All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens SP s02e04 Extraterrestrial Close Encounters.eng

NARRATOR:
Terrifying interactions

with strange entities.

I couldn't move.
I was paralyzed.

I saw these little creatures
that scared the hell out of me.

NARRATOR:
Disturbing accounts of mysterious implants.

WHITLEY STRIEBER:
My ear started hurting.

I reach up and I feel
this bump here, on my ear.

Then I thought,
oh, my God, it's an implant.

NARRATOR:
And a dangerous encounter

with an unidentified craft.

The UFO took control
of his plane.

Lifting the plane higher
and higher and higher.

NARRATOR:
Today, more and more people are coming forward

to report having
close encounters with UFOs

and extraterrestrials.

Could this be an indication

of a growing alien presence
on Earth?

TSOUKALOS:
This idea that an extraterrestrial visitor

could potentially be influencing

the course of the world

is a possibility.

NARRATOR:
There is a doorway in the universe.

Beyond it
is the promise of truth.

It demands
we question everything

we have ever been taught.

The evidence is all around us.

The future
is right before our eyes.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

In the first month
of the new year,

it is announced
that a new spending bill

will require
the U.S. Defense Department

to review UFO sightings
dating to 1945.

Another major headline
involves controversial claims

by a U.S. congressman
of a "huge" UFO coverup--

and yet another
claims that a UFO

was shot down
by the Russian military.

In today's world, UFO reports

are no longer
a fringe curiosity,

but part
of the daily news cycle.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE:
Finally, in the 21st century,

you've got
the whole world curious.

Everybody's looking
for real UFOs.

Headlines
in every newspaper, everywhere.

Every television, every radio,
every cell phone.

Things like NASA announces

unidentified
aerial phenomena study,

the big headline in
The New York Times,

having to do with UFOs doing
remarkable demonstrations

in front of military pilots.

It's suddenly respectable

for these topics
to be discussed in the open.

The level of official interest,

the level of scientific interest

and media interest
is to the point where now

we can look at evidence
that's been sitting around

for decades
that hasn't been scrutinized.

And finally,
it's getting some scrutiny.

It's getting attention.

That is a sea change.

And because
of the media interest,

the topic became
acceptable for Congress.

There is political cover
for them

to go ahead and ask questions.

In May 2022,

there was an unprecedented
congressional hearing

from one of the subcommittees

of the House Intelligence
Committee.

A lot of it was in public

and some absolutely fascinating

information was disclosed.

I mean, effectively,

this was an admission
that the phenomenon was real.

We know that our service members

have encountered
unidentified aerial phenomena,

and because UAPs pose
potential flight safety

and general security risk,

we are committed
to a focused effort

to determine their origins.

RALPH BLUMENTHAL:
Here was Congress paying serious attention to it,

that these objects
are undoubtedly real.

They're not, uh, figments
of the imagination,

they're not hoaxes.

There are objects up there

that are legitimate mysteries.

NARRATOR:
Considering the recent explosion of UFO reports,

is it possible that there is,
in fact,

an extraterrestrial
presence on Earth?

And if so,
have there been encounters

not only with strange objects
in the sky,

but also with alien entities?

JEREMY CORBELL:
Now we're kind of saying, well, UFOs are real,

these craft are real.

The next logical question

is have people engaged entities,

intelligences
that operate these craft,

whether it be biological
or artificial intelligence,

or some sort of marriage
between the two?

NARRATOR:
Dr. Travis Taylor,

who was hired
as the chief scientist

for the U.S. government's
UAP Task Force in 2019,

says that in his experience,

while UFO sightings
are no longer scoffed at,

the same cannot be said

for reports
of much closer encounters.

TRAVIS TAYLOR:
If an F-18 pilot came to you and said,

"We chased a UAP in the sky
with our fighter plane

and couldn't catch it,"

you're going to listen
to that guy.

But if the same fighter pilot
came and said,

"I was flying along in my F-18

"and a UAP came down
and abducted me from my cockpit,

"took me off,
did something to me,

"and brought me back, and put
me right back in my cockpit

as though I'd never been gone,"

you would think he's crazy.

Why?

Why is that any more fantastic

than there being something
we can't explain what it is,

that we can't catch
with a modern-day fighter plane?

I think each
are equally fantastic

and should at least
be considered.

NARRATOR:
One of the first people to suggest

that reports of close encounters
with extraterrestrials

should be taken seriously

was the man who held
Travis Taylor's position

more than 60 years prior,

astrophysicist J. Allen Hynek.

In 1952,

Hynek was
the scientific consultant

for Project Blue Book,

the U.S. government's
first public investigation

into the UFO phenomenon.

According to J. Allen Hynek's
son, Paul,

one of the cases his father
found most compelling

involved an encounter
with alien entities.

My father didn't talk that much
about individual cases,

but there were some cases
that really stood out to him.

One was the case
of Lonnie Zamora

in 1964 in New Mexico.

Lonnie Zamora was a policeman

and he saw some kind of craft
in the sky land.

It was an egg-shaped craft.

He saw some humanoids come out.

A fairly brief encounter
and they took off.

Lonnie Zamora
had not been active in UFOs

or flying saucers before that.

My father thought
he was very credible.

And it was the case

that was maybe the straw
that broke the camel's back

on my father
being more comfortable

talking publicly about
abduction cases and humanoids.

NARRATOR:
Of the 12,618 sightings

reported to Project Blue Book,

701 were left "unexplained,"

including the case
of policeman Lonnie Zamora.

Yet, despite the hundreds
of unsolved close encounters,

the government shut down
Project Blue Book in 1969.

But not before J. Allen Hynek

made arguably
his most famous contribution

to the UFO phenomenon.

HYNEK:
My father, being a scientist,

decided that UFOs needed
to have a classification system.

So, he came up with
the close encounters

of the first,
second and third kind.

A close encounter
of the first kind

is a visual sighting
within 500 feet or so.

A close encounter
of the second kind

is where there is some
kind of physical evidence.

A sunburned face,

broken tree branches,
radar sighting, etcetera.

And a close encounter
of the third kind

is where you actually see
some type of creature.

NARRATOR:
Following the demise of Project Blue Book,

claims of even more
bizarre alien encounters

started being reported
across the globe,

and two more categories
of close encounters

were identified.

A close encounter
of the fourth kind

indicates an alien abduction.

And a close encounter
of the fifth kind

involves communication
and interaction

with an alien entity.

Close encounters
of the fifth kind

are essentially
human interactions

with extraterrestrials.

It's not just seeing,

it's being a participant
in an event.

There is often, for example,

direct communication

either verbal or telepathic.

And this is
particularly interesting

because what we get is not just
description and perceptions,

but often information,

messages are sometimes given

in this two-way
interactive communication.

And that's fascinating
because it gives us

perhaps our best insight

into extraterrestrial
motivation.

NARRATOR:
Accounts of close encounters of the fifth kind

are often regarded as too
sensational to be true,

but according
to ancient astronaut theorists,

such face-to-face interactions
with extraterrestrials

can be found
throughout recorded history.

