Archives On The Air 218: Unidentified Flying Objects — Jack D. Pickett Papers

By Wyoming Public Media

Published October 19, 2020 at 9:34 PM MDT

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A depiction of what one of the U.S. Air Force's disc shaped aircraft might have looked like, February 2003. Box 1, Jack D. Pickett papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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A depiction of what one of the U.S. Air Force's disc shaped aircraft might have looked like, February 2003. Box 1, Jack D. Pickett papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Sketches of a jet disc aircraft made by Jack D. Pickett. Box 1, Jack D. Pickett papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Sketches of a jet disc aircraft made by Jack D. Pickett. Box 1, Jack D. Pickett papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Most UFO sightings can be attributed to weather balloons, blimps or satellites. Often, it’s a simple case of mistaken identity.

But can the mystery of flying saucers be based in the military?

Jack Pickett believed so. Pickett argued that sightings of UFOs were actually experimental aircraft flown by the military.

In 1967 he had a personal experience with four flying saucer shaped aircraft. They were parked on a runway at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. And they were clearly marked with the logo of the U.S. Air Force.

Pickett used the Freedom of Information Act to attempt to get photos to support what he had seen. Ultimately information about the planes remained a military secret.

The purpose of the saucer shaped planes remains a mystery.

See Pickett’s article about flying saucers in the Jack D. Pickett papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.