these were not some

hoaxers with their airplanes

flying in formation,

but something
completely different.

NARRATOR:
The sightings of large V-shaped
craft in Upstate New York

made headlines
in The New York Times.

Then, in 1997,

an identical craft was spotted
in Phoenix, Arizona.

RICHARD DOLAN: It was
a triangular-ish shaped object

seen very reliably by

quite a large number
of witnesses, including

the governor of the state
at the time, Fife Symington,

who was a qualified pilot and in
the Air Force Reserve as well.

As a pilot and a former
Air Force officer,

I can definitively say that
this craft did not resemble

any man-made object
that I'd ever seen.

NARRATOR:
While the V-shaped craft
flying over the Hudson Valley

and Phoenix are
the most well-documented

mass UFO sightings in history,
they are far from the first.

More than 400 years ago,
in 1561,

the citizens of
the Bavarian city of Nuremberg

reported a commotion in the sky

that was unlike anything

they had ever
experienced before.

People went outside and they saw

what they described as
a celestial battle.

The witnesses observed
seeing hundreds

of these strange-shaped objects.

What were these strange shapes
that they were describing?

NARRATOR:
The aerial scene,
illustrated in a woodcut,

is described
in the accompanying text

as "a very frightful spectacle."

A large, black, V-shaped object
appeared in the sky

and seemed to launch projectiles

as onlookers below
watched in amazement.

This was actually witnessed
by thousands of people.

Had it been a meteor shower
or something like this,

then the reports
would have been,

"Okay, this happened before
because we've seen this before,"

but that was new.

HENRY:
The witnesses wouldn't
have had a conception of

some kind of
a mechanical spacecraft.

But that seems to be exactly
what they were describing.

And this has to be one of
the greatest mass sightings

of a UFO phenomena
in all of recorded history.

To me, there is no doubt

that the people of Nuremberg
witnessed an alien craft--

they just didn't have
the language

to accurately describe
what they saw.

But that should come as
no surprise,

because even today,
strange objects are seen

in our skies
that defy explanation.

Like the number nine entry
on our countdown--

Orbs of Light.

♪

U.S. Navy pilots with
the 415th Night Fighter Squadron

report seeing "eight to ten

"bright orange lights
off the left wing

flying through the air
at high speed."

Neither the radar
operator in the air

nor ground control

could identify
anything in the area

that fit their description.

The strange orbs of light are
observed by hundreds of both

Axis and Ally pilots
all over Europe and Asia

throughout the war and
become known as "foo fighters."

AMY SHIRA TEITEL:
Foo fighters were first seen

in the Second World War

by pilots flying not actually
that high off the ground,

between 800 or 10,000 feet.

Usually pilots were
flying at night

and they reported seeing lights
in formation on the horizon.

They would be
moving together or flashing,

kind of tracking them for a bit,

and then it would disappear
as soon as it came.

BILL BIRNES:
They were called "foo fighters"

after French feu,
meaning "fire,"

'cause they were flaming balls.

In 1945,

a B-29 bomber,
over the South Pacific,

saw a foo fighter off its wing.

B-29s were very heavily armed.

It trained its machine guns
on the device,

fired on it,

and the foo fighter blew up
into a million pieces.

That story was covered
in TIME magazine.

Whatever they were...

they disappeared
and have now gone into legend.

NARRATOR:
While reports of encounters
with foo fighters ended

after World War II,

mysterious orbs of light
have been reported

hovering around
military testing sites,

nuclear plants,

and even crop circles.

But what they are
remains a mystery.

Foo fighters exhibited

performance characteristics

beyond any other aircraft

in the skies at the time.

There were pilots that, uh,
reported foo fighters

traveling at
unimaginable speeds.

That were capable of maneuvering

in the air in ways that
no other aircraft could do.

MICHIO KAKU:
These are hypersonic devices.

They can also zigzag,

and the amount of
zigzagging is so great

that the gravitational forces
inside these objects

as they jerk through
space and time

would crush
any living individual.

In my opinion,
whatever these objects are,

they're guided either
by remote control

or by an autonomous
cybernetic system.

NARRATOR:
Are the mysterious orbs of light
encountered around the world

a type of
extraterrestrial spacecraft?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and suggest further evidence

that alien craft are
visiting our planet

can be found hidden

in the jungles of Mexico.

On January 5, 2000,

dozens of people in Illinois

witnessed a mysterious craft

that didn't show up on radar

and appeared to be cloaked
in some type of camouflage.

