1955 Langtry UFO Crash
The 1955 Langtry UFO Crash is an alleged UAP impact and crash retrieval event that occurred in spring 1955 near Langtry, Texas, just south of the Rio Grande on the Mexican side of the border. The incident is primarily documented through the testimony of US Air Force Reserve Colonel Robert Willingham, who claimed to have witnessed the object's descent and privately visited the crash site with companion Jack Perkins. The case is one of two distinct Del Rio-area crash events from the 1950s, frequently conflated with the December 6, 1950 El Indio incident.
| Date | Spring 1955 |
|---|
The Sighting
On a spring day in 1955, Colonel Willingham and other F-86 Sabre aviators were escorting B-47 and B-52 bombers from Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas on a Cold War simulation training exercise. Willingham's call sign was Willie Eddie (serial CD1195). During the mission, the squadron received radio intelligence from DEW radar systems in Canada that fast-moving unidentified signatures were traveling south toward Texas.
Willingham observed a bright object approaching at an estimated 2,000 mph — approximately four times the F-86's top speed of 685 mph. He described the surface as resembling "magnesium steel." Other pilots, including George Smithson, confirmed seeing the object in a post-incident debrief. The object executed a 90-degree turn southwest toward the Mexican border, then was observed emitting sparks while tilting to a 45-degree angle. Willingham speculated the abrupt maneuver may have caused structural damage to the craft. The object fell out of view, and Willingham estimated it had crashed near Langtry, Texas, based on his familiarity with the region.
The Crash Site Visit
Willingham requested and received permission from Denver flight control to investigate the estimated crash site. After returning to base and filing his initial report, Willingham departed privately in a 1947 Ercoupe Champion with his friend Jack Perkins, a Pennsylvania electronics engineer and Civil Air Patrol colleague.
At the site, Willingham and Perkins observed:
- A disc-shaped craft broken into roughly three sections
- A main body consisting of a flattened disc 20–25 feet in diameter, split into two large pieces (one partially embedded in a sandy mound)
- A separate dome-shaped section 12–15 feet long resting approximately 50 feet from the main body
- A 300-foot skid mark across the ground from the impact
- Debris scattered across the site, ranging from small fragments to pieces "as big as a good sofa chair"
- Mexican soldiers forming a perimeter around the wreckage, making no retrieval effort
A Mexican officer, Lieutenant Martinez from Mexico City, approached Willingham after noting his US Air Force fatigues. Martinez offered Willingham limited access to the site but barred Perkins from approaching. Martinez stated: "We can't let anyone close to it. The American Air Force will be here very soon to clean this all up."
Retrieved Material
Before departing, Willingham retrieved a small fragment of material from the site, which he described as:
- Rigid and unyielding but extremely lightweight
- Grayish-silver in color
- Featuring small honeycomb-patterned holes along one side, which Willingham speculated were for heat dissipation
- Resistant to deformation or cutting via blowtorch
- Reminiscent of magnesium steel
Willingham attempted to test the material's properties for four days but took no photographs. He then sent the fragment to a USMC Metallurgy Lab in Hagerstown, Maryland. When Willingham later contacted the lab to follow up, he was told no such person (the receiving major) had worked there and no records of the tests existed. Willingham was subsequently warned by a USAF intelligence general not to discuss what he saw "down on the border."
The Bodies Contradiction
The most significant credibility issue in Willingham's account is a direct contradiction regarding non-human bodies. In Noah Torres and Ruben Uriarte's 2008 book The Other Roswell: UFO Crash on the Texas Border, Willingham is explicitly quoted: "I never saw bodies. I was not able to get close enough, and I don't know what happened after I left."
However, in a July 24, 2012 interview with radio host Jeff Rense, Willingham described sneaking around the perimeter to view inside the dome section and observing three to four non-human bodies — small in stature, with large heads, broomstick-thin arms, no clothing, and "in a lot of different pieces." Author Noah Torres reiterated the bodies claim in a 2023 presentation, stating bodies were present at the crash site.
