“Levelland is an oil and cotton town, population about 10,000, located in northwest Texas 32 miles west of Lubbock, in plains country. Early on November 3 its sheriff, Weir Clem, suddenly found himself cast into national prominence following a rapid series of nightmarish reports.

At 10:50 p.m. Officer A. J. Fowler received a phone call from a "terrified" farm hand, Pedro Saucedo. He and a friend, Joe Salaz, were driving on Route 116 about 4 miles west of Levelland when they saw a flash of light in a field. "We didn't think much about it," Saucedo said, "but then it rose up out of the field and started toward us, picking up speed. When it got nearer, the lights of my truck went out and the motor died. I jumped out and hit the deck as the thing passed directly over the truck with a great sound and a rush of wind. It sounded like thunder, and my truck rocked from the blast. I felt a lot of heat."

When the object had passed, Saucedo got up and watched it go out of sight toward Levelland. It was "torpedo-shaped, like a rocket," and about 200 feet long. As the UFO moved into the distance, the truck lights came back on. Saucedo was able to start the truck and drive to a telephone. Ptn. Fowler thought his caller was drunk and shrugged off the report.

About an hour later, the phone rang again. Jim Wheeler, driving on Route 116 about 4 miles east of town had come upon a 200- foot egg-shaped thing sitting on the road. The brightly lit object cast a glare over the area. As he approached the object, his lights and motor died. When Wheeler started to get out of his car, the UFO rose into the sky. As its light blinked out, the car lights came back on.

Another call came from Jose Alvarez at Whitharral, 11 miles north of town. Driving on Route 51, he had approached a similar glowing object on the road and his motor and lights had failed.

At 12:05 a.m., Newell Wright (who did not report the experience until the next day, and then only at his parents' urging) had "motor trouble" while driving toward Levelland on Route 116 from the east. His ammeter began jumping, the motor gradually died, then the lights went out. Puzzled, Wright got out and lifted the hood to check his battery and wires. Finding nothing wrong, he closed the hood and turned around. For the first time, he noticed an oval object sitting on the road ahead of the car. The object appeared to be over 100 feet long, and was glowing a bluish-green. Frightened, Wright jumped in the car and frantically tried to get it started, without success. Then he sat helplessly watching the object, hoping someone would drive up. After several minutes, the UFO rose "almost straight up," veered to the north, and disappeared almost instantly. The car then started without difficulty.

Meanwhile, another telephone report was made at 12:15 a.m. Frank Williams had encountered a similar object on the road close to the position where Alvarez had seen it. He also experienced motor and headlight failure. The light from the UFO was pulsating steadily on and off; each time it came on, Williams' lights went out. Finally it rose swiftly with a noise like thunder, and disappeared. Then the car functioned normally.

By this time, Sheriff Clem and other police officers had begun searching the roads around Levelland, as reports continued to come in. At 12:45 a.m., Ronald Martin saw a glowing reddish UFO descend and land on Route 116 ahead of his truck, then turn to bluish-green. The electrical system of the truck failed. When the object took off, it turned reddish again.

About 1:15 a.m., James Long encountered a glowing egg-shaped object on a farm-to-market highway just north of town. His engines and lights failed. Then the object rose quickly and sped away.

About 1:30 a.m., Sheriff Clem and his deputy were searching on the same road. Near where Long had seen the UFO, Clem saw an oval light "like a brilliant red sunset" streak across the road about 300 yards ahead of his car, lighting up the pavement. Fire Marshal Ray Jones, farther to the north, had a similar experience sometime after 1:00 a.m.; his lights dimmed and motor "almost died, then started up again."

The Pettit incident, same night, was uncovered during an investigation by NICAP member James Lee. Two grain combines, each with two engines, failed as a UFO was observed passing.

An impressive feature of these reports is that the witnesses (in most eases) were going about their business when the UFOs intruded upon the scene. There is no evidence that the witnesses were searching the sky or otherwise expecting to see anything unusual. Their independent reports told a consistent story.”

CBS Newscast of November 3, 1957, extract:

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"Folks in Levelland, Texas are worried about strange objects in their neighborhood. Sheriff Weir Clem says he has received several reports of a strange, egg-shaped object, about 200 feet long, landing on farms and highways last night in the vicinity of Levelland."

"Sheriff Clem said he even got a glimpse of this thing, which somehow switched off lights and auto engines when it came near. The Sheriff said lights and engines worked fine again after the thing went away."

"This is Bob Pierpoint in Washington."

At 10:30 p.m. came the report from truck driver Pedro Saucedo, who described seeing a blue torpedo-shaped object with yellow flame and white smoke coming out of its rear. He estimated it was 200 feet (60 meters) long and 6 feet (2 meters) wide. His truck lights and engine failed while the UFO was in view; after it disappeared, his lights worked perfectly, and he was able to re-start the engine.


At Pettit, Texas, 10 miles (16 km) to the northwest, two grain combines failed as a UFO flew past: "shortly before midnight, Jim Wheeler reported seeing a large 200 feet (60 meters) elliptical object on the road; as he drove toward it, his car lights and engine failed. The UFO rose and flew off, and when it blinked off, his lights came back on and he was able to re-start his engine."


At the same time, Jose Alvarez's car lights and engine died when he saw a glowing, 200 feet (60 meters) UFO nearby. After the object flew away, his lights came back on and he was able to re-start his engine.