Throughout the history
of humankind,

cultures from all continents
of the world

described someone
descending from the sky

and imparting knowledge.

And instead of attributing

these stories to pure fantasy,

the ancient astronaut theory

proposes that contact between

physical extraterrestrials
and our human ancestors

happened face-to-face.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the designation

"close encounters
of the fifth kind"

is not merely terminology

for potential alien encounters
in the distant future,

but describes interactions

that have been
happening on Earth

for thousands of years?

Perhaps clues can be found

by examining claims
of such encounters

within the highest levels
of the United States government.

NARRATOR:
At 5:05 a.m.,

one of a series of nuclear tests

under the umbrella code-named
Upshot-Knothole is set off.

Within seconds of the blast,

a disc-shaped object
is seen rapidly descending

from the sky headed south
toward Las Vegas,

then disappearing
into the mountains.

Just two days after this event,

government officials
secretly gathered

a team of scientists
for a curious assignment:

They were to investigate
the crash

of an unidentified flying object

on the outskirts
of Kingman, Arizona,

a city 175 miles south

of the nuclear test site.

There were 40 engineers
that boarded a bus,

and they took a long
three-and-a-half-hour ride

from Phoenix to Kingman.

When they got there,
it was nighttime.

There were MPs
on all corners of the craft.

It's about a 40-foot diameter
disc-shaped craft

that was perfectly intact,

there wasn't a scratch on it.

There were four beings
associated with this craft.

And they shipped it
to Groom Lake.

RICHARD DOLAN:
Groom Lake is the Area 51 region in Nevada.

When Area 51
was just bare bones,

they took the craft
and the aliens

out to that location in the
middle of the Nevada desert

because it was so remote,

and around that
they built Area 51.

NARRATOR:
Hidden within a ring of mountains

deep in the Nevada desert,

Area 51 is a top secret
military installation

that has long been rumored
to hold evidence

of alien technology.

And there are even stories

that a special facility
at Area 51

once held a survivor

of the 1953 Kingman UFO crash,

an alien entity
known as "J-Rod."

DENNETT:
J-Rod is an alien who allegedly worked at Area 51

over a period of years.

And it was J-Rod's mission,
or duty,

to help reverse engineer

technology that was apparently

from the 1953 Kingman UFO crash.

J-Rod was one
of the crash survivors

and worked directly
with our own government.

NARRATOR:
Captain Bill Uhouse,

a former Navy pilot

who later worked
for the U.S. Air Force

performing experimental
testing on aircraft,

was assigned to Area 51
in the mid-1960s.

And he claims that
he not only studied the craft

that allegedly crashed
in Kingman, Arizona,

but also had direct contact

with J-Rod.

We had a long period
of introduction into meeting,

you know, an alien.

And I-I called him J-Rod.

That's the name
that the linguists gave him.

And he talked,
he would talk, but...

he'd sound just like
if you spoke,

he'd sound like you.

You know, he's like
one of these, a parrot.

(chuckles)

But he'd try and answer
your question, you know.

Basically, it was
only engineering advice

or science advice.

DENNETT:
There's also another whistleblower

by the name of Dan Burish.

And Dan Burish
said that he was hired

as a microbiologist

to basically care for J-Rod,

ensuring
that he remained healthy.

And, uh, this went on
for years and years and years.

NARRATOR:
According to Dan Burish and Bill Uhouse,

J-Rod was housed in a special
underground chamber at Area 51.

And there have been
numerous other accounts

of extraterrestrials
working with

the United States government.

ALEJANDRO ROJAS:
There's a lot of stories

that we've worked
with the aliens at Area 51.

Or, uh, some say
at a base nearby,

kind of in the desert out there.

And we've been working with them
in underground labs.

And they had been
sharing information

for us to enhance
our technologies.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that the United States government

has met with, and worked with,

entities like J-Rod
and other alien visitors

since at least the 1950s?

According to UFO researchers,

there is evidence
that extraterrestrials

have not only been held
at secret military bases,

but have even met face-to-face

with the Commander in Chief

inside the walls
of the Pentagon.

One of the most
detailed accounts

of a presidential
close encounter

is the story
of an otherworldly visitor

named Valiant Thor.

DENNETT:
The story of Valiant Thor

comes from a gentleman
by the name of Frank Stranges,

who's a chaplain,
and apparently held

a top secret clearance.

As the story goes,

in 1957,

a UFO landed in Virginia

very close to Washington, D.C.

(siren wailing)

Police officers
were called to the scene,

and out stepped
a human-looking gentleman

who wanted to visit
with then-President Eisenhower.

He was taken directly
to the Pentagon.

And was able
to arrange a meeting

with President Eisenhower.

In this meeting,
he basically stated

that he was very much concerned

about our use
of nuclear weapons.

POPE:
Just as another country

would post an ambassador
to the United States,

t-the theory was
that Valiant Thor

was the ambassador
from the extraterrestrials.

And he was from time to time

advising President Eisenhower

and the U.S. government
on policy issues.

This idea that an actual,

physical extraterrestrial
visitor

could potentially be influencing

the course of the world

is a possibility.

I am sure
there's envoys out there

that do the same thing,

not just on a planet,

but in entire planetary systems.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that the United States

has had diplomatic relations
with otherworldly beings?

Frank Stranges
claimed that Valiant Thor

came to Earth to warn
President Eisenhower

about the dangers
of nuclear proliferation.

Many researchers also believe

that the reported 1953
UFO crash in Kingman, Arizona

was caused by a nuclear test.

And perhaps not coincidentally,

the number of modern-day
UFO sightings

increased exponentially
after World War II.

DENNETT:
In the late 1940s, 1947 in particular,

was absolutely undeniable

that something was going on.

This is when we started
first exploding nuclear bombs,

and in 1947,
there was a huge super wave

of UFO sightings

which swept across the
United States and the world.

And this was not one
or two sightings.

This was hundreds upon hundreds.

DOLAN:
You've got claim after claim of people

from the 1950s onward,

some of them say, "I met
these human-looking beings,

uh, who said they
were from another planet."

And they-they have said to us,

uh, your nuclear technology
is dangerous.

Uh, y-you need to be
more peaceful.

NARRATOR:
There have also been a high number of UFO sightings

at nuclear weapons facilities,

including the Hanford Nuclear
Site in Washington state,

Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California,

Kapustin Yar in Russia

and the Malmstrom
nuclear missile facility

in Montana.

CHILDRESS:
There's tremendous amount of conflict here on planet Earth.

And that would be one reason
why the extraterrestrials

would want to contact leaders

from around the world
to try to stop

some terrible nuclear war
from happening.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that extraterrestrials

who have been monitoring Earth
for thousands of years

have approached world leaders

to deter them
from nuclear proliferation?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and they contend that such
encounters don't just happen

to prominent political figures.

They happen to people

from all walks of life.

NARRATOR:
Pasadena, California.

June 16, 2018.

Thousands of people
from all over the world

gather for Alien Con,

a three-day event to discuss
and explore the possibility

that intelligent life
exists beyond our planet,

and may have visited Earth
in the distant past.