Sneaking in at number eight
on our list of alien craft--

Stealth UFOs.

NARRATOR:
St. Clair County, Illinois.

January 5, 2000.

Just after 4:00 a.m.,

three large, triangular objects
flying silently in the night sky

are seen by multiple witnesses,

including police officers.

I looked up in the sky
and observed

this huge, arrow-shaped,

triangular-shaped object.

NARRATOR: The flying triangles
are observed

for at least two hours

as they travel
over multiple towns.

MICHAEL SCHRATT:
This is known as the famous

Southern Illinois
flying triangle.

We have about four
different police officers.

What they describe seeing
are three distinct,

arrowhead-shaped craft.

Officer Craig Stevens was

directly below
one of these triangles.

And he said that

it was trying to cloak
or camouflage itself

against the night sky,

and was projecting
the star field above it

on the bottom surface,

allowing it to effectively
blend in with its background.

NARRATOR:
The ability of triangular-shaped
objects to hide in plain sight

reminds many observers
of modern stealth technology.

Developed by the U.S. military
in the 1970s and '80s,

stealth technology
can make aircraft

nearly invisible to radar,

sonar, and other
detection methods.

MICHAEL DENNIN: To make
something invisible to radar,

all you have to do is make sure

that the radar doesn't
reflect back to the receiver.

This all comes down to mostly
the shape of the planes.

You want it shaped in a way

so that the radar either
scatters in random directions

or literally just bounces off
in a completely opposite way.

NARRATOR:
Could the cloaking effect
that witnesses observed

in the Illinois flying triangle

be a type of stealth technology
more advanced than our own?

Curiously,
the U.S. stealth technology

was developed at Area 51--

the same secret military base

believed to contain the remains
of a UFO that crashed

in Roswell, New Mexico.

The official Area 51,
now admitted by the government,

is this facility where aircraft
were developed and test flown--

The U-2 spy plane,

the SR-71 Blackbird,

and, of course, more recently
stealth technology.

A lot of people say
this is actually something

we've back-engineered from
extraterrestrial technology.

NOORY:
I think there's no question

that we have reverse-engineered
or have looked at

the shapes of these craft

and have tried to create it
for ourselves.

Look at some of
the new stealth jets

that are coming out right now.

They're amazingly close
to what we saw

20 years ago from UFO reports.

One of my favorite places
to explore is Egypt.

On Ancient Aliens,
we've investigated pyramids,

tombs and even evidence
of advanced technology.

But the most important symbol
in Ancient Egypt

is a pyramid-shaped object
that was said to represent

a craft that
descended from the sky.

At number seven on our list--
the Benben Stone.

♪

NARRATOR:
Luxor, Egypt.

The Karnak Temple Complex
is home to the tallest

standing obelisk in Egypt.

The 97-foot-tall monolith

is carved from
a single piece of granite.

And crowning
this remarkable obelisk

is a pyramid-shaped object
called a Benben stone.

The Benben stone

or the pyramid-shaped structure

that is on the top of
an obelisk or a pyramid...

...it is there
to receive the messages

from the Sun god

and deliver it to its people.

NARRATOR:
According to Egyptian mythology,

the Benben was a vehicle

which Atum,
the god of all creation,

used to travel back and forth
between the heavens and Earth.

TSOUKALOS:
One of the origin stories says

that a Benben stone
descended from the sky,

out of which
the first creator gods emerged

and started
Egyptian civilization.

It was a flying craft.

CHILDRESS:
The Benben stone was not

just symbolizing
a connection to the heavens--

it was actually memorializing

an extraterrestrial visitation.

NARRATOR:
Could the first Egyptians have
witnessed an alien craft

in the shape of a pyramid?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the argument for this notion
became stronger

in July 2019,

when, just off the coast
of San Diego,

Navy personnel aboard
the USS Russell

recorded an incredible event.

The ship's photographic
interpretation

and Examination Team

captured an 18-second
night vision video

of several pyramid-shaped
objects hovering in the sky.

RYAN SPRAGUE:
The video showed

a pyramid-shaped object,

a literal, 3D,
pyramid-shaped object,

floating above the USS Russell

off the West Coast.

And it wasn't just one pyramid.

There were apparently
swarms of these things,

about 700 feet above
this Navy destroyer,

completely silent,
making no noise

and darting off
at immeasurable speeds.

