The Aztec UFO Crash of 1948: A Comprehensive Overview

In March 1948, an unidentified flying saucer allegedly crashed or landed in Hart Canyon, about 12 miles northeast of Aztec, New Mexico. Journalist Frank Scully, a Variety magazine columnist, first publicized this story in 1949 and later in his 1950 book Behind the Flying Saucers. Scully claimed that a 99-foot diameter metallic disk was recovered by the U.S. military, and that 16 small humanoid bodies were found at the site. According to Scully’s account (supplied by his sources), the military quickly removed the craft and bodies in secrecy, initiating one of the earliest UFO crash retrieval tales.

Photo by Michael Herren