All language subtitles for [SubtitleTools.com] Unsolved Mysteries - S05E01 - Episode #130_track3_[und]

[musing playing]

NARRATOR: This program is
about unsolved mysteries.

Whenever possible, the
actual family members

and police officials
have participated

in recreating the events.

What you are about to see
is not a news broadcast.

Tonight, all new stories
on the season premiere

of Unsolved Mysteries.

ROBERT STACK: In the 1980s,
one UFO sighting after another,

numbering into the thousands,
astounded residents of New

York's Hudson River Valley.

A controversy boiled over
when maverick stunt pilots

claimed they were
responsible for the

spectacular light formations.

When she was just 17, Tammy
Lynn Leppert had it all.

She was a beauty queen,
an accomplished model,

and was well on her way
to a career in the movies.

But in 1982, Tammy
began to withdraw,

growing increasingly paranoid,
until finally, she vanished.

In Paducah, Kentucky,
a young stranger

was seen loitering at the
local airport, penniless,

and trying to talk
his way onto a flight.

People still wonder
what drove him

to make the desperate decision
that would end his life.

Join me for these intriguing
stories on our season premier.

Perhaps you may be able
to help solve a mystery.

[music playing]

[applause]

PAGEANT HOST: Tammy is 16
years old, is 5'4 1/2--

ROBERT STACK: 1982, the Miss
America Sunshine Surf Beauty

Pageant in Orlando, Florida.

The eventual winner will
be Tammy Lynn Leppert.

Incredibly, at the
age of 16, Tammy

has already competed in more
than 300 beauty contests.

She has won the crown 280 times.

LINDA CURTIS: She
was very loving,

kind, she was always smiling.

You never saw the child
when she wasn't smiling.

When As young as I can
remember, she woke up

with a great big smile
and the last thing

I saw before she went to
sleep was a big smile.

ROBERT STACK: Tammy
Lynn Leppert was

an uncommonly beautiful child.

When she was just
four years old,

she was entered in her
first beauty contest.

Tammy's mother and father
divorced when she was seven.

Her fledgling career
fell to the tender

loving care of her mother, who
was a theatrical and modeling

agent.

LINDA CURTIS: I was
constantly busy running her

around to where she had to
go and what she had to do,

and I enjoyed it.

I enjoyed watching
her excel, because she

always went for the best
that she could go for,

the highest level.

ROBERT STACK: Wing Flanagan,
one of Linda's client's,

was just 11 when he began
living at her house.

I have to blot my lipstick.

ROBERT STACK: He and Tammy
were like brother and sister.

I'm trying to watch TV.

Yeah.

WING FLANAGAN: She would bend
over and kiss me on the cheek,

and I couldn't quite ever
get it completely off.

Mom, I'm leaving.

WING FLANAGAN: It was
rather embarrassing to walk

around with this mark.

But I think, actually,
I learned to wear

it proudly after a
while, because it

was almost a status symbol.

Tammy.

ROBERT STACK: In July
of 1982, Tammy Lynn

was cast in the teen
exploitation Film, Spring

Break, which would go on
to earn nearly $25 million

at the box office.

After Spring Break, Tammy
went unchaperoned to an out

of town weekend party.

She came back a
different person.

WING FLANAGAN:
Sometimes I'd ask her,

you know, what was on her mind,
if anything was bothering her.

And she'd usually
evade the question.

She change the subject, or she'd
say, oh, nothing, you know,

and then try to laugh it off.

[phone ringing]

ROBERT STACK: Soon,
Tammy's behavior began

to take on paranoid overtones.

[phone ringing]

I'm not here.

Don't tell anybody I'm here.
- Why?

Just do it.

[phone ringing]

All right.

Hello?

MAN (ON PHONE): Hi,
is Tammy Lynn there?

No.

She's not here right now.

MAN (ON PHONE): She's out?
- Yeah.

MAN (ON PHONE): I'll call back.

All right.

