UFO HUNTERS - Hist. - Heartland Explosion

History Channel - Original Air Date: 11/12/08

In April 16, 2008, at 10:38 PM, something "exploded" over Kokomo, Indiana.  People investigating saw lights in the sky, which more than one witness describes as a "fireball."  (There are the usual blurry pictures.)  Initially, the local air base (15 miles away) denies any involvement, though later they say their F-16s were dropping flares and maybe have "accidentally" broken the sound barrier.  A local paper reports that a meteor shower may have been the cause.  (Personal Note: Fireballs can break the sound barrier and cause sonic booms.)  The UFO Hunters set up offices to interview witnesses and try to figure out what happened.  (Being the show this is, I'm sure they'll find a government conspiracy at the least.)  Three months earlier, in January, a witness saw a tower-like flying object.  He grabbed his video camera and shot pictures -- which show a hovering light (and a passing car).  As usual, the witness accounts are contradictory -- though many describe a fireball, and some pieces breaking off.  For a while, the police believe it might be an airplane down.  There's even a mention of a debris field.

MUFON has invesatigated and turned up video of local fighter jets dropping flares.  They also did an aerial recon and may have found a possible crash crater or as the show says "UFO crash site."  Since the pictures were taken, spring rains have flooded the location.  A sheriff says that though there were emergency first responders sent out, they never found any crash site.  A witness then describes something breaking up in the air.  (Note: a common fireball phenominon.)  A former air force man describes a bright ball of light accompanied by another, smaller ball and then a series of smaller lights.  Calculating sizes based on the car and the light in the video, they think the size of the thing is about 40 feet -- the wingspan of an F-16; but, it seems to be hovering, which an F-16 can't do.  The team eventually finds the crater they're looking for, but no evidence of impact; an expert declares it might just be a sinkhole.  (And that proves correct.)  The team builds a "sonic boom cannon" to try and recreate the event and gathers witnesses to listen.  They hope to duplicate the experience and thereby learn the size of the object creating the boom.  Witnesses don't totally agree, but the sonic booms do seem to match those of an F-16 flying at 5000 feet.

The team disagrees on whether this was merely a military plane or something stranger.  (It still sounds more like an actual fireball to me.)  Though at least there wasn't much talk of government conspiracy.