It's one thing
for people to say

that not only have they
seen a UFO

but they've had
an experience, a contact.

NARRATOR:
During one panel

led by former Ministry of
Defence investigator Nick Pope,

a group of experts talk about
a significant

and controversial subject:

alien abductions.

Looking out at all of you,

one of the things
that we would like to know is

how many of you have had

an experience that you think

might involve
having been abducted?

Can you all
put your hands up

who think that you have been?

POPE:
Wow, that's a lot of people.

If anyone feels comfortable

about coming up
to the microphone,

we would love
to hear your stories.

So, uh, please, yeah.

My name's Alice Green
and, um, 40 years ago,

uh, when I was 15, I, um,
had an abduction experience.

There was a huge spaceship
over my house,

and, uh, one minute
I'm in my bed

and the next minute,
I'm up in the spaceship.

I wanted to call it a dream

because I didn't want to call it
an abduction experience

for a long time.

I started having
one of those experiences,

out of body, but not just
in the vicinity.

I kind of started
entering the space realm,

and I just kept going,

and it just got scarier
and scarier for me.

I didn't know what was going on.

The alien that I spoke to
was about to my shoulder,

maybe four and a half feet tall,

and he had three fingers.

He was like
your typical gray alien

and I had several encounters

over the course
of the next couple years.

I never wanted to tell anybody
because I thought

my friends and family
would think I was crazy.

NARRATOR:
Millions of people?

Taken by
extraterrestrial beings?

If alien abductions
are happening,

as experiencers at this panel

and many other
alleged abductees claim,

what evidence is there
to support their stories?

As the number
of recorded abduction cases

has increased over the last
several decades,

experts in a variety of fields

have worked to find
this evidence.

In 1991, my colleague
Budd Hopkins and I

got funding for a national poll

about the abduction phenomenon

through the Roper Organization.

We found that at least two
percent of the American public

and at most perhaps even five
percent of the American public,

were abductees.

Even with two percent,

we're dealing with
an enormous number of people

who have been abducted
throughout the world.

Of course, when people
from the outside

look at the abduction
phenomenon,

they think that this
is just neurological.

I wish that was the case.

That would be wonderful
if that were the case.

I can say from having
interviewed now

about 1,600 people
in the abduction syndrome

there are common denominators.

I would say the vast majority

don't know details.

They just remember pieces.

They might remember,
"I saw these eyes,

and they were big
and black and slanted."

They will hear either
a buzzing sound,

or there might be a clicking.

Or in the room
there might be like

a little orb of light,
or several orbs of light.

They won't be able to move.

And the paralysis is always
described the same way.

They can move their eyes,
they can see.

They can't move their head.

They will say they see their
bedroom wall just disappear.

Or they are taken
right through the wall.

Or they're taken
through a window.

Or they are taken
through the ceiling.

And then a hundred percent
of people,

their next consciousness
is waking up,

often the sun is up,

and they know
something's happened,

but they don't know what.

JOE MONTALDO:
When you start adding it up across 40,000, 50,000 cases,

the number one piece
of compelling evidence

is the credibility
of the individual.

We have doctors,
lawyers, politicians.

So, these are people
who have a lot a stake

if they were to say,
"Hey, I've been abducted

by an alien,"
or something like this.

So, you have to take
those people seriously.

There are really only
two possibilities here.

Either we're dealing
with a mass delusion

on an unprecedented scale,

or what these people are saying

is actually literally happening

in a physical sense

and these alien abductions
are real.

NARRATOR:
But if millions of people

have been abducted
by extraterrestrials--

or even a fraction
of that number--

what could be
the reason behind it?

And why now?

While what we call
"alien abductions"

may only have been reported
in modern times,

ancient astronaut theorists
claim

there is evidence
that this phenomenon

has been happening
for thousands of years.

In ancient biblical texts

and also in other
textual references,

we have accounts of people

ascending and descending
from and to the sky

with fiery chariots
and flying type of craft.

And that to me indicates

that what these accounts
refer to

are similar
to modern-day abductions.

Those accounts
are eyewitness accounts.

They're not told
in the third person

but it's actually
"I, Ezekiel, witnessed."

"I, Enoch, witnessed."

"I, Abraham, did this."

"I walk through there."

Also, in ancient China

and also in ancient Egypt

are there stories of people

having been visited or having
gone up to the sky

to visit with
the so-called "gods."

What better way to describe
an extraterrestrial encounter?

So today we call it
an alien abduction.

In previous centuries,

it was called
by different names.

But we recognize
from the experience

that they are identical.

And therefore it adds validity

to this not being a modern myth,

but a very ancient problem.

Why today, then, is it such
an important issue?

It very well may be that we
did not recognize in the past

how widespread
these experiences were.

Or it could be

that there is a stepping up
of the agenda

and that the experience
is spreading greater,

farther and wider
than it was in the past.

NARRATOR:
Could these extraordinary accounts,

both past and present,

be describing an ongoing program

of human abduction

in spite of the skepticism

with which they are viewed
by the public?

And is there a "smoking gun"

that will finally establish

that this phenomenon is real,

and still underway?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining
unsettling UFO encounters

reported in our skies.

NARRATOR:
Zihuantanejo, Mexico.

May 3rd, 1975.

After dropping off passengers
at this seaport town

on the Pacific coast,

pilot Carlos de Los Santos

embarks on a return trip
to Mexico City

in his Piper PA-24 Comanche.

The weather conditions are clear

and visibility is good

as De Los Santos
cruises at 10,000 feet.

One hour into the flight,

he witnesses
something unusual...

...a gray, wingless object

off the left side of his plane.

DOLAN:
As he approaches Mexico City,

he notices basically
a small flying saucer

just above his left wing.

It's not as large
as his aircraft,

but he's flying
a fairly small aircraft.

And he's like, what is this?

And then he looks
over to his right

and he sees another one.

And then he looks ahead of them,

and there's one coming at him.

It goes below his aircraft.

And he feels a bump
under his aircraft.

And he's scared out of his mind.

Anyone would be.

He then realizes that he's not

really in control
of his aircraft.

His aircraft is moving in a way

that seems to respond
to these objects, not to him.

He goes to move the yoke,

and the yoke
is moving on itself.

The plane starts climbing
to 3,000 meters.

That's the ceiling of the Piper.

If it climbs any further,

it will stall out.

He will lose control.

The plane will fall
out of the sky.

DOLAN:
He's actually becoming afraid

because his cabin's
not pressurized.

You get to a certain altitude,

he's gonna have
a hard time breathing.

BIRNES:
The theory is that the UFO

that came under the plane

took control of his plane

and the UFO's
own magnetic envelope

is lifting the plane higher
and higher and higher.

De Los Santos is in a panic.

He's giving mayday calls.

DOLAN:
He's telling them,

there are these unidentified
objects at my wingtips,

and below me
and I don't know what to do.