At about 12:05am, college student Newell Wright's car lights and engine failed. He got out to fix them, looked up and saw a glowing, bluish-green, flat-bottomed, oval object on the highway. The object was in sight for four or five minutes. During that time, Wright tried to start his engine, and while the starter made contact, the motor was unaffected. The object disappeared, straight up, and immediately the car lights came back on, the engine started, and then operated perfectly...


By 01:30am, Hockley County Sheriff Weir Clem had heard so many reports that he decided to see for himself. He drove out with a deputy sheriff, and saw a large oval red light, though he did not experience electrical system problems. Years later he said:"The object was shaped like a huge football and had bright white lights. The blinding lights flashed on, it went right over the car and was gone. No living human being could believe how fast it traveled. The whole thing was as bright as day; it lit up the whole area."

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Nov. 2, 1957: Route 116, west of Levelland. It's just after dark and two farm hands are in a pickup truck. The driver, Pedro Saucedo, would later describe his absolute terror when he suddenly saw a bright light rise up in the field ahead. His motor died. His headlights went out. Both men jumped out of the truck and hit the ground as the flaming object shot over.

Project Blue Book sent a single investigator to Levelland to check the reports. His explanation, accepted as the official Air Force conclusion, was that:

"... the major cause for the Levelland case was a severe electrical storm. The storm stimulated the populace into a high level of excitement.

Atmospheric physicist Dr. James McDonald completed a study and determined that there had been no storm in the area, and thus no source of excessive moisture to interfere with the automobiles' electrical systems:

"In a two-hour period near midnight, November 2-3, 1957, nine different vehicles all exhibited ignition failures, and many suffered headlight failures as objects described as about 100-200 ft long, glowing with a general reddish or bluish glow, were encountered on roads in the vicinity of the small community of Levelland, Tex.
This series of incidents became national headline news until officially explained in terms of ball lightning and wet ignitions. However, on checking weather data, I found that there were no thunderstorms anywhere close to Levelland that night, and there was no rain capable of wetting ignitions. Although I have not located any of the drivers involved, I have interviewed Sheriff Weir Clem of Levelland and a Levelland newspaperman, both of whom investigated the incidents that night. They confirmed the complete absence of rain or lightning activity. The incidents cannot be regarded as explained."

With no "severe electrical storm" to "stimulate the populace into a high level of excitement," the official explanation falls apart.

April 3-9, 1975; Lumberton, NC

Concentration of sightings of V-shaped objects, hover-acceleration, bright illumination. There were over 29 separate, independent UFO sightings and close encounters in Robeson, Hoke, Sampson, Bladen, Pitt, and Columbus counties in the early morning hours and again in the evening centered on Lumberton, North Carolina.

NICAP UFO Evidence II, Section VIII

April 3, 1975 ; Lumberton, NC
1:45 a.m. . The first sighting occurred on Highway 301 where a delta-shaped object the size of a car was sighted by police officers hovering over a water tower. It then shot off to the north.


April 3, 1975 ; Lumberton, NC
2:05 a.m. Two sheriff deputies in Hoke County pursued a delta-shaped object flying northeast toward Sampson County.


April 3, 1975 ; Roseboro, NC
2:20 a.m. A silent object with a searchlight flew over Highway 55 at 200 feet altitude and lit up some pecan trees.


April 3, 1975 ; Elizabethtown, NC
3:30 a.m. A police officer on Highway 701 chased an object along Highway 701 before losing it into the cloud cover.


April 3, 1975 ; Grimesland, NC
10:30 p.m. A police officer named Godley sighted a disc-shaped object with red, blue and white lights that zigzagged through the sky.


April 3, 1975 ; N. of Rowland, NC
11:45 p.m. There were sightings in Robeson County and in Scotland County on Highway 71.


April 3, 1975 ; Lumberton, NC
11:47 p.m. A Sheriff's deputy named Lewis pursued a V-shaped craft flying to the northeast toward Red Springs.

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The Levelland Sightings Of 1957: Analysis of the Evidence and Evaluation of the Ball Lightning Hypothesis

Antonio F. Rullán

The following document is the most comprehensive study of the famous Levelland vehicle interference case ever performed, and took two years to complete. It has undergone peer review through CUFOS and by some members of Project 1947.

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1958. Loch Raven Dam, Maryland

Brightly luminous UFO, skin reddening, obtained medical attention.

One large, flat egg-shaped object affected a car's electrical system and caused a burning sensation on one of its occupants.

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EM reports -1957

Statement of the effect of a UFO on the functions of an automobile

The third major wave of U.S. reports of UFO sightings peaked during the first week of November 1957, with at least 30 reports including breakdowns of electrical devices in connection with the apparitions of the UFO..

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Originally posted by karl 12

Originally posted by cloudyday
Has anybody ever tried to reproduce the EM effects on cars, aircraft, etc. to understand what is happening in detail?

Cloudyday, here are some interesting studies and reports on the subject.


UFO INTERFERENCE WITH VEHICLES AND SELF-STARTING ENGINES

Automobile Engine Malfunction and Headlight Failure

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECTS

FIFTY-SIX AIRCRAFT PILOT SIGHTlNGS INVOLVING ELECTROMAGNETIC EFFECTS

Some Statements By Scientists Regarding UFO Detection & E-M Effects

Cheers.

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Kirtland Air Force Base UFO - November, 1957