Within NASA Records
Why NASA's Kecksburg Search Was Rejected
NASA's problem in court was not a UFO finding, but a record-search trail too thin for the judge to trust.
On this page
- The first no records response
- What a reasonable FOIA search requires
- Why vague center responses mattered
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Introduction
NASA’s early searches for Kecksburg-related records failed scrutiny not because a court found evidence of a UFO cover-up, but because the agency could not convincingly demonstrate that it had conducted a thorough and well-documented search. In the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by journalist Leslie Kean, the central issue became a basic one of administrative accountability: when an agency says it has no records, can it show where it looked, who searched, and why the search was reasonable? The court concluded that NASA’s initial efforts fell short of that standard. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
The Kecksburg litigation therefore became less about what happened in Pennsylvania in 1965 and more about whether NASA could provide a credible record-search trail. The agency’s inability to do so during the early stages of the case is what attracted judicial criticism and ultimately forced a more extensive search. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
The First No-Records Response
The first major problem was NASA’s initial conclusion that it possessed no responsive records. In FOIA litigation, a simple “no records found” answer is not enough by itself. Agencies must be able to explain how they searched and why the search methods were reasonably calculated to locate relevant material.
Court filings later showed that an archivist had recommended that the request be directed to the Goddard Space Flight Center, a facility with responsibilities relevant to satellite tracking and spaceflight records. Yet the request was apparently not forwarded there during the initial handling of the case. That omission immediately raised questions about whether the search had been broad enough to support a definitive no-records response. [foia.gov]foia.govNational Aeronautics and Space AdministrationMake your FOIA request directly to the most relevant component: Ames Research Center; Armstr…
The issue was not merely that records were not found. The issue was that NASA could not adequately explain why potentially relevant repositories had not been searched before telling the requester that no documents existed. In FOIA practice, a search can be judged inadequate even when no records ultimately turn up if the agency cannot demonstrate that it looked in the right places. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
What a Reasonable FOIA Search Requires
The Kecksburg dispute highlighted an important principle of FOIA law. Courts generally do not require agencies to find every existing document. Instead, they require agencies to conduct a search that is reasonably calculated to uncover responsive records and to document that effort through detailed declarations.
A credible FOIA search normally answers questions such as:
- Which offices were tasked with searching?
- Which databases, archives, or paper files were examined?
- What search terms were used?
- Why were certain locations considered relevant or irrelevant?
- Who conducted the searches?
The problem for NASA was that its early submissions did not provide enough detail to satisfy the court that these steps had been taken comprehensively. Judge Emmet Sullivan noted deficiencies significant enough that NASA itself ultimately acknowledged that its first searches had been inadequate and agreed to undertake broader efforts. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
This distinction is crucial. The court was not evaluating whether Kecksburg involved a meteor, a satellite, a military project, or something unknown. It was evaluating whether NASA had met its legal obligation to search for records in a way that could withstand scrutiny. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
Why Vague Centre Responses Mattered
Another weakness involved the way NASA gathered information from its various centres and facilities. NASA is not a single archive; it is a network of centres, each with its own records and historical responsibilities. A response from one office saying that nothing was found does not automatically establish that all relevant locations were searched.
The court wanted more than broad assurances that NASA had looked. It wanted evidence showing how individual centres responded, what collections were reviewed, and whether searches had reached the offices most likely to hold historical material connected to the request. When those details were missing or unclear, confidence in the overall search diminished. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
This became especially important because the FOIA request involved specific subjects, including the so-called Fragology Files and records potentially connected to space-object investigations. A general statement that no records were located carried less weight when NASA could not clearly trace the path of the search through the relevant organisational units. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
Missing Files Deepened Judicial Doubts
NASA’s credibility problem was compounded by evidence that some potentially relevant historical materials could not be accounted for. During the litigation, NASA officials acknowledged that boxes of records from the relevant period were missing. Reports from the time described testimony that two boxes of papers connected to the era of the Kecksburg incident could not be located. [The Guardian]theguardian.comThe …Read moreThe GuardianNasa told to solve 'UFO crash' X-File | World news11 Nov 2007 — Steve McConnell, Nasa's public liaison officer, has admitted…
Missing records do not prove misconduct, nor do they prove the existence of hidden information. However, from a FOIA perspective they create a practical problem: if an agency cannot locate portions of its historical holdings, then a no-records response becomes harder to evaluate.