CHILDRESS:
It's a fascinating idea
that perhaps

extraterrestrials
first arrived in Egypt

in these small,
pyramid-shaped craft,

like we're seeing in this video.

TSOUKALOS: Clearly, what we see
in this footage of today

is three-dimensional pyramid
floating in the sky.

Providing the footage is real,

providing
it is extraterrestrial,

providing
it is extraterrestrial,

then one could argue

that the same visitors
that we've had back then

are showing themselves again.

What's fascinating to me

is that in many
parts of the world,

we can find ancient
illustrations of objects

that people
allegedly saw in the sky

that look identical
to modern spacecraft.

Coming in at number six
on our countdown of

the top ten alien craft--

Rocket Ships.

♪

NARRATOR:
Palenque, Mexico.

1952.

Archaeologist
Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovers

the pyramid tomb of King Pakal,

who ruled the ancient Mayan
city from 615 to 683 AD.

Inside, he discovers
one of the most remarkable

Mayan artifacts ever found:

a highly decorated sarcophagus.

HENRY:
Pakal's sarcophagus lid is
very rich in detail.

It shows what appears to be
a world tree,

and a vision serpent,
as the Mayans refer to it,

that snakes its way up
this tree.

The glyphs that are
attached to it say that

this tree is shimmering
or shining.

It's reflective.

NARRATOR:
Mainstream scholars believe

the sarcophagus lid
portrays King Pakal

on a journey to Xibalba,
the land of the dead.

But ancient astronaut
theorists suggest

the carving depicts
something very different.

ERICH VON DANIKEN:
In the center of the frame,

King Pakal is sitting
bending forward

almost like a,
a racing motorcyclist.

He has something like a mask,
an oxygen mask on his nose.

You clearly see his two hands.

He manipulates some control.

He's sitting on a chair,

and outside of the frame,
you see something like a flame.

It looks like an exhaust.

It looks like some sort
of space shuttle.

NARRATOR:
The idea of King Pakal
sitting at the controls

of a rocket ship might sound
like science fiction.

But ancient astronaut
theorists suggest that

nearly identical carvings
can be found in India.

In Ajanta caves,
there are many carvings

of Buddha inside stupas.

From the front,
it appears as though Buddha is

standing inside
an elaborately carved arch,

but the fact is

what we are seeing
from the front

is a cross section of a stupa

inside of which
Buddha is standing.

And what is a stupa?

It is nothing
but some kind of a vehicle.

TSOUKALOS:
A stupa, by definition,

is a vehicle with which to reach
the realm of the gods.

That is the definition
of a stupa.

Well, just change the wording:
"a vehicle

with which to reach space."

These stupas can be seen--

for example,
in the Ajanta Cave--

with smoke and fire
at the bottom.

If we had one or ten or
even 20 examples like that,

you could be like
"All right, interesting."

But what if I told you there are
millions of the same motif

in India about celestial beings

depicted in something
that could be interpreted

as some type of
a rocket vehicle.

There are countless examples
of ancient artwork depicting

what many think
could be aerial vehicles,

and in some cases,
you can even find figures

wearing what looks like
flying gear

right on their bodies.

At number five
on our countdown--

Jet Packs.

♪

NARRATOR:
La Venta, Mexico.

1939.

American archaeologists
Matthew Stirling

and Philip Drucker

begin an excavation of
an ancient pyramid mound.

Over the next two decades,

they unearth
extraordinary statues,

carvings and mosaics from
a previously unknown culture:

the Olmecs,

a civilization that
emerged around 1400 BC.

The discovery is
a major archeological find

and produced a sensational
piece of evidence

for the ancient
astronaut theory.

TSOUKALOS:
At the Museum of Natural
History in New York City,

there is an Olmec figurine,

and in my opinion,
it is the smoking gun

of our ancestors having access
to aviation technology...

...because if you look
at this figurine,

you can tell that this guy is
wearing some sort of a suit,

he has some type of controls
with tubes on his chest,

and on the side you have
six wings coming out of him.

So you have to wonder
what is depicted here.

Now, if you look at
a modern jet pack,

humans are ascending
and descending

in a vertical position.

Now imagine if that was
shown to our ancestors.

How would they react?

The technological frame
of reference of our ancestors

was not the same as

our technological frame
of reference today.

So of course they would have
carved something like this

when they had never
seen a vehicle

with which to go to space.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that a figurine

made more than 2400 years ago
is a depiction of someone

wearing the equivalent
of a modern-day jet pack?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and suggest other figures
have been found

that appear to be wearing
some type of flying apparatus...