Bye.

Happy now?
- Tammy.

What's the problem?

Honey, talk to me.

Tammy?

- I saw something awful.
- What?

Something really bad.

Honey, what did you see?

I wasn't supposed to see it.

LINDA CURTIS: She said that
she saw something so horrible

that she couldn't talk about it.
- Sweetheart, talk to me.

And she said, "Mom, what would
you say if I told you somebody

was trying to kill me?"

- What are you talking about?
- I wasn't supposed to say this.

- Tammy.
- I can't tell anybody.

What do you mean,
you can't tell anybody?

LINDA CURTIS: I kept trying
to find out who "they" were.

Tammy, talk to me.

LINDA CURTIS (OFF SCREEN):
She never would tell me.

Tammy?

ROBERT STACK: Tammy Lynn began
a steady retreat into isolation.

Linda and Wing had no
way of ascertaining

which of Tammy's
fears were real,

and which were
paranoid delusions.

WING FLANAGAN: Once, she
called me over to the window.

She said, "Look across the
street, tell me what you see."

I said, "Well, the
neighbors got a new van."

And she said, "Exactly."

And I didn't know quite
what she was getting at.

And she said, "The van
has mirrored windows.

That means that they can see
us but we can't see them."

ROBERT STACK: After two
weeks of virtual seclusion,

Tammy Lynn was offered a small
part in the big budget Al

Pacino film, Scarface,
which began shooting

in Miami in March of 1983.

She stayed with a family
friend, Walter Leibowitz.

All went well until the
fourth day of filming.

WALTER LEIBOWITZ: I received a
call from the casting director

to tell me that Tammy had
a breakdown on the set.

They said that there was
a scene where someone

was supposed to
be shot, and they

had artificial blood spurt out.

And they said when Tammy
was watching the scene,

she started crying hysterically,
and it got so bad that they

had her take her to a trailer.

[tammy crying]

Tammy, what's happened?

They're gonna kill me.

Who's gonna kill you?

They're gonna kill me.

WALTER LEIBOWITZ: She
was in a tremendous state

of fear, anxiety.

Who is going to hurt you?

Who's trying to hurt you?

They're gonna
blow my head off.

WALTER LEIBOWITZ: Hysterically,
crying, saying something

about money laundering.

I don't know where to hide.

Things of that nature.

I'm so scared.

Tammy.

Look at me.

WALTER LEIBOWITZ: What it was
that caused this great fear

in her, I don't know.

When I spoke with
Tammy's mother,

I told her that she should
take Tammy to a doctor,

and also take her to the police,
to find out if the problem was

psychological, or if there
was some basis in fact

that someone was actually
trying to kill her,

and get to the bottom of it.

LINDA CURTIS: Tammy
Lynn quit the film

and went back to Cocoa Beach.

At her mother's
insistence, Tammy

did talk to the local
sheriff, but apparently

never mentioned that she
felt her life was in danger.

Even with her family,
Tammy's paranoia ran rampant.

She became convinced
that someone

was trying to poison her.

Taste this.

Why?

Just do it.

Fine.

WING FLANAGAN: There were good
days and there were bad days.

There were days when she
was almost normal, almost.

And there were other days
when she was real edgy.

LINDA CURTIS: She was not
the Tammy that we know.

We did not recognize this
Tammy in personality.

She even begin to take
on a different look.

Kind of a wild look in
her eyes, and scared look,

is what it was.

And if she really
believed that somebody

was going to try to kill
her, scared of the feeling

that we were seeing.

ROBERT STACK: On July 1st, 1983,
Tammy Lynn finally snapped.

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at?

Not you.

I saw you looking at me.

Why would I look at you?

Well, don't.

[birds tweeting]

[dog barking]

Let me in.

Let me in this house.

[window shattering]

What are you doing?

Stop.

Hey.

Why did you lock me out?

You locked me out.

I didn't.

I didn't do anything to you.