The court therefore faced a situation in which NASA had initially conducted inadequate searches, had not fully documented its search methodology, and also acknowledged gaps in its archival holdings. Together, those factors made it difficult for the judge to accept the agency’s assurances at face value. [Reporters Committee]rcfp.orgReporters Committee Judge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitReporters CommitteeJudge forces NASA to take a giant leap in FOIA suitDecember 10, 2007 — 10 Dec 2007 — After drawing the ire of federal…
Why the Court Rejected NASA’s Early Position
The rejection of NASA’s early search efforts was fundamentally a recordkeeping and transparency issue. Three factors stand out:
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Incomplete search routing. Potentially relevant facilities were not searched during the initial phase despite recommendations that they be included. Reporters Committee
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Archival uncertainty. Missing boxes and unresolved questions about historical records undermined confidence in the agency’s claim that no responsive documents existed. The Guardian
These shortcomings explain why the court required NASA to revisit the issue. The resulting settlement and expanded searches were not judicial recognition of a UFO claim. They were a response to the agency’s inability to show, with sufficient precision and evidence, that its original search had been adequate. Reporters Committee
The Lasting Significance
The lasting importance of this episode lies in what it revealed about FOIA oversight. The Kecksburg lawsuit demonstrated that courts can challenge an agency even when the underlying subject is controversial or speculative. What mattered was not whether extraordinary claims were true. What mattered was whether the government could document its efforts to locate the records being requested.
For that reason, the early Kecksburg searches remain a notable example of a FOIA case where the agency’s search process—not the alleged event itself—became the central point of contention. The judge’s criticism was directed at the quality of NASA’s record search, and that procedural failure is why the agency’s initial response failed scrutiny. Reporters Committee
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Endnotes
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Source: foia.gov
Link: https://www.foia.gov/agency-search.html?id=15505805-6876-4fc8-9101-fb45c5ff32d0&type=agencySource snippet
National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationMake your FOIA request directly to the most relevant component: Ames Research Center; Armstr...
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Source: archives.gov
Title: Robert H. Goddard. Textual Records: Official files of John W.Read more
Link: https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/255.htmlSource snippet
Records of the National Aeronautics and Space...Redesignated Goddard Space Flight Center, May 1, 1959, in honor of modern rocketry pione...
Published: May 1, 1959
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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 episode...
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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: justice.gov
Title: foia update space shuttle privacy appeal decided
Link: https://www.justice.gov/archives/oip/blog/foia-update-space-shuttle-privacy-appeal-decidedSource snippet
FOIA Update: Space Shuttle Privacy Appeal Decided19 Dec 2024 — The full DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on December 7 that NASA's audio...
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Source: Wikipedia
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: 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: 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: 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: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac3hYt3k-EoSource snippet
The 1965 Kecksburg Incident: A UFO Crash the Government Hides to This Day...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruKDXL13lk8Source snippet
The Kecksburg UFO Mystery: Secrets, [Witnesses]({{ 'witnesses/' | relative_url }}) and Vanished Evidence...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: The Kecksburg UFO Mystery: Secrets, Witnesses and Vanished Evidence
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkZszbMzl3QSource snippet
UFO Evidence Hidden in Kecksburg? | UFO Witness | Discovery Channel...
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Source: abcnews.com
Link: https://abcnews.com/Technology/story?id=3785376&page=1Source snippet
NASA to search files for UFO incident27 Oct 2007 — The government has refused to open its files about what, if anything, moved across the...
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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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