Within NASA Records
Why Nineteen Boxes Changed the Lawsuit
The nineteen-box search raised hard questions because boxes missed in one pass later produced responsive records.
On this page
- How the nineteen boxes entered the case
- The three missing boxes problem
- Why a second search found more
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Introduction
One of the most revealing episodes in the NASA records fight over the Kecksburg incident was not a dramatic document release but a problem involving archive boxes. During the lawsuit brought by journalist Leslie Kean, NASA and its archivists traced potentially relevant material through a group of nineteen archival boxes. What turned the issue into a major transparency dispute was that some records appeared only after additional searches were ordered, even though earlier searches had indicated that nothing responsive could be found. That development raised a simple but important question: if relevant records could emerge from boxes that were effectively overlooked the first time, how much confidence should anyone place in the original “no records” conclusions? [ABC News]abcnews.comABC News NASA to search files for UFO incidentABC NewsNASA to search files for UFO incidentOctober 28, 2007 — 27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if…
For researchers of the Kecksburg case, the significance of the nineteen boxes is not that they proved any particular UFO theory. Their importance lies in what they revealed about archival procedures, record tracking, and the difficulty of reconstructing Cold War-era events when agencies cannot consistently account for where records are stored or whether all repositories have been searched. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgnasa ordered review its records data ufo sighting9, 1965…Read more…
How the Nineteen Boxes Entered the Case
The lawsuit centred on NASA’s response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records connected to the 1965 Kecksburg event. Early searches produced either no records or documents that the plaintiff argued were largely unrelated to the request. A federal court became increasingly sceptical that NASA had conducted a sufficiently comprehensive search, leading to court-supervised efforts to examine additional archival holdings. [ABC News+2CBS News]abcnews.comABC News NASA to search files for UFO incidentABC NewsNASA to search files for UFO incidentOctober 28, 2007 — 27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if…
Within that process, attention focused on a collection of archived material stored in multiple records boxes. The archive search became important because NASA had previously suggested that relevant files either did not exist, had been lost, or could not be located. Yet when archivists revisited storage holdings, they identified a larger body of material requiring examination. The nineteen-box collection became a practical test of whether earlier searches had truly been exhaustive. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgnasa ordered review its records data ufo sighting9, 1965…Read more…
The issue was not simply the existence of boxes. Federal agencies routinely maintain large archival collections. The controversy arose because the lawsuit exposed uncertainty over which boxes had been reviewed, how thoroughly they had been examined, and whether responsive documents might still be hidden within them.
The Three Missing Boxes Problem
A particularly troubling aspect of the archive review involved boxes that could not initially be accounted for. Accounts from the litigation and subsequent reporting described missing archival containers associated with the relevant time period. NASA officials acknowledged that some boxes of records from the era could not be located when requested. [The Guardian+2Mail & Guardian]theguardian.comThe GuardianNasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-File | World news11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public liaison officer, has admitted…
The missing-box issue mattered for two reasons.
First, it weakened confidence in claims that all relevant records had already been searched. If portions of the archive were unaccounted for, then a negative search result no longer meant that records did not exist. It only meant that they had not been found in the locations examined so far.
Second, it complicated efforts to determine whether records had been lost, destroyed, misfiled, or simply overlooked. In archival practice, those are very different explanations. A destroyed file suggests one problem; a misidentified or misplaced file suggests another. The Kecksburg lawsuit repeatedly ran into this distinction because the court was evaluating the adequacy of NASA’s search process rather than deciding what happened in Pennsylvania in 1965. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgnasa ordered review its records data ufo sighting9, 1965…Read more…
The missing boxes therefore became evidence of a procedural weakness. They did not demonstrate a cover-up, but they did show that the archival trail was incomplete and that agency assurances could not simply be accepted without verification. [The Guardian]theguardian.comThe GuardianNasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-File | World news11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public liaison officer, has admitted…
Why a Second Search Found More
The most surprising development was that additional searching produced material after earlier searches had failed.
This was the moment that transformed an ordinary FOIA dispute into a broader transparency controversy. If a later search uncovers responsive records that an earlier search missed, the natural question is whether the original search methodology was adequate. The court had already criticised NASA’s handling of the request and required a more comprehensive effort. Subsequent archival work generated further document releases and additional information that had not appeared during the earlier stages of the case. [ABC News+2CBS News]abcnews.comABC News NASA to search files for UFO incidentABC NewsNASA to search files for UFO incidentOctober 28, 2007 — 27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if…
Importantly, the surprise was procedural rather than sensational. The newly located records did not provide a definitive answer to the Kecksburg mystery. Even Leslie Kean later acknowledged that the search produced no decisive “smoking gun”. Instead, the second search demonstrated that responsive records could exist in places that earlier reviews had not adequately examined. [Space]space.comIs Case Finally Closed on 1965 Pennsylvania 'UFO Mystery'?24 Nov 2009 — Whatevertook place in Kecksburg, a dutiful look into the epi…
From a records-management perspective, that finding was significant. FOIA cases are often judged on the reasonableness of a search rather than on whether every conceivable document is recovered. The Kecksburg litigation showed that NASA’s initial efforts were incomplete enough that later searches yielded additional material, validating concerns that the first pass had not been sufficiently thorough. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgjudge forces nasa take giant leap foia suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suit10 Dec 2007 — After four years of foot dragging, NASA must conduct…
What the Archive Box Episode Changed
The nineteen-box episode altered the debate in a subtle but lasting way. Before the lawsuit, arguments about Kecksburg often revolved around witness testimony, military activity, or competing explanations such as a meteor, satellite debris, or an unidentified craft. After the archival dispute, attention increasingly shifted toward record-keeping itself. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]post-gazette.comgovernment records documenting it have been lost. Kean wants files on what…
The lesson many observers drew was not that hidden documents necessarily contained extraordinary revelations. Rather, it was that missing boxes, incomplete searches, and later discoveries made official certainty harder to sustain. When records emerge only after a second or third search, the historical record becomes less straightforward and more contingent on the quality of archival work. [ABC News+2Space]abcnews.comABC News NASA to search files for UFO incidentABC NewsNASA to search files for UFO incidentOctober 28, 2007 — 27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if…
For the Kecksburg case, the nineteen boxes became a symbol of that problem. They illustrated how an event from the Cold War era could remain disputed decades later not merely because witnesses disagreed, but because the documentary trail itself proved difficult to locate, verify, and reconstruct. [Space]space.comIs Case Finally Closed on 1965 Pennsylvania 'UFO Mystery'?24 Nov 2009 — Whatevertook place in Kecksburg, a dutiful look into the epi…
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Endnotes
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Source: space.com
Link: https://www.space.com/7589-case-finally-closed-1965-pennsylvania-ufo-mystery.htmlSource snippet
Is Case Finally Closed on 1965 Pennsylvania 'UFO Mystery'?24 Nov 2009 — Whatevertook place in Kecksburg, a dutiful look into the epi...