WING FLANAGAN: There
was this completely

crazy look in her eyes.

She wasn't her.

I don't think she
really knew who I was.

Tammy, stop.

Tammy, it's mother.

LINDA CURTIS: I just kept
saying over and over again,

"Tammy, I love you,"
until I finally

saw recognition in her eyes.

I love you sweetheart.

It's mother.

LINDA CURTIS: I knew
then, right then,

that I handled that
incident, but I

didn't know I was going to be
able to handle the next one.

ROBERT STACK: Linda checked
Tammy into the Brevard County

Mental Health Center
for a complete physical

and psychiatric evaluation.

Doctors found no evidence
of drug or alcohol use,

and kept Tammy in the hospital
for 72 hours of observation.

LINDA CURTIS: After
we took her home,

she said, "You've got
to make me a promise."

I said, "If I can."

She says, "Mom, if anything
happens to me, anything at all,

I want you to get even
with that person for me.

Would you please?"

I said, "What do you think
is going to happen, Tammy?

She said, "I know you
don't want to hear this,

but he's still going
to try to kill me."

ROBERT STACK: Rick Adams
was Tammy's best friend.

They went out the day after she
was released from the hospital.

RICK ADAMS: At
that time, Tammy--

we got out of the van.

And she looked at me, and
she says, "Rick, I love you."

I said, "Tammy, I love you too."

And she said, "I might be
going away for a while."

Yes.

We will have a photographer.

LINDA CURTIS: That next
day, everything seemed

to be extraordinarily normal.

She seemed, I
think, really trying

to impress me that she was OK.

Mom, I'll be back
in a little bit.

Right.

I love you.

Bye.

LINDA CURTIS: I
suddenly got frightened.

Real frightened.

And I went to the
door and opened it,

and I just knew right
then it was the last time

I was going to see her.

RICK ADAMS: This
friend picked her up

at her home in
Rockledge, Florida,

and they drove to the beach.

And we talked to
him, and he basically

stated that they'd become
involved in a verbal argument,

that she had
requested that he let

her out near the glass bank in
Cocoa Beach, and he complied.

And as far as we know,
that was the last person

to see Tammy alive.

Just stop it.

What do you want me to do?

I just want you to shut up.

ROBERT STACK: According
to Tammy's friend,

he dropped her off
at approximately 3:00

PM on July 6th, 1983,
five miles from her house.

She was barefoot and
carried no purse.

RICK ADAMS: She disappeared
without a trace.

We talked to some of
her close friends.

They felt strongly that Tammy
was having problems at home,

and that she had left home,
that she wanted to leave home.

LINDA CURTIS: There's no
conceivable way I would believe

it, because first of all,
she was getting ready to go

to California for three months.

That's away from-- as far
away from me as you could get,

from Cocoa Beach to California.

And she was really
excited about going.

What reason would she
have for running away?

WING FLANAGAN:
Tammy saw something.

Tammy saw something
that she shouldn't have.

Tammy knew something
she shouldn't

have about someone that
she was very frightened of.

Sometimes I feel if I had
asked her, rather than told her

that it was in her imagination,
maybe she would still be here.

ROBERT STACK: What
could a 17-year-old girl

have seen that would cause
her to fear for her life?

During her breakdown
on the set of Scarface,

Tammy Lynn had mentioned
money laundering.

According to an official
at the US Customs Service,

dozens of money laundering
cases in Florida

were under federal
investigation at that time.

Some call it sheer coincidence.

Tammy's mother believes it
is no coincidence at all.

LINDA CURTIS: I think Tammy is
either a victim of foul play,

or she doesn't know who she is.

I, as a mother, wanted to
believe everything she told me,

and I wanted to help her.

If I had it all to do over
again, I would go back

and I would believe every
single word she told me,

and I would just hide
her someplace until we

found out what the truth was.

But I can't do it over.

And maybe she had to hide
on her own, I don't know.

