UFO Talker

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What Did Captain Thomas Mantell Chase? An Interview With His Grandson, Terry Mantell
This week, UFO Talker returns to one of the most important—and tragic—cases from the early history of the UFO phenomenon.
Originally released as Season 1, Episode 21, on January 18, 2023, this episode features an in-depth interview with Terry Mantell, grandson of Captain Thomas F. Mantell.
On January 7, 1948, military personnel at Godman Army Airfield in Kentucky observed an unidentified object in the sky. Captain Mantell, a decorated Second World War pilot serving with the Kentucky Air National Guard, was asked to investigate while flying a P-51 Mustang near the area.
Mantell climbed in pursuit of the object, but his aircraft crashed near Franklin, Kentucky. He was only 25 years old. The case made headlines around the world and became one of the earliest and most consequential military UFO encounters in American history.
Terry Mantell discusses the man behind the famous case: a courageous D-Day pilot, husband and father whose family spent decades searching for answers about his death. We examine Mantell’s distinguished wartime service, his extensive flying experience and the profound effect his loss had on his wife, children and mother.
The episode also explores:
The official timeline of the January 7, 1948, encounter.
The numerous military personnel who observed the object from the Godman control tower.
Mantell’s final reported radio transmissions.
Conflicting accounts of why his two wingmen ended their climb.
The absence of statements from those wingmen in the released Air Force documents.
Early claims that Mantell had been pursuing the planet Venus.
The later theory that the object was a classified Skyhook balloon.
Questions concerning whether any Skyhook balloon was actually launched that day.
The controversial 1996 account of control-tower witness Quentin Blackwell.
Blackwell’s claim that Mantell ordered his wingmen to return for aircraft with “hot guns.”
His description of an enormous structured object with what appeared to be observation windows.
The Mantell family’s belief that important information was withheld from them.
This episode does not claim to provide a definitive identification of the object. Instead, it examines the contradictions, missing testimony and unanswered questions that have prevented the Mantell Encounter from being comfortably resolved.
At the heart of the story is a family that lost a son, husband and father while he was serving his country—and which is still waiting for answers.
Originally broadcast: January 18, 2023
Original episode: Season 1, Episode 21
Summer “Best Of” repeat release: September 2, 2026
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Female announcer:  Joy Ryan
Male announcer: Andrew Helbig
The National UFO Records Center link here
Christine Scott's Centennial Books 1230 Broad Street. Regina, Sask.

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SUMMER “BEST OF” REPEAT SERIES
Season 3, Episode 5 — Originally aired November 7, 2024
Two aircraft. Two encounters near Gander International Airport. Three experienced pilots—and an unidentified object that appeared to pace their aircraft.
In this summer repeat, Michael Ryan and commentator Christine Scott revisit a remarkable series of UFO encounters over central Newfoundland in October 1974, documented in the files of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
On the night of October 10, 1974, John Breen was flying a Cessna back to Gander from Deer Lake with passenger Janice Gould when they noticed a mysterious green luminous object below the aircraft. Breen was not only a pilot but also an air traffic controller at Gander International Airport.
For approximately 25 minutes, the strange light appeared to pace the Cessna—moving ahead, dropping behind and returning beneath the aircraft. Breen even switched off his own aviation lights to make sure they weren't responsible for what he was seeing.
As the Cessna approached Gander, Breen contacted air traffic control. Controllers attempted to locate the object and a target appeared on Gander radar for two sweeps before disappearing. According to the RCMP report, the target did not appear on the radar screen as an aircraft.
But the story wasn't over.
In the early morning hours of October 11, the captain and co-pilot of a Capital Airlines DC-8 descending toward Gander International Airport encountered another unidentified object.
This time the object displayed flashing red and white lights and flew alongside the DC-8 for approximately five to seven minutes. It would move slightly ahead of the jet before returning alongside it—the same strange pacing behaviour reported during the Cessna encounter.
Both pilots stated that, in their opinion, the object was not an aircraft. Air traffic control did not detect another target during this second encounter.
Authorities connected with the early-warning defence system at Goose Bay were notified, and the RCMP report was ultimately forwarded to the National Research Council in Ottawa.
What were these objects? And why did two different aircraft encounter something displaying remarkably similar behaviour near the same major international airport within hours of one another?
Michael and Christine examine the evidence and the intriguing details preserved in the original RCMP files.
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Female announcer:  Joy Ryan
Male announcer: Andrew Helbig
The National UFO Records Center link here
Christine Scott's Centennial Books 1230 Broad Street. Regina, Sask.