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Source: post-gazette.com
Link: https://www.post-gazette.com/breaking/2005/12/08/kecksburg-ufo-records-still-an-alien-concept/stories/200512080509Source snippet
government records documenting it have been lost. Kean wants files on what...
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Source: abcnews.com
Title: ABC News NASA to search files for UFO incident
Link: https://abcnews.com/Technology/story?id=3785376&page=1Source snippet
ABC NewsNASA to search files for UFO incidentOctober 28, 2007 — 27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if...
Published: October 28, 2007
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Source: cbsnews.com
Title: nasa court ordered to search for ufo docs
Link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-court-ordered-to-search-for-ufo-docs/Source snippet
NASA Court-Ordered To Search For UFO Docs27 Oct 2007 — NASA has agreed to search its archives once again for documents on a 1965 UFO inci...
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Source: rcfp.org
Title: nasa ordered review its records data ufo sighting
Link: https://www.rcfp.org/nasa-ordered-review-its-records-data-ufo-sighting/Source snippet
9, 1965...Read more...
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Source: rcfp.org
Title: judge forces nasa take giant leap foia suit
Link: https://www.rcfp.org/judge-forces-nasa-take-giant-leap-foia-suit/Source snippet
Reporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suit10 Dec 2007 — After four years of foot dragging, NASA must conduct...
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Source: theguardian.com
Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/11/spaceexploration.usaSource snippet
The GuardianNasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-File | World news11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public liaison officer, has admitted...
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Source: mg.co.za
Title: 2007 11 11 nasa told to solve ufo crash x file
Link: https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2007-11-11-nasa-told-to-solve-ufo-crash-x-file/Source snippet
Mail & GuardianNasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-file11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public-liaison officer, has admitted two boxes...
Additional References
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Source: archives.gov
Link: https://www.archives.gov/research/topics/uaps/moving-images-and-soundSource snippet
FOs and UAPs in the National Archives Catalog.Read more...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: is case finally closed on 1965 ufo mysteryleslie
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ekj9ip/is_case_finally_closed_on_1965_ufo_mysteryleslie/Source snippet
Is case finally closed on 1965 UFO mystery?--Leslie Keane...Is case finally closed on 1965 UFO mystery?--Leslie Keane sued NASA in 2003...
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Source: mg.co.za
Title: 2007 11 11 nasa told to solve ufo crash xfile
Link: https://mg.co.za/article/2007-11-11-nasa-told-to-solve-ufo-crash-xfile/Source snippet
Nasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-file11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public-liaison officer, has admitted two boxes of papers from...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/PABucketList/posts/-what-really-crashed-in-the-woods-near-kecksburg-in-1965for-more-than-60-years-t/1026722253341335/Source snippet
PA, 1965. December of 1965, in KECKSBURG, Pa, just 11 miles...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkZszbMzl3QSource snippet
December 9, 1965, something mysterious fell from the sky near the small town of Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. Witnesses reported a glowing...
Published: December 9, 1965
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Source: documents2.theblackvault.com
Link: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/nasa/21-HQ-F-00500.pdfSource snippet
FOIA office learned that the. FOIA case file connected to the subject FOIA lawsuit were destroyed pursuant to NASA's records retention sc...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Kecksburg UFO incident
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecksburg_UFO_incidentSource snippet
Kecksburg UFO incidentNASA responded to court orders and Freedom of Information Act requests to search for the records. The incident g...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: NASA Claim To Have “Lost” Important Wreckage From [The Kecksburg UFO Incident]({{ ‘the-kecksburg-ufo-incident/’ | relative_url }})
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HZl2Nl1h5USource snippet
UFO Witnesses Believe The Government Hid Information about Kecksburg in 1965...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac3hYt3k-EoSource snippet
NASA Claim To Have “Lost” Important Wreckage From The Kecksburg UFO Incident...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: The Reality of UFOs UAP with Leslie Kean
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9OVSe4ohI0Source snippet
The Mysterious 1965 UFO Crash | Beyond Skinwalker Ranch (S3) | History...
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