<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

In UFO Crash Retrieval cases, a UFO reportedly crashes and the remains (of the craft and/or occupants) are recovered (usually by a government).

If crash retrieval stories are true, they would prove that there is a technological reality behind UFOs and that the technology is vulnerable to failure. If the technology could be analyzed and be shown to be of non-terrestrial origin, that would prove the ETH (Extraterrestrial Hypothesis). Conceivably, devices recovered from a craft could be examined and possibly recreated (a process called reverse engineering: starting from a completed object and figuring out how it was built).

Conversely, there are several theories as to why there would be false UFO retrieval stories:

• The stories are made up deliberately to hoax the public
• The stories are cover stories for other activities, such as the recovery of secret craft
• The stories are created to suggest confirmation for the ETH, when another less traditional hypothesis is believed (perhaps a psychic explanation, which might be more frightening for people)
• It's the alleged crash that is important, to make people believe that aliens are capable of failure, and therefore less of a threat

The most famous example is The Roswell Incident (New Mexico, 1947). While it eventually became very well known, it was a flash in the pan at the time. Stories go back at least as far as 1897 (Aurora, Texas) and have continued into the 2000s.

There is an annual UFO Crash Retrieval Conference, and other events discuss the issue as well.

To see more information on individual cases, please click the UFO Crash Retrieval category link at the bottom of this article.