NARRATOR:
As the private plane races towards a mountainous area,

the three UAPs disengage
from Carlos's plane

and veer off toward
the Mount Popocat�petl volcano

at lightning speed.

As the objects
disappear from sight,

Carlos regains control
of the plane.

But he quickly realizes
his ordeal isn't over.

DOLAN:
He can't initiate his landing gear

because of the impact
that one of these objects

made on his aircraft.

He has to circle
around the airport,

uh, about ten times.

And he uses a screwdriver
to push the lever

to get his landing gear
to come down.

And he successfully lands
his aircraft.

It's kind of
an amazing thing there.

So, he lands his aircraft,

and the story doesn't end here.

Now, he would've had
his whole career,

reputation ruined
probably with this,

except for the fact that
Mexican air traffic control

tracked these objects also.

And this came out
to support him.

This story became
a huge news story in Mexico.

Didn't really make much impact
in the United States,

but it was a very big story
in Mexico.

NARRATOR:
Years later, De Los Santos

revealed that in the aftermath
of the event,

he was twice approached
by mysterious figures

warning him not to
speak about his experience.

The first occasion
was just before

he was scheduled
to be interviewed

by a Mexican television station.

The second happened
when De Los Santos

was set to meet
with the famous UFO investigator

J. Allen Hynek.

Hynek was into the case.

A lot of people
were following this case.

And just before
he was going to meet

with Hynek at some hotel,

he gets another encounter
from, um,

one of these men in black,

these tall, pasty,
white-skinned guys

who warned him,
"Don't talk about this."

He was threatened.

And he did actually
stop talking about this

for a little while after that.

But as time went by,
he-he's talked about it.

It's just one of the most
incredible aviation UAP stories

that you're ever gonna hear
and he got out of it alive.

NARRATOR:
Pilot Carlos de Los Santos

ultimately emerged

from his harrowing
midair encounter unscathed

but similar confrontations

between civilian planes and UFOs

have led to tragic consequences,

including injuries, crashes

and even loss of life.

The National UFO Reporting
Center, or NUFORC,

has counted at least
100 cases in the U.S.

where flight safety was impaired

because of close calls with
unidentified aerial phenomena.

And in at least one incident,

it appears
a collision with a UFO

caused fatal results.

Former NYPD pilot and flight
instructor Thomas Preziose

departs from Mobile Downtown
Airport,

piloting a single-engine Cessna

with the callsign
Night Ship 282.

The story of Night Ship 282
is quite alarming.

A Hollywood scriptwriter
couldn't come up with this one.

We have a NYPD pilot,
a freight hauler,

very experienced
flight instructor,

hauling documents
from Mobile, Alabama

up north to Montgomery.

Routine flight.

NARRATOR:
Due to poor visibility,

Preziose was flying
by his instruments.

Just one minute into the flight,

he spotted something
in the distance

and immediately radioed
air traffic control.

MIKE RICKSECKER:
He saw what looked like another plane in the sky.

He was just confirming

that that was
another plane up there.

And then all of a sudden,
he's alarmed.

He's panicked.
Something is coming at him.

BIRNES:
This pilot sees an object in front of him

on a collision course
with his plane.

What does he do?

He radios a request
for permission to deviate.

I must deviate, I must deviate,
he says over the radio.

He deviates.

Silence.

The transmission goes dead.

NARRATOR:
Five minutes after takeoff,

Night Ship 282
crashes into Big Bateau Bay.

Tragically, Thomas Preziose
is killed on impact.

When investigators

from the National
Transportation Safety Board,

or NTSB, arrive at the scene,

they discover parts
of the Cessna

scattered over an area
of nearly 200 yards.

The plane is not just
demolished,

it's almost vaporized.

Something obviously
hit the plane.

The props are damaged,
the wings are damaged,

the fuselage is damaged.

Wholesale damage inside
the mechanics of the airplane.

HENRY:
It becomes apparent he has collided

with something in midair.

NARRATOR:
A midair collision of such extreme force

would naturally send two wrecks

spiraling to the ground.

But an extensive search
of the area

produced only one aircraft.

DOLAN:
No other wreckage was ever found.

No other craft which would've
presumably done this.

The most bizarre thing
about this

is that there are these
strange red markings

all over parts of the aircraft.

These red markings
have not been identified,

as far as I can tell.

And they're in a variety
of places of the aircraft.

The NTSB suggested
that whatever it hit

was this color red
or had this red coating on it.

And when it hit, it rubbed
off on this guy's craft.

They also found pieces of metal

in the wings that didn't belong
to the plane.

Various pieces of metal

were imbedded
in the crashed plane

that weren't part of that plane.

So, something metal,
something red.

But at the end of the day,
a mystery.

GARY HESELTINE:
Clearly, this is one of the rare occasions

where there was a collision
that obliterated a plane,

killed the pilot.

And the FAA,
the aviation authorities

and investigations that followed

could not explain it

and to this day
cannot explain it.

CHILDRESS:
You have to wonder if this incident,

which caused
the death of the pilot,

wasn't also some
extraterrestrial incident

where perhaps a flying saucer
or other craft

hit this plane or the plane
itself hit the craft.

NARRATOR:
For UFO researchers,

the tragic case
of Thomas Preziose

underscores the potential threat

unidentified flying craft
could pose to humans.

And they suggest
that there are even darker--

and far more disconcerting--
aspects to some

extraterrestrial
close encounters.

NARRATOR:
Desert Center, California.

November 20, 1952.

Photographer and amateur
astronomer George Adamski

is hiking with friends

along the rocky sands
of the Colorado Desert

when he sees a large
saucer-shaped craft in the sky.

According to Adamski,
a voice from the spaceship

speaks to him,

telling him to walk off
the main road.

Allegedly, uh, the four
of them saw a craft,

uh, land farther out
in the desert.

George Adamski, by himself,

then walked over this hill
and to the craft

where he claimed he met
with an extraterrestrial.

That extraterrestrial
invited, uh,

Adamski ultimately to go on one
of the craft at some point.

HENRY:
He claimed they took him in a spaceship

out into space
and toured other planets.

And along the way,
he is educated or schooled

by a thousand-year-old being
he refers to as the master.

POPE:
He believed that they were

enlightened, advanced beings

who were keeping an eye
on our development

and were concerned

about some of the turns

that the human journey
had taken.

Um, pollution
of the environment,

development of nuclear weapons,

and so Adamski then went on

to spread his message
around the world

because he felt that
this was a mission for him.

CHILDRESS:
Adamski wrote a number of books about this.

And his photos
are still famous photos

that he took of cylindrical
cigar-shaped ships

and of flying saucers.

He actually traveled
around the world

as a special ambassador.

He even met
with the queen of Holland

and other world leaders.

He was greeted often
as some kind of ambassador

from the extraterrestrials.

Most of these contactees
will say

they're lectured to
in some fashion

about technology
and their place in the universe.

It's a message
that they're given

to take to other people.

NARRATOR:
Do extraterrestrials select certain people

to deliver information
to humanity?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and suggest there may even be
physical evidence to prove it.

Ulster County, New York.

