What are the most interesting cases for ufologists to study?
The most important cases for learning more about UFOs are those with multiple witnesses and reports in which the UFO leaves some sort of physical trace or effect. Physical trace cases involving ground markings or electromagnetic effects are called Close Encounters of the Second Kind (CE-2s). When a UFO is observed visually and picked up by radar simultaneously, this case is cataloged as a Radar-Visual (R-V) sighting.
One of the most famous CE-2 cases occurred in 1971, at Delphos, Kansas, where a teenage boy, Ronald Johnson, saw an illuminated object hover near the ground. After the object flew off, a glowing ring appeared on the spot. Analysis showed that the soil had undergone considerable physical and chemical changes that lasted for several months.
The most famous R-V case took place in 1952 over Washington, D.C., where air traffic controllers tracked UFOs while an Air Force pilot reported strange lights were encircling his aircraft. Air Force intelligence explained that the radar images and the strange lights were caused by temperature inversions, an explanation many scientists reject as improbable.
Another fascinating R-V case occurred on July 17, 1957. An Air Force bomber, an RB-47, was followed by a UFO for 700 miles across four states as it flew from Mississippi to Oklahoma. For an hour and a half the object was seen by the flight crew, detected by the aircraft's electronic gear, and tracked by ground radar. Because of the multiple witnesses, radar confirmation, and the duration of the sighting, most UFO researchers rule out misperception and radar malfunction. The RB-47 case is still unexplained.
Recently, the most significant Radar-Visual cases have come from Belgium where triangular-shaped UFOs were seen by military personnel and civilians and detected on military radar. The Belgian Air Force has publicly aired recordings of radar trackings that show objects making fantastic maneuvers at incredibly high speeds that are far beyond the capabilities of conventional aircraft.