Jack Perkins
Jack Perkins was a Pennsylvania electronics engineer who served in the Civil Air Patrol alongside Colonel Robert Willingham. In spring 1955, Perkins accompanied Willingham on a private flight to investigate the alleged UAP crash site near Langtry, Texas, departing from Corsair Airfield in a 1947 Ercoupe Champion after Willingham had sighted a disc-shaped craft crash during a Cold War simulation mission from Carswell Air Force Base.
| Role | USAF Reserve; Civil Air Patrol pilot; crash site witness |
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At the crash site, Mexican soldiers standing perimeter refused to allow Perkins close to the wreckage — only Willingham, whose USAF fatigues prompted the offer from officer Lieutenant Martinez, was permitted limited access. Perkins observed the general scene from a distance, including the disintegrated craft spread across a 300-foot swath on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
Perkins' identity was withheld during Willingham's lifetime and was only revealed publicly after Perkins' death in 2002.