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37 Whether at a high or low altitude, a balloon could not have escaped the pilot's eyes. It would also have continued to be seen at Godman Field and other points, through WW totoa 1 1 "I figured it out. The timing device went off and the balloon exploded. That's why the pilot didn't see it." last report." 3. No instruments were returned to the Navy from this region. And ail balloons and instruments released at that time were fully accounted for. Even if it had been a balloon, it would not explain the /ater January 7th reports--the simultaneous sightings mentioned by Professor Hynek in the Project "Saucer" report. This includes the thing seen at Lockbourne Air Force Base two hours after Mantell's tow death. Obviously, the saucer seen flying at 500 m.p.h. over Lockbourne Field could not have been a balloon. Even if there had been several balloons in this area (and there were not, by official record), they could not have covered the courses reported. In some cases, they would have been flying against the wind, at terrific speed. black out. Since some explanation had to be given, this might seem a good answer. But Mantell was known for coolheaded judgment. As a wartime pilot, he was familiar with signs of anoxia (oxygen starvation). That he knew his tolerance for altitude is proved by his firmly declared {p. 43} those few minutes. A search covering a hundred miles failed to reveal a trace. occasional breaks in the clouds. I pointed out these facts to one Air Force officer at the Pentagon. Next day he phoned me: "It's an odd coincidence," I said, "that it exploded in those five minutes after Mantell's "Even so, it's obviously the answer," he said. Checking on this angle, I found: 1. No one in the Kentucky area had reported a descending parachute. 2. No cosmic-ray research instrument case or parachute was found in the area. Then what was the mysterious object? And what killed Mantell? Both the Air Force and the Post articles speculate that Mantell carelessly let himself