TAMMY LYNN LEPPERT: No
matter what happens,

I would like for things
to turn out for the best.

ROBERT STACK: This interview
was taped in 1983 during Tammy

Lynn's final beauty pageant.

TAMMY LYNN LEPPERT: --that seem
like the best aren't the best.

And things that don't
seem so good are the best.

But I'll do my best,
no matter what.

ROBERT STACK: When we return,
a series of UFO sightings

fuels controversy in New
York's Hudson River Valley.

[music playing]

The quiet beauty of New
York's Hudson River Valley

belies its location, is 40 miles
north of the bustling streets

of Manhattan.

The valley is home to upscale
professionals and retirees.

They tend to be well-educated
and cosmopolitan.

Hardly the type of
people you'd expect

to be swept up by UFO fever.

Yet that is exactly
what happened

to more than 5,000
area residents

between 1983 and 1989.

The epidemic of sensational
UFO sightings in the Hudson

River Valley lasted six years.

Ultimately the entire
episode was largely

dismissed as a hoax,
perpetrated by a group

of local stunt pilots.

However, to this day,
many of the eyewitnesses

maintain that what
they saw could not have

been a handful of airplanes.

Dennis Sant, a husband
and father of five,

has worked in local
government for 17 years,

is currently the highest
ranking deputy in Putnam County.

On March 17th, 1983,
Sant's home in Brewster

was the site of an
extraordinary event.

[door creaking]

[dog barking]

Oh my god.

Come out here and see this.

Was a very large object,
the structure of it

was very dark gray, metallic,
almost girder type looking.

What is it?

I don't know.

Girls.

Girls, come out
here and see this.

DENNIS SANT: The object
seemed to be very silent.

The lights were
iridescent, bright,

they stood out in the sky
in three dimension it looked

like a city of lights
just hung in the sky

of all brilliant colors.

At that time, the girls
became very frightened

and they ran inside the house.

Then my son and I were
just drawn underneath it.

Felt very good about
encountering a visual contact

with the object.

We followed the object
around to the back yard,

and at that point, a feeling
of fright came upon me.

Thoughts started to flood my
mind, thoughts of the craft

touching ground, thoughts of an
encounter with an alien being,

thoughts of being abducted.

All types of fearful thoughts
started to enter into my mind,

and it seemed only to be
seconds before the object

started to move again.

But the feelings
were overwhelming.

From beginning to end,
the 19 or 20 minutes

that I had viewed that craft was
also a time of self-examination

of myself and who I was.

ROBERT STACK: Dennis
Sant and his family

were not the only
ones mesmerized

by the extraordinary
light formation.

A few miles away,
traffic screeched

to a halt on Interstate
84 as a mysterious object

hovered overhead.

The Hudson Valley sightings
had only just begun.

ANDI SADOFF: I was sitting
there looking at it

and I wasn't afraid,
I was just amazed.

I was in awe of it.

I didn't know what it was.

ROBERT STACK: Officer Andi
Sadoff, a 10 year veteran

of the Newcastle police, is also
an instructor in criminal child

abuse procedures.

On March 24th, one week
after Dennis Sant's sighting,

Officer Sadoff was working
routine traffic patrol.

ANDI SADOFF: I was working
a 4 PM to midnight tour,

and assigned to
set up some radar

to look for speeding cars.

[radio chatter]

ANDI SADOFF: I had
the radar set up,

and I looked up into the sky and
saw, coming from east to west,

there was a series of lights.

And at first I thought
it was a plane.

It was quite a distance,
quite far away,

but it was really quite large.

As I recall, there were
mostly white lights,

but there were
green lights also.

It was alternating
green and white lights.

It approached my vehicle, and
as it approached the vehicle,

it stopped, and it
seemed to hover.

There was no sound, and
I'm looking at this thing,

thinking, what is it?

When I put my head
out the window,

and I'm looking up
at it, it was huge.

The thing that I recall
the most is, I was

amazed that there was no noise.