December 26, 1985.

Best-selling author
Whitley Strieber

is celebrating Christmas
with his wife and young son

at their cabin.

In the middle of the night,

he is awoken
by a disturbing feeling.

I felt that there was
something around me.

In other words,
there was movement

that shouldn't have been there.

And I opened my eyes

and I saw these big, black eyes
staring at me.

And I had no idea where I was.

It was a little round room.

- And I began to scream.
- (echoing scream)

This automatic voice
turned on saying,

"What can we do to help you
stop screaming?"

There were these other figures,

dark blue little figures
darting around,

and they assaulted me,
basically.

It was not easy. It was
a very terrifying experience.

NARRATOR:
To process the traumatic event,

Whitley wrote about
his close encounter,

which became the basis of his
best-selling memoir, Communion.

He hoped the experience
was behind him,

but in May of 1989,

Whitley had another
strange nocturnal encounter.

STRIEBER:
I'm on my side, on my right side.

And there's a hand pressing down
on my left temple,

pressing it into the pillow
in like waves, like this.

And I can't struggle,
I can't move a muscle,

I can't see anything.

I am completely immobilized.

After a few seconds, that ends.

And I think, was it a dream?

Then, the next day
or the day after,

my ear started hurting.

I reach up and I feel
this bump here on my ear.

And I thought,
oh, my God, it's an implant.

WOMAN:
Ooh, look at that white thing.

STRIEBER: There was an attempt
to remove it.

It failed because
the implant went from here,

right down into here,
on its own.

STRIEBER:
And the doctor pulled out.

Two days later,
it went from my ear lobe

back up to where
it is to this day.

NARRATOR:
Could extraterrestrials have really implanted

some kind of device
inside Whitley Strieber's ear?

And if so, why?

According to Whitley,
whatever the implant is,

it has had a profound
effect on him.

In 2015, I noticed a slit
opened up in my right eye.

And you could see
words racing through it.

But they were like someone was
typing very quickly and racing.

And it had something to do
with my writing.

Because at the same time,

my ability to do research

changed dramatically
and weirdly.

I found that if I just thought
about something I needed,

no matter how obscure,

one way or another,
it would come to me.

NARRATOR:
Since receiving the alleged implant,

Strieber claims to
have had regular interaction

with otherworldly beings.

The visitors are a part
of my life now, very much so.

Uh, I don't think I would
be comfortable working

without knowing that
there was using the implant,

that there was a connection.

Now, what do they want from us?

That is a very big
unanswered question.

KNAPP:
Humans have been interacting with these beings,

wherever they're from, for eons,
throughout human history.

I think that,
uh, this intelligence,

instead of revealing itself
on a global scale,

they've been engaging
with people one on one.

Maybe they put us on the path
where we are now.

Don't know.

They seem to have an
ongoing interest in us.

They take direct involvement
with certain bloodlines

and certain people.

And the dramatic transformations
that have taken place

after people have had
these claimed contacts

is very real.

NARRATOR:
If close encounters of the fifth kind

are, in fact, taking place,

are alien entities making
contact for our benefit...

or for theirs?

Perhaps further clues
can be found

by examining evidence
that aliens

have been altering human biology

and not just for generations,

but for thousands of years.

NARRATOR:
Lancaster, New Hampshire.

September 19, 1961.

Betty and Barney Hill
are driving late at night

when a large flying saucer
intercepts them

and hovers over their car.

Above them, the Hills observe

otherworldly figures
in the windows of the craft.

Days later,
the couple reports missing time,

and after participating
in hypnotic regression,

they claim to realize
that they were abducted

by extraterrestrials.

In the decades that follow,
the Betty and Barney Hill case

becomes the most well-known
and investigated

abduction encounter
in modern history.

But, according to Betty
and Barney's descendants,

the incident in Lancaster
is only one part

of a much larger story,

a story that actually began
three years prior

with an incident
involving Betty's sister.

Betty Hill was my aunt,
my mother's sister.

Something that we have
never revealed before

is that my mother had
a close encounter in 1958.

She saw this
huge cigar-shaped craft

hovering over a field.

She had no explanation
for what had happened,

as far as she knew.

She had gone shopping,
and she had driven home.

My mother eventually
underwent hypnosis, and,

through hypnosis, she recalled

having been abducted as well.

And I also had this uncanny
sort of dreamlike experience

of being taken to a craft.

It bothered me
for many, many years.

Eventually, I did talk
to my family about it,

and that's when I found out that
my mother had the same memory.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that extraterrestrial beings

are abducting,
not only individuals,

but also families?

And if so, why?

The abduction phenomenon
is intergenerational.

When a man and a woman marry,
and either the man or the woman

is an abductee, their children
will be abductees.

POPE:
It seems that specific bloodlines are involved here,

and if that's the case,

it raises
the intriguing possibility

that the extraterrestrials
are interested in human biology,

that they are monitoring
specific genetic lines

for some purpose.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists

and UFO researchers, the notion

that extraterrestrials
are conducting experiments

involving human biology
is not a new one.

Many believe the practice
has been going on

for thousands of years.

TZADOK:
Maybe there's some truth to these entities,

which we call shedim.

These are old legends

of people who are abducted,

sexually seduced,

and some taken away.

And when we hear today
about the numerous stories

of alien abductions throughout
history, they are identical.

NARRATOR:
For proof that their theories

about the biological nature
of alien abductions are valid,

researchers point to the fact
that a relatively high number

of abductees-- more than 60%--

have an extraordinarily
rare blood type,

Rh negative.

The subject kept coming up
from the abductees,

"I'm Rh negative.

Could it have anything to do
with why I'm being abducted?"

I got to collaborate
with a doctor,

Dr. John Altshuler,

and he did pathology,
he did blood work.

And he gave the conclusion
that Rh negative blood

might actually be
a genetic data point

about why humans
could be hybrids.

That every Rh negative

would be coming from
a history of abductions.

MONTALDO:
Rh negative is a very peculiar thing.

First off, it didn't exist
until 35,000 years ago.

It may have been that,
35,000 years ago,

E.T. introduced this
into our society

through whatever breeding
programs they've been running.

The ancient astronaut
theory suggests

that, for thousands of years,

extraterrestrials meddled
with our DNA.

There was a time
when we were Homo sapiens,

and then we became
Homo sapien sapiens.

And that happened
within only 50,000 years,

which, by Darwinian
evolutionary standards,

is too short of a timespan
for that to happen.

Our brain volume
increased by up to 30%

in 50,000 years,
which is absolutely crazy.

Now, the reason why I think
that modern-day abductions occur

is because maybe we are
still being manipulated

with our DNA
from extraterrestrials

in order to turn us
from Homo sapien sapiens

into Homo sapiens
sapiens sapiens.

NARRATOR:
Pasadena, California,

June 16, 2018.

Throughout a discussion
about alien abductions

during a panel at AlienCon,

both the panelists and
members of the audience remark

on how difficult
but also important it is

to speak out about abductions.

I hesitated coming up here
for a couple reasons.

Um...

