Background
In 1995 a chunk of metal fell from an unknown “craft” flying overhead. The bizarre event as described by the chief investigator, Joe Stets, follows.
“The event happened in the summer of 1995 about 40 miles east of Columbus in Hopewell, Ohio. The witness was going out to get the mail when he heard what sounded like metal grinding on metal. He looked around but didn’t see anything. Still hearing the sounds he looked up and sighted “a craft”. This craft was “primitive looking”. Very squarish and silent. He estimated it to be 300′ long with a “wing of 100′. It had a canard wing in front with a span of 50′. It was slightly South of his position. The “wing ” being the closest to him.
It was traveling East to West at an altitude “so low I could have hit it with a rock”. There were no structures on the surface. No aerodynamic shape. A very box like shape. No windows or other indication of viewing areas.
As he watched he heard something hit the ground near him. He didn’t see anything released from “the craft”. He didn’t see any trace of smoke or trouble with the craft. He didn’t see the object hit the ground. He was standing on the South side of a ridge of hills on a driveway leading to the family home. Hidden Spring Road is on the North side of the ridge and runs West to East. This is in the same area as Flint Ridge State Park. The driveway runs from the road due South over the top of the ridge turning South South East to the home.
The witness stated he had to look around the area to find the specimen. It was sitting off the road in a dirt area that was very moist. The sample was misplaced until recently.”
The objective is to examine the sample using infrared spectroscopy2, XRD 3 (X-ray Diffraction) for crystalline material, and EDS4 (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) elemental analysis, to determine the composition of the metal fragment. A photograph of the metal chunk taken by Joe Stets follows:
Conclusions
- The analysis shows the sample is an aluminum alloy with a density of ca. 2.8±0.5 g/cc. This value falls into the range for aluminum alloys (2.7 g/cc).5 It is a high purity alloy with only silicon detected. The aluminum is covered with environmental debris, such as mineral silicates and carbonates, which are common components found in dirt. Oxidation of the aluminum on the outer surface is suggested.
- The high purity of the aluminum alloy shows it is not an industrial grade. It should also be added that this is not an unknown alloy. The metal can be categorized as a wrought 4000 type alloy because silicon is the only other element detected.6,7 The grades in the 4000 series are commonly used for welding wire and as cladding alloys for brazing sheet.
- The alloy could possibly have resulted from a broken weld in a conventional aircraft suffering a mechanical problem. Wrought alloys of a 4000 type are used for welding in the aircraft industry. 9 If not, its source remains unknown.
- No radiation above background was detected from the metal.
The Analysis
Addendum
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This post was published on November 8, 2016