There was no humming, there was
no engine, no low sound to it.

It was absolutely silent.

ROBERT STACK: Just
seconds later,

the eerie silence was broken.

Another eyewitness report.

MAN (ON RADIO): Could you
please send somebody else?

I'm observing
something incredible.

Unit five to base,
I'm seeing it too.

It's hovering above my car.

It's heading towards
town, I'm following it.

ANDI SADOFF: At the
time that we started

to transmit over the air,
that was about the time

that it started to move.

And it move very slowly.

Almost floated.

And we followed it.

We followed it until it
disappeared off into the hills.

I guess I was mostly curious
as to what it could be.

Excited to try and figure out.

Well maybe it's this, or maybe
it's a government thing, or--

but I wasn't
frightened of it, no.

There really wasn't time
to be frightened of it.

I was spending most
of my time trying

to figure out why there was no
noise coming out of this thing.

So.

ED BURNS: It was truly
a flying city, if that's

the way you want to call it.

I mean, it was huge.

ROBERT STACK: Computer
engineer Ed Burns is a retired

senior manager for IBM.

At the time of the
sightings, Burns

handled the company's contracts
in Japan and South America.

On the night of March 24th,
and virtually the same time

Officer Sadoff was pursuing
the mysterious object,

Ed Burns was driving home on the
Taconic Parkway, 10 miles north

of Sadoff's location.

ED BURNS: Out of nowhere, I got
a lot of static on the radio.

I thought maybe I was
in the wrong number,

and then I look over
to turn the dial again,

and that's when I looked
up and saw this craft.

It was a triangular
chevron ship,

and the back of that chevron
had to be as large as a football

field at least.

It was one solid piece
of a chevron shape,

and there was no noise.

Seemed so close to the ground.

It seemed like I could have
thrown a rock at it, maybe.

ROBERT STACK: Ed Burns
pulled off the highway

and joined a group of motorists
by the side of the road.

All were gazing skyward,
seemingly dumbstruck.

[tires screeching]
ED BURNS: It was so shocking.

This one fellow that was talking
to, never did answer me a bit.

Isn't that incredible?

Have you ever seen
anything so huge?

ED BURNS: He was just
staring at this thing,

and I remember his size
of his eyes were so huge.

And he never did
answer me at all.

It It seemed like I
talked for an hour,

was probably only a minute,
but I was so excited about it.

I wanted to share whatever
I was feeling at the time.

Where was it from?

I'm not into astronomy.

Mars, I mean, I don't
know the solar systems.

But what I had witnessed that
night was not from this planet.

ROBERT STACK: The
eyewitness reports

indicated the object
was slowly moving north

over the Hudson River Valley.

Officers Sadoff, and at least
12 others saw it in Newcastle.

10 minutes later, Ed Burns,
and at least 20 motorists

saw it near Millwood.

10 minutes after
that, the phones

began ringing off the hook in
the police station at Yorktown.

Yorktown PD, Officer Wolf.

No, Ma'am, everything is fine.

No, we've had several reports.

Everything is under control.

WILLIAM WOLF JR.:
Every line kept going.

Every single line, constantly.

Answer the phone, another
line would light up.

Answer the next line,
another line would light up.

There's really nothing to
worry-- please hold, Sir.

WILLIAM WOLF, JR.
Got to the point,

I got a call of Taconic
Parkway being stopped,

that people were
all out in the cars.

It was starting to
get really crazy.

Go ahead, Soravilla.

MAN (ON RADIO): I'll be 1017.

WILLIAM WOLF JR.: I tried
calling the cars to find

out if they saw anything.

And the only one that call
with the cars was Kevin,

said that he would stop in.

ROBERT STACK: Officer
Kevin Soravilla had also

seen the dazzling lights
reported by dozens

of Yorktown residents.

This town's going nuts.

KEVIN SORAVILLA: The
object was extremely large

and estimated to be close
to 300 to 400 yards wide.