(sighs) Every topic that
you guys have mentioned

has connected dots,
actively, right now today.

As far as lineage,
as far as bloodline,

as far as family,
so generational,

my mom, um, myself, my daughter.

I had night terrors as a child,

missing time as a child,
throughout my life.

I literally have
short-term memory deficits

and specific things,

real spontaneous phenomenon
that ultimately touches

on everything that
you guys are talking about.

Thank you very much.
These hardly ever seem

to be one-off experiences.

Thank you for sharing
your story.

I'd like to say, uh,
I applaud you guys

for your courage to come forward

in front of all these people
and share your story.

I'm blown away
by the amount of people

that, uh, show up at this panel.

And when I see this
kind of, uh, support,

it's very encouraging, and
I think that's very important

to bringing this phenomenon
out into the light

where it needs to be
because a lot of answers

lie with the experiencers.

So I just thank you for that.

Coming forward to admit

that you've had some type
of a close encounter,

whether it is seeing something,

or maybe you've been abducted,

that is a very difficult
thing to admit.

And that is why I think

we really should look at all
the other pieces of evidence,

abduction cases,
or close encounters,

and say, "Okay, what if?"

I'm happy today
that I'm finally able to say

it's not only real,
it's happening.

Hearing those stories is of help

to any of you out there who have
had these strange experiences.

And you are not alone with this,
as you can see.

So, thank you to you,

and thank you
to my fellow panelists.

When you look at the vast body
of data that we have

on this phenomenon,
it's difficult to avoid

the conclusion
that something's going on here.

Why should we, therefore,
cast away the stories

of the abductees just because we
may feel a little uncomfortable

with the place that takes us?

NARRATOR:
While many contactees are reluctant

to share the details
of their encounters,

there are thousands
of these cases

that have been investigated
and meticulously chronicled

by an organization
that has been collecting

eyewitness accounts
of UFO and alien contact

for decades.

NARRATOR:
Thousands descend on the Mile-High City

to attend the 53rd
International Symposium on UFOs.

We had a similar case out of
South Carolina last year.

NARRATOR:
At this annual conference,

researchers
from around the world

gather to share and examine
the latest developments

in the study of UFOs.

One resident claimed
to have compiled a list

of 110 persons

who had witnessed flying objects

out of this small town
of only 2,000.

NARRATOR:
And it is hosted by an organization

with the most highly trained
UFO investigators in the world,

MUFON.

MUFON is the acronym
for the Mutual UFO Network.

It's the largest UFO
investigation organization

in the world,
and its mission statement

is the scientific study of UFOs

for the benefit of mankind.

RON JAMES:
MUFON is a all-volunteer organization

that's grown to well over
4,000 members worldwide

of field investigators and

people that want to participate
in the quest for the truth.

At the core of MUFON
is an investigative body

that exists to go out
and investigate sightings

that are worthy of investigation
and compile our database.

But over the years, MUFON
has grown into so much more.

We offer kind of
a community for people

that care about the topic.

POPE:
MUFON is the coming together

of people who are not just
interested in UFOs

but want to do something
about it.

They want to investigate
the cases.

So it's like this huge network

of like-minded people
all around the United States

and indeed the world

brought together
by their shared passion

for the subject and
their shared interest in it.

HURD: I became involved
after having been present

for the Phoenix Lights incident

here in Phoenix, Arizona
in 1997.

My interest was captured.

I first joined up with MUFON
after a trip to Roswell

with the family in 2019,

and it got me interested in it.

I had heard of MUFON before,
but I didn't think,

being a nurse,
if I would be useful,

but I called the headquarters

to see about just
attending meetings, and

I became an investigator,
and I've loved it ever since.

RODERICK MARTIN:
I was 12 years old when I saw my first UFO.

I was outside, and then
I lived in Dallas, Texas.

I saw this little white disk,

uh, kind of just zig-zagging.

So imagine that seared
into you as a young kid.

As the years rolled by,
I noticed that there was

an organization called MUFON,
Mutual UFO Network.

Then I found their website.

Wait a minute,
you can get behind the scenes.

You can become an investigator.

And so I said, "You know what?
This is what I'm going to do."

NARRATOR:
Having now existed as an organization

for more than five decades,

MUFON's mission is to
objectively investigate

the hundreds
of eyewitness accounts

of UFOs and other
aerial phenomena

that are reported every year
across the globe.

BLUMENTHAL:
MUFON started in the '60s

as an association
of private citizens

who trained themselves
to ask questions, to go to

scenes where people
had reported UFOs.

To question people,
they developed a whole protocol.

They had a very sophisticated
methodology that they used

to document these things,

and they kept records.

NARRATOR:
Started in Quincy, Illinois,

MUFON originally stood
for the Midwest UFO Network,

but by 1973,

the organization had so many
members across the country,

its name was changed
to the Mutual UFO Network.

The group remained
relatively obscure, however,

until 1980,
when it played a key role

in a sensational UFO case called
the Cash-Landrum incident.

JAMES:
Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum are driving through Texas

when they encounter this giant
diamond-shaped object...

...hovering and spewing out
blue flame from the bottom.

They stopped the car
to investigate.

The local environment
is actually being heated

by this object
to the point where

they try to touch their car

and it's hot to the touch.

And then what happens is,
they notice that there's

an army of helicopters,
Chinook helicopters,

seeming to escort this object.

LANDRUM: This is Vickie Landrum
from Dayton, Texas.

Now, what makes this unique
is that, when they get home,

after a couple of days,
they start to show symptoms

of being exposed
to ionized radiation.

CHILDRESS:
The women all had their hair fall out,

they developed cancer,

and they blamed
the U.S. government for this.

And this then became
a very well-known court case,

where they were suing

the U.S. government,
essentially.

This was reported
in major newspapers

all over the United States.
They couldn't ignore this story.

POPE:
MUFON investigators got the witness statements,

gathered the evidence,

including things
like medical records,

which were central
to the legal case.

And although the witnesses
didn't win their case,

what's important was that
that gets it on the record.

Without MUFON,

it's unlikely that it
would have gone to court.

JAMES:
It helped MUFON come to the forefront.

It gave us credibility
as a group.

And it was a really
establishing moment for MUFON.

You can click on this,
and you can click on your state

and see if your case
is coming up due soon.

NARRATOR:
40 UFO researchers

have arrived in this
small desert community

for the annual
MUFON Investigator Boot Camp.

This intense,
three-day conference

offers hands-on training in
techniques used to investigate

cases of reported
extraterrestrial visitations.

Stay with your group.

We have five sites.

You guys are gonna go
to the sites,

and you're going to find stuff,

tag it, bag it,

and you're gonna submit it.

MUFON strives to train up
their field investigators

to know photo
and video analysis.

We're expected to know how
to read astronomical charts.

We're expected to know how
to look at flight radar returns,

and that's just
the tip of the iceberg.

POPE:
One of the strengths of MUFON

is that it
brings together people

with different skill sets.

So, for example, some of them
will be, uh, retired cops,

also people who specialize
in imagery analysis.