...like the 13-foot-tall statues
at the Temple of Quetzalcoatl

in Tula de Allende, Mexico.

TSOUKALOS:
There are figures
on the main pyramid.

And they're some of
the most magnificent statues

that we can find
on planet Earth.

Because it's as if
these guys are standing

inside some pressurized suits,

they have helmets on,

and they have these
jet packs on their chest.

NARRATOR:
On the opposite side
of the globe,

at the Ellora Caves in India,

is a 1200-year-old carving
of a demon king named

Ravana depicted in a scene
from the ancient Hindu text

called the Ramayana.

In the scene, Ravana is
being attacked by a bird

while ascending into the sky,

and according to the story,
the curious object on his back

is a flying contraption
called a pushpaka vimana.

DEEPAK SHIMKHADA: Ravana does
appear in many Hindu texts

like epics, uh,
Mahabharata, Ramayana,

and many other puranas,
which is Hindu... Hindu texts.

We are told that,
you know, he constructed

a pushpaka vimana,
this flying machine.

MOHAN:
This pushpaka vimana is
made of gold.

It is like a jet pack

that you could put it on
and you could start flying.

We have jet packs now,

but, interestingly,

almost all these machines
were mentioned

5,000 years ago in Mahabharata.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that

the mysterious figures
depicted wearing

what appear to be jet packs

are evidence our ancestors saw
extraterrestrial spacecraft

in the distant past?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and suggest further evidence

can be found
in ancient descriptions

of flying chariots.

Some of the best descriptions

of ancient UFOs can be found

in the Sanskrit texts of India.

The sensational stories are
filled with accounts

of celestial beings
and flying chariots.

But the craft described
in these texts

look remarkably similar
to some modern UFO reports.

At number four on our list--
Acorn-Shaped Craft.

NARRATOR:
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania.

December 9, 1965.

Thousands of people watch

as a massive fireball
streaks across the night sky

and crashes into
a nearby forest.

♪

A large object was seen

to come down in a wooded area.

And witnesses actually claimed

that this strange object,

which was the size
of a Volkswagen Beetle,

looked like what
appeared to be a giant acorn.

The phones went off,

and all of the volunteer

fire departments all around,

"We have a plane crash
in the woods of Kecksburg."

Well, there was a man
named Jim Romanski,

and I had a real privilege
to talk with him directly,

in March of 1998...

...because he was one of
only about ten people

who stood around this object,

in that forest-- officially,
as a volunteer fireman--

walking around
and trying to understand,

"What are we looking at?"

And he said,
"It was like an acorn.

"And at the top,
it was copper-colored.

"And then in the bottom,
it was a darker color.

"And there was a band,
about four inches wide,

"and raised up-- not carved in--

were symbols that went around
a portion of this craft."

COLLINS:
Suddenly, the military
entered the area,

cordoned it off,

and the whole thing was
essentially hushed up.

NARRATOR:
The official report from NASA

stated that
the object was debris

from a Russian satellite,

even though witnesses claimed

it changed direction
several times.

Today, a monument to
the acorn-shaped craft

stands in the town of Kecksburg.

For ancient astronaut theorists,

this UFO event is
particularly intriguing

because the object's
unusual shape

bears a striking resemblance

to flying objects described
in ancient Indian texts.

HENRY:
The craft itself is

an acorn-shaped craft.

Immediately,
that's reminiscent of

what the ancient Indian texts

described as the vimana,

which were acorn-shaped craft.

TSOUKALOS:
In the Mahabharata and at
many of the ancient Vedic texts,

they speak about
the so-called "vimanas."

The vimanas were flying vehicles

with which to reach
the celestial realm.

NARRATOR:
In the ancient
Sanskrit epics of India,

there are highly-detailed
descriptions of the vimana,

which carried the gods

and other important figures
through the sky.

The acorn-shaped craft were
even incorporated

at the very top
of many Hindu temples.

SHIMKHADA:
In Hindu texts,

such as the Ramayana
or the Mahabharata,

the vimana is primarily
a flying ship

that God used to travel

back and forth between spaces

in heaven from one planet
to another planet,

from one universe
to another universe,

and also come to Earth.

HENRY:
When we match up
eyewitness accounts

of the acorn-shaped craft
with the ancient vimanas,

we have to be open to seriously
question if these are, in fact,

ancient craft that are now
appearing in our modern world.

