An artist's rendering of a UFO close encounter of the second kind. Depositphotos.

The Levelland UFO, a Close Encounter of the Second Kind

It is one of the most famous mass-sightings of a UFO, and it was a close encounter of the second kind.

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UFOs have become a highly-debated topic in recent months, and a lot of things have happened positively for the UFO community and people who have supported it for years. We now have NASA officially studying the phenomenon, despite in the past denying it was, and it would ever do so. We have the US Congress speaking about how it is very likely that UFOs are extraterrestrial technology and, of course, the Pentagon’s latest, rebranded UFO office, which is actively studying UFOs/UAP, including transmedium vehicles. And now that we have people in the scientific community who are applying the scientific method when studying the phenomenon, it is worth looking back at some of the most amazing UFO reports throughout the last few decades. In this occasion, I will look back at the so-called Levelannd UFO close encounter of the second kind. (Access the declassified Project Blue Book report about the Levelland UFO by clicking here).


In 1957, Levelland, Texas, was the site of one of the most baffling and most publicized close encounters of the second kind. Based on declassified documents, the event triggered more than 300 reports over six days, where people rushed in to report what they had seen. Incredibly, their accounts of the event seemed to all match up. A number of respectable witnesses have spoken out about the Levelland encounter, as it became known. These include several Levelland police officers who saw the UFO on November 2, 1957. At approximately 11:00 pm on November 2, 1957, patrolman A. J. Fowler was on desk duty when he received the first of fifteen frantic phone calls that would make the night one that he would never forget.

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Approximately four miles west of Levelland, Pedro Saucedo and Joe Salaz were driving Pedro’s pickup truck when they noticed a brightly lighted object moving their way. Pedro’s car’s engine began sputtering as the object approached, and the lights went out. Eventually, the car came to a halt. They had witnessed firsthand the effect of a UFO. Eventually, the two gentlemen would attempt to report the sighting and what had happened. Still, the call was dismissed by officer Fowler, who thought the men were hallucinating and were likely under the influence of alcohol.

Fowler, however, receives a second call from a person who only calls himself Mr. W shortly thereafter. In the middle of the road, the man encountered an egg-shaped object that was brilliantly illuminated when he was driving near Whitharral, about four miles east of Levelland. His engine shut down, and his headlights failed. In a matter of seconds, the object silently lifted up to about 200 feet and disappeared. He was terrified. Once his car had started again, he sped off to call Fowler.

But this was not it. This time, Fowler receives a call from a man traveling 11 miles north of Levelland who spotted an unusual flying craft landing there. Likewise, his car stalled, and he watched the object for a short period of time before it arose and disappeared. As soon as the craft left, his car started, and he drove away and called the police. At this point, Fowler knew something was going on. As a teenager, Newell Wright, 19, was driving in his car 9 miles east of Levelland when the engine of his car cut out and his headlights went out.

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Suddenly, he noticed a vivid object on the pavement ahead of him after stopping his car and checking for loose wires under the hood. His description of the object was that it was about 125 feet long and bluish-green in color. He tried to restart his car again, but it wouldn’t start. As he sat in his car, he hoped another vehicle would pass by. But this did not happen.

He waited in his car for a few minutes until the object silently rose and disappeared into thin air. As the student feared making a report, he waited until his parents returned home from a trip before informing his parents. Afterward, they urged him to report his observations. During that interview, he gave a statement to the Sheriff’s office, and his report was included in Project Blue Book for the US Air Force.

And the story does not end there. Deputy Fowler receives another call. It came from a man in a phone booth near Whitharral, who noticed an object sitting in the middle of the road while driving 9 miles north of Levelland. As with all the other drivers, his engine failed to start, but after the craft took off, it started again. It was at this point that Fowler became curious and concerned, so he called the other patrol cars nearby and relayed what he heard from different callers.

As he later explained, there was “something odd” going on. Two officers radioed in within a few minutes that they had seen two different flying objects with extremely bright lights but that their engines had not yet caused any problems. Near the location of Saucedo’s initial sighting, a man driving west of Levelland catches sight of a large orange ball approaching. In his testimony, the man describes this unknown craft softly landing about a quarter-mile away from the road. Moreover, this driver shared an interesting piece of information. Upon landing on the road, the orange craft turned bluish-green.

The craft also covered the entire road width. The glow from the craft illuminated the cab of his truck after the craft landed, and he sat there after the engine of his truck also failed. Eventually, the craft lifted off and departed. Despite not making a report at the time of the sighting, this individual filed one the following day. Fowler eventually receives two law enforcement officers’ reports of the object’s sighting. Deputy McCullough and Sheriff Clem, who were receiving constant updates from Fowler, noticed a “large, glowing object” passing across the highway. Using Fowler’s radio calls, the two officers made an attempt to track the object.

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When the object passed over the highway, both officers described it as looking like a large, red sun illuminating the path beneath. And this is where de reports to Folwer end. The unusual craft was seen by at least 15 observers, Fowler would later state. According to him, some of them were extremely scared, and some were legitimately excited. As a result of the unusually large number of witnesses to the Levelland events, the theory that an unusual craft was in that area for at least 2 1/2 hours only gained more support. It is one of the most convincing cases of a UFO encounter because of the dramatic reports of the landings on the road.

Despite investigations, the event was never explained. Check out an interview with one of the witnesses below. If the video is not showing, click here. (Access the declassified Project Blue Book report about the Levelland UFO by clicking here).


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Written by Ivan Petricevic

I've been writing passionately about ancient civilizations, history, alien life, and various other subjects for more than eight years. You may have seen me appear on Discovery Channel's What On Earth series, History Channel's Ancient Aliens, and Gaia's Ancient Civilizations among others.

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