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The Aurora Encounter.
UFO Crashes in early morning hours April, 1897.

10.01.2006

Page 2

· Mysterious Airship Sightings across the United States
· Airship Crashes near Aurora Texas, pilot killed

In 1973, a small, yet significant piece of metallic debris was found by an investigator from Corpus Christi, Texas which is unlike anything that could have been developed either then or now. The item was tested twice, once at a specialized aeronautics failure analysis lab which prefers to remain anonymous and a second time at Anastas Technical Services Laboratories, in Houston, Texas. Both studies reached the same results showing that the item had been 'there' for a "long, long time" and that it was composed of 95% aluminum and 5% iron. Iron and aluminum do not normally mix that way in nature. Also, iron normally contains zinc, and other materials of which there were none in this particular sample. The theory is that upon impact, the explosion resulted molten materials being flung away from the site. The structural analysis of the material showed that it was molten and then air cooled on the ground. This material which was found and analyzed in 1973 could not have been made at that time, on that farm, in the town of Aurora, or anywhere around there. It would have had to been made in a very sophisticated laboratory using ultra pure refining techniques which are typically found today. A second set of samples were sent to Dr. Tom Gray, a professor at Kansas State University. The set included an interesting stone-like article, which was identified as a water pump impeller. The other items were found to be mostly comprised of iron. Testing on the items resulted in a lack of magnetic attraction which could seem unusual. This is not the case as depending on how the iron is cooled, it may or may not have magnetic properties. These items are certainly what you might expect to find on a farm of that time period.

Alien Burial site The story includes that the spacecraft had a single occupant who was found dead. The town folk had a Christian burial for the badly mangled body in the Aurora Texas Cemetery. At the time, an interesting looking headstone was found which could have been the marker for the burial site. Using metal detectors, investigators discovered that they got the same decibel reading from the grave site as they did where they found the mysterious Aurora fragment. The fact that they detected metal in the grave indicated that someone must have buried the metal fragment from the crash site along with the body. This gives the grave site more importance as it shows a direct relationship between the 2 locations. A certified letter was sent to each member of the cemetery association requesting to exhume the body. The association was dead set against this from happening and had the Wise County Sheriff post deputies at the cemetery to prevent any excavation from happening. MUFON suffered a crushing blow to their efforts due to the 2 week delay; the headstone had been removed along with the metal that had been previously detected as metal detectors were no longer able locate any metallic debris at the burial site. According to experts, someone had managed to drive a three inch pipe into the ground and then removed the metal debris from the ground.

Legendary status Like the 1947 Roswell story, the legend describing the Encounter at Aurora has grown over the years. Skeptics challenge the story and the investigation seeking to disprove the research by organizations like MUFON and the International UFO Bureau. The anti UFO stories range from saying it was a hot air balloon to the idea that the story was merely a publicity stunt to save a dying town. The most prevalent being the hot air balloon theory. Unfortunately for the naysayer, there is physically no way it could have been a balloon. There are no balloons that can rise or fall with lightening speed, they can't turn right angles or go vertically up or down. Due to the detailed descriptions of the airships available at the time, it is unlikely that it was a balloon as that should have been easily recognized as such by any of the multiple viewers that had seen this particular airship all across the state as well as the nation. The secondary belief is that the story was concocted by the author of the original Dallas Morning News article of April 19, 1897. S. E. Hayden had a reputation as a great practical joker and a hoaxster. Jim Marrs, an investigative journalist reports that he has found no hard evidence supporting this idea nor has he found any article written by Mr. Hayden that turned out to be wrong. If Hayden was acting as a reporter, as opposed to a hoaxster, why wouldn't he follow up the story with a line or two saying that people showed up for the funeral service?

Barbara Brammer, the Mayor of Aurora, Texas has spent many years researching the town's history and believes she may have the answer to the Aurora legend. According to her, the legend's roots can be traced to after several disasters suffered by the town. In the 1850's, the location known as Aurora began as center of trade for area residents. The rapidly growing area was incorporated in 1882, and opened a Postal Office in 1883. By the Mid 1880's, the thriving young city had 2 schools, several business's and a population that would grow to nearly 3000. In the late 1880's, a massive outbreak of spotted fever nearly wiped out the remaining population, led to the entire town being placed under house arrest followed by a max exit of the masses. In the early 1890's Burlington Northern Railroad was scheduled to run through Aurora which provided a glimmer of hope. A spur was begun in the direction of Aurora and another railroad coming from the west was to tie into the spur. The westerly rail only made it to within 27 miles of Aurora before it was stopped becoming known as the "Railroad that never was". The town also suffered a brutal bole weevil infestation which destroyed Aurora's cash crop~ cotton. After that, a major fire on the west side of the town destroyed several buildings and killed many of the citizens. This string of events led up to an economically crippled town and the spirits of the residents was crushed and the population would never recover but is growing at a slight rate the early 1990's. The once thriving community of Aurora Texas began a downhill trek at this time which could be the reason for creating such a story in an effort to boost local moral and bring some new interest in the community.

Aurora Newspaper Article

Related: Roswell UFO 1947

Aurora UFO Image library

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