We stood out in front
facing to the north,

in approximately about
five minutes, we did--

the object began to peer
from the northern horizon.

Look at that thing, man.

Unbelievable.

ROBERT STACK: Officers Wolf and
Soravilla were standing side

by side under the same
sky, yet their accounts

are entirely contradictory.

It's gotta be a group
of planes or something.

I don't think so.

Yeah, I think I
see a wing in there.

I don't think so.

They don't look like planes.

ROBERT STACK: Officers Soravilla
is convinced that what he saw

was one large object with
a number of small lights.

KEVIN SORAVILLA: I would
say approximate 16, 18,

lights running in a
v-formation, approximately

200 to 400 yards wide.

I was staring in
between the lights

to see any type of a
solid structure, where

he may have basically
been staring

at the lights at themselves.

WILLIAM WOLF JR.: They
looked like airplanes to me.

I say, "You know, I
live near an airport.

So I see these
airplanes every day."

So as they were coming
over, he says, "Well, you

can't hear anything."

I said, "Listen."

But that when we
started hearing a drone.

It wasn't one big solid unit.

But if you looked at it for
like a couple of minutes or even

a fraction as it
was coming over,

I could see where some people
would have gotten upset.

ROBERT STACK: Suddenly the
Hudson Valley sightings

had taken a dramatic turn.

It appeared that the
UFOs were a hoax,

nothing more than small aircraft
flying in precise patterns.

But this earthly explanation
was lost in an avalanche

of additional sightings,
which continued

unabated month after month.

In addition, many claim
the circular formation,

photographed as it swept
over the area, is also a UFO.

However, other eyewitnesses
counter that the unusual lights

they had seen were nothing more
than small airplanes flying

in web shaped formations.

ANTHONY CAPALDI: There's
anywhere from upwards

of 7 to 10 aircraft that
do fly around in formation,

and this is visible
from our tower.

Anthony Capaldi has been
an air traffic controller

for just under 10 years.

In the summer of 1983,
he made an observation

that seemed to settle the UFO
controversy once and for all.

[chatter]

ANTHONY CAPALDI:
The first time I

observed the formation flying,
it looked a little peculiar.

What's that over Stormville?

ANTHONY CAPALDI: And from our
vantage point in the tower,

they just appeared
to be just one

big light because there they
are flying in tight formation.

To estimate the size, maybe
two football fields wide.

Appears to be six aircraft
flying in formation.

I

ANTHONY CAPALDI: I imagine it's
possible, at first glimpse,

that an observer may not
be fully aware of what

this formation is.

But I don't think, if
this formation flew

over an individual's
head at 1,000 feet,

that there's any way you can
misdiagnose it for anything

but the formation flying, due to
the sound the aircraft engines.

And I imagine at 1,000
feet, you could really

determine that it's aircraft.

PHILLIP IMBROGNO:
The UFO was surely

seen before these hoaxer pilots
began their night flights.

And after these hoaxers
began their night flights,

people would call me up who had
seen the UFO in previous dates

and said, well, I saw
something strange in the sky,

but it wasn't the same thing
that I saw a week before.

It definitely was planes.

So you had people
who saw the UFO,

and then you had people
who saw the planes,

and were able to identify each
as being something strange

and something
totally explainable.

Holy good god.

What do you think?

I don't know.

Not planes.

I'm going to Tell
you something, Honey, I

don't know what the hell it is.

ROBERT STACK: This
home videotape

showing a light formation
above Brewster New York,

was taken July 24th, 1984, by
local resident Bob Pozzuoli.

Phillip Imbrogno is
convinced it shows a UFO.

PHILLIP IMBROGNO: Being
a scientist myself,

I'm still waiting for it to be
proved 100%, although it has

been looked at by a number
of photographic experts

who indicate that the movement
of the object on the video

seems to be one rigid object,
and not individual objects.

Plus there were
hundreds and hundreds

of witnesses who saw the UFO and
said it was something strange.

