What did the declassified documents reveal?

The Roswell Incident, released in 2015, is a document detailing the results of a search for records concerning the 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico. The document was released by the United States General Accounting Office, and its canonical PDF is available at documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/ns95187.pdf. This document was released in response to a request by the Honorable Steven H. Schiff, House of Representatives, to determine the requirements for reporting air accidents similar to the crash near Roswell and to identify any government records concerning the Roswell crash. The search for records was conducted by the General Accounting Office and examined a wide range of classified and unclassified documents dating from July 1947 through the 1950s. According to the report, on July 8, 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field public information office in Roswell, New Mexico, reported the crash and recovery of a "flying disc." Army Air Forces personnel from the RAAF's 509th Bomb Group were credited with the recovery. The following day, the press reported that the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Air Force, Fort Worth, Texas, announced that RAAF personnel had recovered a crashed radar-tracking balloon, not a "flying disc." The report notes that Army regulations required that air accident reports be maintained permanently, but no such report was found for the Roswell crash. The Air Force Safety Agency was responsible for maintaining reports of air accidents, and its microfilm records were examined to determine whether any air accidents had been reported in New Mexico during July 1947. Four air accidents were identified, all of which involved military fighter or cargo aircraft and occurred after July 8, 1947. The report also notes that some government records covering RAAF activities had been destroyed, and others had not. For example, RAAF administrative records and RAAF outgoing messages were destroyed, and the document disposition form does not indicate what organization or person destroyed the records and when or under what authority the records were destroyed. The search for records yielded two records originating in 1947, a July 1947 history report by the combined 509th Bomb Group and RAAF, and an FBI teletype message dated July 8, 1947. The 509th-RAAF report noted the recovery of a "flying disc" that was later determined by military officials to be a radar-tracking balloon. The FBI message stated that the military had reported that an object resembling a high-altitude weather balloon with a radar reflector had been recovered near Roswell. This report is part of the ongoing investigation into the Roswell incident and provides insight into the search for records and the findings of the General Accounting Office. This is what the public record looks like at its most ordinary. storyflo.com https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/ns95187.pdf

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.

Case · DAILY-038

The Roswell Incident

JUL 6 · 2026Narrated by daily-declassified-the-roswell-incident4 minLast updated July 6, 2026

The short version

The Roswell Incident, released in 2015, is a document detailing the results of a search for records concerning the 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico. pdf. This document was released in response to a request by the Honorable Steven H.

Date: JUL 6 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)

↯ Dispatch — press play

0:003:41

↯ Share

X in r/

Episode notes

The Roswell Incident, released in 2015, is a document detailing the results of a search for records concerning the 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico. The document was released by the United States General Accounting Office, and its canonical PDF is available at…

Questions about this case

What was The Roswell Incident about?: The Roswell Incident, released in 2015, is a document detailing the results of a search for records concerning the 1947 crash near Roswell, New Mexico. pdf. This document was released in response to a request by the Honorable Steven H.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

✉ Dispatches

A short dispatch when a new file is released — narrated, answer-first, and linked straight to the primary source. No spam; unsubscribe anytime.

↯ Subscribe to the feed

RSS feed Browse all cases

Questions about this case

Get the next declassified case in your inbox