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Originally released as Season 3, Episode 17 on February 19, 2025.
Three women reported seeing an enormous UFO hovering over their Calgary apartment complex on January 2, 1975. According to statements taken by the RCMP, the silent grey craft approached from the distance before stopping approximately 350 feet above them.
Using the apartment building as a reference, the investigating officer estimated that the object may have measured approximately 180 feet long and 120 feet wide. The witnesses described brilliant lights around the craft and an unusual tan, Y-shaped marking across its underside.
The encounter became even stranger when the women reported that the normally populated area seemed strangely deserted. One witness screamed and jumped up and down as a man walked past, yet he apparently failed to notice either her distress or the massive object overhead.
Michael Ryan and commentator Christine Scott examine whether this disturbing sense of isolation could represent the “Oz Factor”—a sensation of altered reality sometimes reported during close UFO encounters. They also consider whether the witnesses may have experienced missing time.
Also featured in this episode:
• A 1963 Royal Canadian Air Force memo concerning Project Magnet and Canadian UFO researcher Wilbert B. Smith
• Reports of mysterious lights observed by pilots over Western Canada
• The unusual illnesses reported by former workers at Area 51
• A discussion of the important role the RCMP played in investigating Canadian UFO reports
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Support the show
To buy UFO Talker merchandise follow this link here.
Female announcer:  Joy Ryan
Male announcer: Andrew Helbig
The National UFO Records Center link here
Christine Scott's Centennial Books 1230 Broad Street. Regina, Sask.

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Season 4 Episode 12 — Originally Aired December 3, 2025
Why was the Canadian military so interested in a UFO sighting over the tiny hamlet of Vidora, Saskatchewan?
In this episode of UFO Talker, Michael Ryan and Christine Scott examine a remarkable 1967 RCMP case involving multiple witnesses who observed two mysterious aerial objects over two separate nights. One witness reported that the brilliant orange object flew just 20 to 30 feet above the ground, appeared to pace his vehicle, and illuminated the inside of his car with an intense light.
As Michael and Christine dig through original RCMP correspondence, an even bigger mystery begins to emerge. Why were senior RCMP officers forwarding these reports directly to the Department of National Defence? Why was a high-ranking Canadian military officer acknowledging receipt of the information for inclusion in a "master sighting file?"And what exactly was the Canadian military's role in investigating UFO reports during the 1960s?
Using primary source RCMP documents, the hosts connect the Vidora incident with other historic Canadian UFO cases, including the Putnam and Stephen Michalak encounters, raising fascinating questions about what Canadian authorities may already have known.
Also in this episode, Christine reviews Ralph Blumenthal's acclaimed biography The Believer, exploring the life and work of Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack, whose groundbreaking research into alien abduction experiences challenged conventional thinking and sparked one of Harvard University's most controversial investigations.
Plus:
A bizarre glowing red ring photographed over northern Italy.
Continuing reports of mysterious drone incursions over European military bases.
A listener shout-out to Huntsville, Ontario.
Canadian Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) incidents from across Canada.
If you enjoy historical UFO investigations built around original government documents rather than speculation, this is an episode you won't want to miss.
#UFO #UAP #CanadianMilitary #RCMP #Vidora #Saskatchewan #UFOTalker #JohnMack #TheBeliever #RalphBlumenthal #HistoricalUFOs #UFOInvestigation #GovernmentDocuments #AlienAbduction #CanadianHistory #Podcast
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To buy UFO Talker merchandise follow this link here.
Female announcer:  Joy Ryan
Male announcer: Andrew Helbig
The National UFO Records Center link here
Christine Scott's Centennial Books 1230 Broad Street. Regina, Sask.

Send us Fan Mail
The UFO Case That Silenced Airline Pilots
What happens when a respected airline captain publicly reports a UFO... and refuses to change his story?
In this Summer "Best Of" repeat from Season 2, Episode 16, Michael Ryan and Christine Scott revisit one of the most significant—and often overlooked—cases in UFO history.
On the night of February 24, 1959, Captain Peter Killian and the crew of American Airlines Flight 937 watched three mysterious objects pace their DC-6 for more than half an hour as they flew from Newark to Detroit. Other airline crews confirmed the sighting, passengers were invited to look out the windows, and the story made headlines across North America.
But when official explanations failed to satisfy the witnesses, something changed.
Many researchers believe the Killian Incident marked the beginning of a new era—one in which commercial airline pilots became increasingly reluctant to speak publicly about UFO encounters. Was this simply another unexplained sighting, or did it fundamentally change the relationship between aviation and the UFO phenomenon?
Join Michael and Christine as they examine the original reports, the Air Force response, Donald Keyhoe's involvement, and why this remarkable case still matters more than sixty-five years later.
Also in this episode:
UFO books that make great additions to any library
A "Moment in UFO History" featuring pioneering investigator Anne Druffel
Canadian Civil Aviation Anomalies
An audio excerpt from Humanoids and High Strangeness: Twenty True UFO Encounters by Preston Dennett
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Support the show
To buy UFO Talker merchandise follow this link here.
Female announcer:  Joy Ryan
Male announcer: Andrew Helbig
The National UFO Records Center link here
Christine Scott's Centennial Books 1230 Broad Street. Regina, Sask.