Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14

Witness account

Special Report 14 classified and statistically examined early Air Force reports using standardized coding and punched cards. Its 3,201 accepted report records were not 3,201 independent events: the report separately tabulated 2,554 unit sightings and 2,199 grouped object phenomena. The report date and October press announcement are distinct milestones.

Public record

In the all-reports population, 689 records, about 21.5 percent, were classified Unknown; 298, about 9.3 percent, were Insufficient Information. These categories must remain separate. Statistical comparisons found differences between distributions of reported characteristics, while the authors’ overall assessment judged an extraordinary technological explanation highly improbable.

Sources

• Project Blue Book Special Report No. 14: Analysis of Reports of Unidentified Aerial Objects, 5 May 1955; original report text
• Bruce Maccabee: reanalysis of Blue Book Special Report 14, Journal of UFO Studies, old series volume 3 (1983)
• Isaac Koi: 25 October 1955 USAF press release; bibliography of original facsimiles