But the night that the airplanes
were seen, there were also

dozens of witnesses who
said, in fact, that they did

see airplanes.

ROBERT STACK: This image was
videotaped in June of 1984,

also by Bob Pozzuoli.

Skeptics and believers
all agree that it

shows a squadron of small
planes that some say

are military aircraft.

Did you hear the engines?

Mm-hm.

PHILLIP IMBROGNO: If
you look at that video,

you can see that the lights are
shifting position in relation

to each other.

The fellow who videotaped
it is talking about,

he can hear the engines, he
can see the stars as the object

is passing over him.

A matter of fact,
when a videotape

was made of the airplanes,
no one came forward

to say they had seen a UFO.

People called me and
said they had seen

airplanes flying in formation.

But the night of
the UFO sighting,

when the videotape was made,
I had hundreds of phone calls

to different telephone
lines of people

who had, in fact, seen a UFO.

ROBERT STACK: What
is the truth about

the spectacular
light formations that

cruise the Hudson River Valley?

Were the aerial stunts performed
by sophisticated pranksters,

or UFOs of unknown origin?

Even those who saw
the same object

at the same time cannot agree.

WILLIAM WOLF JR.: I personally
think that it was an airplane,

or people who were playing
games, trying to take--

get a rush and excitement out
of making people feel, "Hey,

there's somebody from
another world here,"

where in fact, they were
just fooling people's mind.

KEVIN SORAVILLA: If
it was ultra lights,

I'm a little amazed by
the precision flying.

I have to see it
again to believe it.

I'm not too sure.

I'm not too sure about it.

DENNIS SANT: In a man's
life, particular things

unfold that make an impression
for the rest of their life.

This was one of those
moments in my time

that made a very dramatic
impression upon me.

What I saw was not
planes in formation.

ANDI SADOFF: There
was no shaking

or movement or rocking back
and forth of any of the lights.

It was perfectly still.

You know, I'm not trying
to say what it was.

I don't know what it was.

I know it wasn't an airplane.

ED BURNS: I tell the story
a lot to certain friends

that I can trust
that will believe me.

I mean, my wife I
think believes me,

because she loves
me and respects me.

I don't know if my children do,
but they love and respect me.

But they also read the papers,
I guess about those five

other airplanes.

Maybe they equate it to that.

But boy I'll tell
you, I'll never

forget that as long as I live,
and five airplanes, it was not.

ROBERT STACK: In preparing
to film this story,

Unsolved Mysteries asked
the alleged hoaxers

to recreate one of their
flights during daylight hours.

No one was willing to
be publicly identified.

This may be because when flown
at night, some of the maneuvers

violate FAA regulations.

According to Tony Capaldi,
most of the formation flights

took place on Thursday nights.

It is interesting to note
that less than one third

of the UFO sightings
occurred on Thursday nights.

In a moment, a young man dies
under tragic circumstances.

[music playing]

September 30th, 1991,
Paducah, Kentucky.

Are you a pilot?

Um,no, I'm sure not.

Do you know a
pilot I can talk to?

No, I sure don't.

ROBERT STACK: Just
after 6:00 PM,

a young man approached
airport worker Wes Weaver

at Paducah's small airfield.

Listen, I'm really in a bind.

I really need to get out west.

You've got to know somebody
here that can help me out?

WES WEAVER: I kind of
thought that maybe he

was into something he
wasn't supposed to into,

running from something.

Because he honestly--
he didn't act drugged up

and he didn't act
like he was drunk

and he really didn't act crazy.

He was kind of desperate.

Come on, man.

Look, I've got this jacket,
isn't there's some way I can

trade this jacket for a lift?

You know, one of the
pilots around here?

ROBERT STACK: What began
as an odd encounter

soon evolved into a tragic
and perplexing mystery.

Really, I don't think I can--

WES WEAVER: I finally
just kind of told him no,

and made it to the point
where he should leave.