Some vimanas are portrayed
as small objects

that could travel
at incredible speeds.

But these weren't
the only flying machines

in Hindu mythology.

The ancient Sanskrit texts
also described ships in the sky

that were simply massive.

Number three on our list--
Floating Cities.

NARRATOR:s
To the more than
one billion Hindu faithful,

India's oldest Sanskrit texts,
known as the Vedas,

are accounts given directly
to humans by the gods.

These sensational stories
describe divine beings

arriving from palaces
up in the sky.

All these Vedic texts
speak of a time

when three cities were
orbiting Earth...

...and from these cities,
smaller vehicles were used

in order to reach
the realm of the Earth.

Even extraterrestrials,
with their advanced technology,

would have to arrive
with a larger mother ship.

And this is why
we have these stories

of palaces up in the sky.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that
the people of ancient India

witnessed enormous mother ships

that they interpreted as
floating cities or palaces?

Curiously, in modern times,

there have been reports--
and even recordings--

of what look like actual cities
appearing high up in the sky.

One such event occurred
in Foshan, China,

on October 7, 2015,

when the apparition of
a cityscape

remained in the sky
for several minutes--

long enough to be captured
on video.

The video footage was broadcast
on Chinese television

and subsequently disseminated on
social media across the globe.

Numerous people reported seeing

what looked like
skyscraper-type buildings

in the clouds high in the sky.

It was an amazing spectacle.

There's just no other way
to describe it.

JASON MARTELL:
Now, just a few days later,
over 800 miles away,

we had another sighting
of this exact same phenomenon.

So it stands to reason

there could in fact have been

some type of a large mother ship

or some craft in the sky.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the floating city reported

in two locations in China was
a massive alien mother ship?

And if so,
could it be the same craft

described
in ancient Hindu texts?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes and suggest

further evidence that our planet
is being visited by alien craft

further evidence that our planet
is being visited by alien craft

can be found
by examining striking images

captured not on Earth

but in outer space.

One of the most important
factors

to consider when evaluating

a UFO sighting

is the credibility
of the witness.

And perhaps there are
no better experts

on objects in the sky

than the men and women
of the space program.

Which is why our next example
is so exciting,

because they have been seen
not only on Earth

but deep in our solar system.

At number two on our list
of the top ten alien craft--

Cigar-Shaped Objects.

NARRATOR: Mount Washington,
New Hampshire, 1870.

During a meteorological
expedition in the area,

photographers capture
a strange black object on film

that appears to be floating
among the clouds.

The very first photo

that we have of a UFO is of a,

a huge cylindrical craft

over Mount Washington
in New Hampshire...

...taken in 1870, right at the
very beginning of photography.

DOLAN:
You see this cloud formation

up at Mount Washington

and you see this very obvious
cigar-shaped object.

Is the photograph authentic?
And turns out it is.

NARRATOR:
Since the Mount Washington
photograph,

cigar-shaped craft
have been reportedly seen

all over the world.

Like in December of 1978,

when two Chilean pilots
on a training mission

at an elevation of
35,000 feet detected

a massive cigar-shaped object
on their radar.

They encountered, visually
and on their airborne radar...

...an absolutely enormous
object in the sky.

In fact, two separate

ground-based radars
tracked this object.

As the pilots approached
this object,

one of them described it
as an elongated object

swathed in smoke.

As it got to a certain distance,

this thing,
according to their report,

instantly accelerated
to the west,

in the direction of the ocean,

and was just gone.

NARRATOR:
Over 40 years later,
another cigar-shaped craft

was reported almost
7,000 miles away in Hawaii.

On December 29, 2020,

people could see
a huge, cigar-shaped craft

hovering off the coast
and took photos of it,

and, eventually,

this craft then plunged
into the ocean.

And the Navy went out there
to also look for

possible wreckage of some craft

crashing into the ocean
and found nothing.

NARRATOR:
Could these strange,
cigar-shaped objects

belong to visitors
from another world?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answer can be found

by examining
a curious radar image

taken more than
130 million miles from Earth.

On March 25, 1989,

a Soviet probe was approaching
the Martian moon Phobos

when it beamed back
an astonishing image to Earth.

As they got closer with Phobos

we see one last frame

that seems to have showed up...

...a very large,
cigar-elongated shape,

as if it's possibly
a large craft of some kind

hovering above the surface.