UAP Gerb flags this contradiction as a "massive issue" in Willingham's credibility. Willingham attributed other inconsistencies in his account (such as the aircraft type he was flying and the year of the event) to memory problems from a Korean War head injury, but UAP Gerb finds this explanation insufficient for a factual detail as significant as the presence or absence of non-human bodies.
Independent Witness: William Drager
Former US Air Force member William Drager, who served as a Spanish interpreter, was hired for a Japanese documentary investigating a UFO crash involving a colonel near the Mexican border. Drager contacted a Mexican general who commanded the border region. The general privately acknowledged awareness of the incident, stating: "Yes, I know about that. I don't have any papers or documents to prove it, but due to my position I know about that." On camera, however, the general denied all knowledge and evaded questions about the incident. Drager described the general as "beyond reproach" and a "military celebrity" in Mexico. Drager provided a formal affidavit describing the exchange.
Credibility Assessment
Researcher Kevin Randle, in his book Crash: When UFOs Fall from the Sky, questioned Willingham's Air Force service record. The National Personnel Records Service in St. Louis, Missouri was unable to provide Willingham's service documentation. However, a catastrophic July 12, 1973 fire at that facility destroyed most records for personnel serving between 1947 and 1963. Co-author Noah Torres claims to hold over 50 documents corroborating Willingham's service, though these have not been publicly released.
Additional inconsistencies between Willingham's 1965 newspaper account, his 1977 affidavit obtained by researcher Todd Zechel, and the 2008 book include:
- Aircraft type: The affidavit states Willingham was flying an F-94; the book states an F-86 Sabre.
- Year: The 1965 article claims 1948; the book and later sources state 1955.
Willingham attributed these discrepancies to memory problems from his Korean War head injury.
Supporting Evidence
The Condon Report Case 5
The Condon Report — a 1969 Air Force-funded study designed to debunk UFO phenomena — contains a documented case (Case 5) from September 19, 1957, also involving a Carswell Air Force Base-based aircraft. An RB-47 was pursued for over 600 miles by a large bright fireball alternating between red and white, detected by multiple radar systems and the aircraft's own electronic countermeasures equipment. All graphic and radar data were removed by intelligence personnel upon landing. This case demonstrates a pattern of Carswell-based UFO encounters with subsequent data confiscation.
USAF Document on B-47 UFO Sightings
An unclassified document dated July 18, 1955 from USAF Captain Lefty Meehan to the commander of USAF Security Services in San Antonio requested data on UFO sightings from the Northeast Air Command and Northwestern United States, specifically from B-47 jets. This request occurred just months after Willingham's encounter and involved the same aircraft type and region, lending circumstantial support to his account.
May 14, 1954 Marine UFO Encounter
On May 14, 1954 — one year before Willingham's sighting — a flight of Marine Reserve jets led by Major Charles Scarboro flew approximately six miles west of Dallas, Texas, and spotted 16 unidentified signatures in groups of four. The objects alternated between white and orange, similar to Willingham's description. Pilots Scarboro and Jorgenson attempted to intercept, but the signatures accelerated away rapidly at high speeds, evading the Marines.
Distinction from the 1950 El Indio Incident
The 1955 Langtry crash is distinct from the December 6, 1950 1950 El Indio UFO Crash based on four key points:
- Craft condition: The MJ-12 document describes the 1950 craft as nearly incinerated; Willingham observed three large intact sections at Langtry.
- Timeline: Willingham was still serving in the Korean War in December 1950.
- Geography: El Indio, Texas is 75 miles southeast of Del Rio; Langtry is 60 miles northwest.
- Technology reference: Willingham's account references DEW radar systems not implemented until 1952.
Eric Davis Endorsement
In a June 2018 Coast to Coast AM interview with journalist George Knapp, physicist Eric Davis stated: "Yeah, they've got—I would say, you know, if you're going to throw your bets on Roswell, your bets really good. Del Rio, Texas—that was a 1950s case. That was another one." Davis's endorsement of the Del Rio region as a high-credibility crash retrieval case is cited as establishing context for both the 1950 and 1955 incidents.