And he stood around
for a little while,

and finally he went
back through the hangar.

ROBERT STACK: 30 minutes
later, Wes Weaver

saw the stranger again.

WES WEAVER: And he
had the jacket on

and I thought it
was kind of strange,

so I kind of slowed
down and watched,

and I saw him run across the
ditch and jump up on the fence

and jump over and run
towards the plane,

and that's when I radioed
for someone to call security.

You better call security,
we got a guy jumping

over the fence at two two.

ROBERT STACK: Two other
witnesses saw the young man

run across the airstrip.

LINDA LEAB: Me and my
husband was out in the yard,

and this plane pulled up,
and we saw this guy run it

in the field, and he run over to
on the other side of the plane.

Well, we never did
see him no more.

JERRY LEAB: The way he
was running to it so fast,

he was up to something.

ROBERT STACK: The only
aircraft on the runway

was commuter flight
2940, destination,

Memphis, Tennessee.

Just before sunset
at exactly 6:49,

the plane was
cleared for takeoff.

Everything seemed normal.

LINDA LEAB: The plane
got way up in the air,

and I stood there, you know,
was watching, in a few minutes I

seen something fall,
and I told my husband,

I said, there's something
fell out of that plane.

ROBERT STACK: As darkness fell,
airport authorities mobilized

an extensive search, looking for
any sign of the man witnesses

had seen.

At the northern end
of the airfield,

director of airfield
services, Ron Jones,

noticed a section of fence
which had been damaged.

Lying at the base was the
body of the young stranger.

RON JONES: It really hit me then
that this actually happened,

that someone actually got onto
an aircraft some kind of way,

and that someone had
fallen to their death.

ROBERT STACK: No
identification of any kind

was found on or near the body.

As we examine
the hand, we note

that the nails appear to be
manicured and well-groomed.

ROBERT STACK: Blood
tests revealed

no traces of drugs or alcohol
in the victim's system.

JERRY BEYER: We noticed that
his body was well-tanned,

and that there were
not any tan lines.

The pubic hair was shaved and
in a swimmer's type style,

or of someone who may
have been wearing tights.

We searched out leads with
a male dancer troop that

was here, the
Chippendale type dancers,

who were here the week prior.

And we base that on to his
well-developed physical

appearance, his tanned
body, the shaved pubic area,

and all of those
leads were negative

when they were researched.

ROBERT STACK: This is the
jacket worn by the young man.

In one of the pockets,
investigators found

a pair of swimming goggles.

Sewn into the collar
was an ID tag,

inscribed Lieutenant
L.F. Price, USAF.

A check of military records
could find no such person.

RICHARD ROOF: When
we go back and look

at the series of events that
led up to this incident,

the individual had approximately
90 seconds to two minutes

to climb over a 7 and
1/2 foot high fence,

traverse approximately 800 foot
of terrain, including one ditch

system, run around the
aircraft's tail section,

and then climb on the
aircraft, although we

have no actual eyewitnesses to
his climbing on the aircraft.

And again the time
interval was between 90

seconds and 120 seconds.

It's quite an accomplishment.

ROBERT STACK: Within
seconds, flight 2940

was barreling down the
runway at 125 miles an hour.

Once air born, the
speed increased

to more than 190 miles an hour.

RICHARD ROOF: And that obviously
is a substantial wind force

upon anyone trying to stay
on the wing of an aircraft

with really no handholds.

We judge at this point
that he managed to stay on

for approximately
3,000 to 3,500 feet

after the aircraft
departed the ground.

RON JONES: I wonder what was
so important to make him take

a chance on trying
to catch a ride

on the outside of an aircraft.

JIM GREIF: I think that there's
an answer with his family.

His family may not even know
that he was coming home.

And I think that that's
probably-- if we could just

get over that hurdle there--

I think we could find out why.

[music playing]

ROBERT STACK: Join me next
time for another edition

of Unsolved Mysteries.

[music playing]