Art's radio network engineer later reported that the network's communication satellite lost 50 channels (including Art's feed) at that moment, possibly due to a "lost earth sensor" (so it no longer pointed to the earth station).

Art reported that the telephone conversation continued off the air for about a minute, when the caller "screamed" and "screeched" and the telephone connection went dead. Art also reported that his Web site registered 5 million hits just after the outage.

Later, a Tucson caller who he said worked for Hughes (which Art said supplies microwave systems to Area 51) reported that his computer memory and electronic watch were zapped at the same time that the broadcast went dead, and suggested both events may have been caused by a cloud-reflected EMP (electromagnetic pulse, which are created by nuclear explosions or by special EMP generator).