The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released 20 pages of training materials concerning the collection, processing, and analysis of biological evidence following fatal aviation accidents. The records were released on October 12, 2023, in response to Freedom of Information Act request, which sought presentation slides and a syllabus for the training course Mass Fatalities for Medicolegal Professionals (TDA403). In its response, the FAA stated: “Presentation slides were discovered during the search for records pertaining to this request. No syllabus was found, all training in this course was derived from these slides as presented.” The released materials include presentations concerning the FAA’s…
Author: John Greenewald
Larry W. Bryant was a UFO researcher, writer, and government transparency advocate who pursued federal records through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). His work included efforts to obtain documents concerning unidentified flying objects, intelligence activities, and government accountability. Bryant also contributed to UFO Magazine, where he examined government records and controversies involving UFO research. His correspondence with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provides a historical record of his efforts to obtain information and challenge agency disclosure decisions. This collection, released by the CIA under FOIA case F-2021-02420, contains historical correspondence, administrative records, appeals, and other materials associated with Bryant’s…
Records released by the National Security Agency to The Black Vault in September 2025, and now being published online by The Black Vault, provide additional details about a 1992 Pentagon effort to examine Cold War reconnaissance losses and determine whether missing American personnel may have fallen into the hands of the Soviet Union, China or North Korea. The records include historical summaries of U.S. reconnaissance incidents and aircraft losses, along with a June 1992 memorandum concerning a Joint Staff effort to examine Cold War POW/MIA cases. Much of the history of the underlying reconnaissance incidents has been documented previously. The…
A newly obtained Central Intelligence Agency release provides a detailed look at the material prepared inside the U.S. government for the public rollout following the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, including internal talking points, an extensive question-and-answer package, public-affairs guidance and records documenting the expedited declassification of intelligence imagery. The 35-page responsive record was provided by the CIA in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by The Black Vault with the agency in August 2013. In its July 6, 2026, final response, the CIA said it had located the document in its “database of…
The 1980 presidential campaign between Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Republican challenger Ronald Reagan became the subject of a political controversy after it was revealed that Reagan’s campaign had obtained confidential materials prepared for Carter ahead of their nationally televised debate on October 28, 1980. The materials included briefing and strategy documents intended to help Carter prepare for his encounter with Reagan, which took place one week before the election. The controversy did not become public until 1983, more than two years after Reagan took office. Congressional investigations examined how Carter campaign documents reached Reagan’s campaign and whether they were…