DOLAN:
We really have to consider
the possibility here

that the Soviets did encounter

genuine, non-human UFO

during that mission.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that
the strange cigar-shaped object

photographed by
the Soviet probe was

an extraterrestrial spacecraft?

Incredibly, another massive
cigar-shaped object was spotted

traveling through
our solar system in 2017.

Astronomers discovered that
it came from a distant star,

and gave it
the Hawaiian name "Oumuamua,"

which means "messenger
from the distant past."

Oumuamua doesn't look like

a typical asteroid.

It's more the big cigar-shape
that's seen often.

And there were a lot of
astronomers and scientists

who studied Oumuamua
and it looks like

it could possibly
have been a probe

from some other civilization
outside our solar system.

We're just moments away

from the final
alien craft on our list.

And we've saved
the best for last.

Can you guess what it is?

As we've seen,
throughout history

there have been reports

of unidentified aerial vehicles

of all shapes and sizes.

But for most people,
when they hear the word "UFO,"

the first thing they think of
is the number one entry

on our top ten list of
alien craft--

the Flying Saucer.

NARRATOR:
Private pilot Kenneth Arnold

is on a solo flight
near Mount Rainier.

As he approaches the mountain,
he suddenly spots

a group of nine
silver, disc-shaped objects.

As he was flying
around the mountain,

he suddenly caught sight of

a squadron of
strange-looking objects.

He could not figure out
what they were.

They were flying
at incredible speeds

and performing maneuvers
that essentially would kill

any regular pilot
in a normal aircraft.

CHILDRESS:
He described them as
skipping through the air

like a saucer, he said.

And this is really where

the term "a flying saucer"

arrives in English language,

is from Kenneth Arnold's
description.

NARRATOR:
Arnold's account became
an international sensation

and his experience emboldened
others to come forward

with their own
unexplainable encounters.

In a few short months,

hundreds of flying saucers were
reported across the country.

When you look at the year 1947,

the statistics are that
there were at least 800 reports

to police, and airports,

of people saying that they were
seeing something in the sky,

they didn't know what it was.

BIRNES:
Ufologists may say

that the modern UFO era
began in 1947.

But flying saucers

have been around

ever since the dawn of time.

For example,

in the ninth century, there were
UFOs flying over England.

The Romans saw UFOs.

What's our actual first
major UFO description?

The first one?

It's in the Bible.

NARRATOR:
According to the Hebrew Bible,

a priest named Ezekiel
received a mysterious visitor

from the heavens.

Ezekiel was by the River Khabur,

and he said a great whirlwind
came toward him.

♪

He described it as
a fire enfolding itself

and out of the fire

was the color of amber,
which is the Hebrew word

which means
"polished specter of metal,"

which implies
that it's metallic.

And that it's spinning,
and it lands in front of him.

And suddenly,

out of this whirlwind
come four creatures.

TAYLOR:
Ezekiel describes that

the outside of the wheel
doesn't spin.

The inside of the wheel spins.

So he's telling us
that's the engines.

None of this necessarily
has to be magic.

This could all be technology.

NARRATOR:
By far, the most famous report
of a flying saucer

occurred on July 8, 1947,

when the U.S. Army itself
announced that one crashed

outside Roswell, New Mexico.

BIRNES:
July 8 and 9,
the newspaper headlines,

"Army Captures Flying Disc
Outside of Roswell."

How did the newspaper
get that story?

Walter Haut.

He was the official
public information officer

at the Roswell 509th,

who gave the story
to the newspaper.

NARRATOR:
Within days, the military
walked back the story

and suggested the flying saucer
had an earthly origin.

DOLAN:
The initial story was that

the Army recovered

one of these flying disks.

Now, by the next day,
a lot of other major newspapers

came out with the story that,

"Nope, all a mistake.
Just a weather balloon, people."

NARRATOR:
Did a flying saucer really crash

outside of Roswell, New Mexico?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

and as evidence,
they point to a sensational file

released by the FBI in 2011.

The document contains
a 1950 briefing

given to FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover

about three flying saucers

that were recovered
in New Mexico.

CHILDRESS:
So, what's really
happening at Roswell?

Was it
an extraterrestrial craft?

It's a fantastic thought,
but it's possible.

Well, that's the end of our
top ten alien craft countdown.

And while it literally flew by,

we're left with
a burning question:

Why has mankind witnessed

so many mysterious craft
in the sky

for thousands of years?

Perhaps, as we continue
to study these encounters,

the truth will finally
be revealed.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

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