There are other people
who know all about computers.

So all the different things

that an organization
investigating UFOs might need,

someone's gonna have
that skill set.

TSOUKALOS:
MUFON has many members from the military,

from the police force,

lawyers, PhDs, doctors.

Those are highly, highly
educated people.

So it's serious work that
these investigators are doing.

POPE:
MUFON is not an organization

of wide-eyed believers.

These are not people who think
everything's an alien spaceship.

MUFON gets thousands of cases,

and they investigate,
they analyze, and they conclude.

And MUFON pride themselves
on trying to adhere

to the scientific method.

TSUOKALOS:
The UFO phenomenon

goes back, in my opinion,
thousands of years.

The day when it becomes
accepted knowledge globally

that we are not alone and
never have been alone on Earth,

I think that MUFON will be part
of this paradigm shift.

NARRATOR:
For MUFON investigators,

determining the source
of an encounter

is key to identifying
what is truly unexplained.

And while the organization
has amassed a large inventory

of reports, there are a few
that stand out as astonishing.

One of the most compelling

involves multiple witnesses
who saw not only a craft

but also alien visitors.

NARRATOR:
A man named Randy Young

has come forward
to report a UFO encounter

that happened almost
50 years earlier in 1975.

The story begins
when he was ten years old

at the Miracle Mountains
Boarding School

in Hartshorne, Oklahoma.

YOUNG:
Miracle Mountain was kind of out in the boonies of Oklahoma.

That day, my brother and I
were out in the sandbox, and

we saw this circular,
uh, shining light

that was probably 2,000
or so feet up in the air.

And it didn't have the movements

of an airplane,
it was just hovering.

And as it got darker,
this craft got closer.

It had lights that
went through the midsection

all the way around,
and it had this classic,

um, saucer-type shape.

NARRATOR:
For decades, Randy and his brother

kept their extraordinary
encounter to themselves

for fear of how
it would be received.

You didn't want people
thinking that you're crazy,

you didn't want
to ruin your reputation,

but in the back of my mind,
that story was always there,

and with all that has been going
on with, um, the government,

the military jets that are,
you know, tracking these things,

and there's been a lot more talk
about it recently,

I'm like, "Okay, if they're
talking this big at this level,

they got to hear this story."

They need to know about
what had happened in Hartshorne

in 1975,
and so I contacted MUFON.

NARRATOR:
The report reached the desk of Mindy Tautfest,

the Oklahoma state
MUFON director.

TAUTFEST:
Randy filed an official report through mufon.com,

and I immediately knew,
after reading it, that this case

could be a very, very important
case to all of UFO history.

I first reached out to Randy
and interviewed him.

The next person
I spoke to was Philip Buchanan.

Philip was one
of the older children

at the school at the time.

And so he has one
of the more complete memories

of what transpired there and the
operations of the school itself.

And then I spoke
with the teacher via email.

And the teacher described
that some of the kids

were hiding under the beds

because they were
very terrified,

and some of the kids
were looking out the window.

They reported to see
shapeshifting entities

out there.

They just said,
"It keeps changing."

What Mindy found out,
after doing all that work,

is that these kids were
recalling the exact same thing.

As these witnesses were telling
their stories years later,

one of the things
Mindy asked them to do

was to actually draw
the UFO that they'd seen.

And the consistency is amazing.

And not only are they
telling the same story,

but they're describing
the same craft.

It shows us that
these old historic cases

still have something to offer.

YOUNG:
I think that, um, we need an organization like MUFON.

I think we need to have
a database for all these

different incidents, and I think
that we need to have, um,

as many eyes
and as many investigators

on this as possible.

We need to figure out
what's going on.

TAUTFEST: There's been a lot
of excitement around this story

because there were
a lot of things

that corroborated each other.

We find value
in all UFO reports.

And some of the older ones

serve to validate
some other sightings

that may be in our database.

And so the older historic cases
really have a lot of value

whenever it comes to ufology.

TSOUKALOS:
This cold case is one of the most fascinating cases

that MUFON's ever investigated

because students--

they had not spoken
to each other since 1975

and they all replied
with the same answers.

Which indicates
that something happened

and everybody saw
the same thing.

NARRATOR:
Each year, the Mutual UFO Network

receives approximately
10,000 reports of UFO phenomena.

While most involve sightings
of strange objects in the sky,

in some cases the witness claims

to have come face-to-face
with an alien entity.

A lot of people
that approach MUFON

have these stories of having
these personal encounters

with entities
that they can't explain.

But what we found over the years

is that there is
serious validity

to this phenomenon.

MARDEN:
We receive up to 150 reports per month

from the people who believe
that they have had

a missing time event,

they've had
a close encounter with a craft,

sometimes observed
nonhuman entities.

And we've worked
with members of the military,

we've worked
with medical doctors,

we've worked
with business owners--

credible people
who have a lot to lose.

NARRATOR:
One such encounter reported to MUFON

was made by trauma nurse
Earl Grey Anderson in 2016,

just weeks after he had joined
MUFON as a field investigator.

Earl was at his home
in Los Angeles

when his room
was suddenly illuminated

by a mysterious light.

Our room started filling
with light.

And it was a light
with no source.

It wasn't coming from an object
or a lamp or outside.

And the wall opened up.

I couldn't move.

I was paralyzed.

And that was when
I first started feeling afraid.

I saw these little
diminutive creatures.

You would call them
the-the small Greys.

It was almost like watching
a surgical team work.

There were these tubes
that they attached

to the top of my chest,

and I felt like they were
draining blood or-or energy,

- life force from me.
- (distorted screaming)

I was yelling in my mind,

and I was crying out
for them to stop.

But they were
not listening to me.

They pulled backwards,
out the same way they came in.

The wall, like, seemed to swirl,

almost like a little galaxy
in the room.

And it was back to normal,

except there was still light
in our room.

The light didn't fade for a good
five minutes with no source.

After the experience,

I didn't tell friends
and-and family.

I mean,
you're gonna feel skepticism

if somebody says that,
you know...

that you just became
a field investigator,

and I'm suddenly saying
that I was visited by E.T.s.

But it scared
the hell out of me.

NARRATOR:
Earl eventually reached out

to MUFON's
Experiencer Resource Team.

And after sharing his encounter,

he decided to become
a member of the ERT himself.

ANDERSON:
It was very, very helpful to have someone to listen.

And-and that's what I find

in my own dealings
with experiencers now.

The ERT is MUFON's--

it's-it's like
the compassionate wing of MUFON.

Like social workers
for experiencers.

NARRATOR:
By working closely with individuals

who claim to have been abducted,

MUFON has compiled
a wide range of data

on the experiencer phenomenon.

TAUTFEST: The data that we
collect is pretty interesting.

And we try to find patterns.

It's really kind of astounding,

whenever you break it down

and look
at the different commonalities

between these different
sightings or abductions.

MARDEN:
We used to think that abduction occurred only once.

But after years of research,

we've realized that individuals
are taken multiple times

over a lifetime.

We are gaining
a better understanding

of what is occurring.

NARRATOR:
With the volume of empirical data

that has been collected
over the years

related to mysterious sightings
and reported encounters,

is it possible that
extraterrestrial contact is,

in fact, taking place?

And if so,

are alien entities here
for our benefit

or for their own?

According to
ancient astronaut theorists,

both could be true.

Because they say
there is evidence

that Earth is being visited

by multiple alien species.

(siren wailing)

NARRATOR:
Shortly after 8:00 a.m.,

the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit

arrives at the home

of 36-year-old Scottish
computer engineer Gary McKinnon.

They are there
to arrest him on behalf

of the United States
Justice Department

for hacking
into top secret computers

at NASA and the Pentagon.

McKinnon not only
admits to the crime

but claims he uncovered evidence

that the U.S. government
was working

with extraterrestrial beings.

I was obsessed with UFOs.

I was dying to find out
the information.

The Internet was a real enabler

for finding out information, um,

by going to places
you shouldn't be in.

Because they were so open.

There were a lot of text files

and lists of places,
installations,

military bases, Air Force bases,
Navy sites, NASA sites.

So there was a lot
to go through.

But I did find
a gold mine of information.

NARRATOR:
According to McKinnon,

he unearthed a secret
U.S. military program

that existed entirely in space.

MCKINNON:
I found the spreadsheet.

It was actually titled
in the column

"Non-Terrestrial Officers."

As well as officers' names,
it had ship names.

None of these were
ocean-going ships.

It was astounding.
They're not Navy.

They're not in the Army.
And not even Air Force.

So, to me, I was thinking

it must be
an off-planet space force,

or space fleet, at least.

NARRATOR:
After McKinnon's arrest,

he was told the U.S. government

intended to sentence him
to 70 years in prison.

At the time, I thought
six months community service

was all you do for
Computer Misuse Act in Britain.

We fought extradition
for ten years

and we actually won the case.

But unfortunately today

the arrest warrant
is still live.

And I'm still
on the Interpol Red List.

So I can't travel.

NARRATOR:
Could it be

that Gary McKinnon's account

of what he saw
when he hacked into computers

at the Pentagon
and NASA is genuine?

Is the U.S. government engaged

in secret operations
beyond Earth?

I think Gary McKinnon
is truthful

and that he did see files
on secret space programs

and UFO-related material.

Whether that information
was legit

or was just
sitting there somewhere,

we can't say.

But there's no question
that he did

what he claimed to have done.

NARRATOR:
While there are many who question the authenticity

of Gary McKinnon's account,
other more notable figures

have since come forward
with similar claims.

In 2013,

former Canadian Minister
of National Defence

Paul Hellyer declared that

the United States government

and other governments
around the world

are working
with organized groups

of extraterrestrials.

Why do you say that UFOs are

as real as the airplanes

flying over our heads?

Well, because I know
that they are.

And they've been
visiting this planet

for thousands of years.

And there is what is called
a federation

of these people,
and they have rules.

DOLAN:
Paul Hellyer was a former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada

and a former
Minister of Defence of Canada.

He was able to talk to
a lot of important people

within the U.S.
and Canadian system.

And it was his opinion,

based on the sources that he had

that there are many groups
that are here visiting us.

NARRATOR:
Paul Hellyer is not the only government official

to come forward
with alleged knowledge

of a federation
of extraterrestrial races.

HYNEK:
Recently the former Israeli chief of space security

Haim Eshed came out and said

that there is
a galactic federation

and that indeed
many world leaders

know of and are in talks
with delegates

of the galactic federation.

I don't know
what to make of that claim.

But when you have
enough of them,

a pattern emerges,

and it starts to take
on a bit more gravitas

in functioning
as bona fide evidence.

CHILDRESS:
Dr. Haim Eshed claimed that the extraterrestrials

in this galactic federation

were in contact with governments
around the world.

It's a fascinating idea
and one that may well be true.

NARRATOR:
Should the sensational claims made by Paul Hellyer

and Haim Eshed be believed?

That close encounters
of the fifth kind are occurring

at the highest levels
of government around the world

and with entire factions
of extraterrestrial beings?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes and argue

that recent revelations
from world leaders

may be preparing mankind

for a groundbreaking event.

Full disclosure.

NARRATOR:
In today's world,

where cell phones are equipped
with high-definition cameras

and the Internet
makes it possible

to share videos in an instant,

average citizens have become
frontline reporters

on the UFO phenomenon.

New images and accounts
of unidentified phenomena

are posted online
nearly every day.

And UFO researchers say
the proof that extraterrestrials

are visiting Earth
is right before our eyes.

But they also suggest

the evidence
that's been accumulated

by the public
pales in comparison

to what
the United States government

has had in its possession
for decades.

Technology has changed so much

over the past 30, 40 years

that now it's possible

for regular Joe citizens

to be part
of this investigation.

The flip side of that
is, our military

has incredible censors that
watch everything that happens

on and around the Earth.

There's a gigantic storehouse
of information somewhere

that the public has
never been allowed to see.

TSOUKALOS:
World leaders and the governments think

that we, the people,
cannot handle the truth.

But in 2017,
when The New York Times

talked about the idea
that the U.S. government

actually is investigating
UAPs and UFOs,

you know, that story came

and people went
about their daily lives.

Why?

Just because you understand

that you're not alone
in the universe

does not change the fact
that you have to go to work,

you have to put
food on the table.

And the idea to be afraid
of extraterrestrials,

there's nothing
we can do anyway.

So why be afraid?

We should not be afraid because
they would have eliminated us

hundreds of years ago,

before we invented
nuclear weapons.

While there has been
much speculation

as to whether there are people
within the U.S. government

covering up the truth
about Earth's interactions

with alien visitors,

some researchers have proposed
that there may be

another authority
controlling the narrative.

It isn't humans
that are holding it back.

It's the extraterrestrial
biological entities

who said humans are not ready
for the introduction yet.

And that's what Haim Eshed said
even in television interviews.

They have said,

"Keep the information down
until we decide

"that you are technologically
advanced enough

to be introduced to us."

NARRATOR:
But many UFO researchers believe

that the truth is becoming
harder to hide,

and the day may be
rapidly approaching

when the public
will be introduced

to a profound new reality.

These public hearings

mark a U-turn
in U.S. government policy.

We've had decades
of debunking and denying

and playing
the whole thing down,

and now it's as if they're
putting it out there

in front of us all.

And one wonders, "Are they
preparing us for something?

"Are they laying the groundwork
for some big reveal

or some huge global event?"

It is a one day at a time

to walk towards what ultimately
will be complete disclosure.

NARRATOR: Are we
on the verge of discovering

that close encounters
with extraterrestrials

are not hypothetical
but have already taken place?

And is it possible

that alien contact is not just
a modern phenomenon

but has been happening
for thousands of years?

As more witnesses, experiencers

and government leaders
step forward,

perhaps we will soon learn,
once and for all,

that we are not alone.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS

Repair and Synchronization by
Easy Subtitles Synchronizer 1.0.0.0