Within Malmstrom
Did Salas Remember the Wrong Missile Shutdown?
Salas's changing date and location claims weaken the direct link between a reported red object and the documented missile shutdown.
On this page
- How Salas first linked his story to Echo Flight
- Why the later Oscar Flight account changes the case
- What Meiwald, Figel and Carlson actually corroborated
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Introduction
One of the most important disputes within the Malmstrom missile shutdown story is not whether the missiles failed, but whether Robert Salas correctly remembered which missile flight he was serving with when the alleged UFO encounter occurred. The issue matters because Salas became the best-known witness linking a reported red object to a documented missile shutdown in Montana. If the timeline is wrong, the strongest claimed connection between a UFO sighting and the verified Echo Flight malfunction becomes much weaker.
Critics argue that Salas originally attached his experience to the well-documented Echo Flight shutdown of 16 March 1967, but later evidence showed he was probably stationed at a different launch control centre, Oscar Flight, during a separate event. Supporters accept that memories and dates may have become confused over time but maintain that unusual activity still occurred. The disagreement is therefore not a minor detail. It affects whether the famous UFO narrative is tied directly to the documented missile failure or to a different and less clearly documented incident.[Unexplained Mysteries]unexplained-mysteries.comUnexplained Mysteries James CarlsonUnexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event…
How Salas First Linked His Story to Echo Flight
When Salas began publicly discussing the case during the 1990s, he presented himself as a launch officer who had been underground during the same incident that disabled all ten missiles of Echo Flight on 16 March 1967. In that version of the story, security personnel reportedly called down to the launch capsule describing strange lights and then a glowing red object near the facility. Soon afterwards, the missiles allegedly went offline.[Wikipedia]WikipediaMalmstrom UFO incidentMalmstrom UFO incident
This account became influential because Echo Flight is a documented historical event. Air Force records confirm that all ten Echo Flight missiles simultaneously lost strategic alert status on the morning of 16 March 1967. As a result, many readers assumed the UFO reports and the missile failure were parts of the same verified incident.[Wikipedia]WikipediaMalmstrom UFO incidentMalmstrom UFO incident
The problem emerged when researchers compared Salas’s later recollections with personnel assignments and testimony from other officers. Questions arose about whether Salas had actually been serving at Echo Flight during the documented shutdown. Critics such as James Carlson argued that the historical record placed other officers at Echo Flight and that Salas’s memories had merged separate events over time.[Unexplained Mysteries]unexplained-mysteries.comUnexplained Mysteries James CarlsonUnexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event…
Why the Later Oscar Flight Account Changes the Case
As the controversy developed, Salas increasingly described the key UFO encounter as occurring at Oscar Flight rather than Echo Flight. In autobiographical material and later presentations, he stated that he was on duty at Oscar Flight on 24 March 1967, eight days after the Echo Flight malfunction. He identified then-Captain Fred Meiwald as the missile commander on duty with him.[USA FClasses]usafaclasses.orgUSA FClassesBob's HistoryOn March 24, 1967 I was on duty at the Oscar Flight (Launch Control Center), located near Roy, MT. There were ju…
This shift is significant because Oscar Flight and Echo Flight are not the same event.
Echo Flight is supported by extensive contemporary documentation showing a sudden loss of alert status across ten missiles. Oscar Flight, by contrast, has a much less complete documentary trail. Although some former personnel later described unusual activity associated with Oscar Flight, researchers have not found the same level of contemporaneous documentation linking a UFO report to a missile shutdown.[Wikipedia]WikipediaMalmstrom UFO incidentMalmstrom UFO incident
The timeline change therefore creates a dilemma:
- If Salas’s original Echo Flight identification was correct, critics must explain why assignment records appear inconsistent with his account.
- If his later Oscar Flight identification was correct, the famous UFO narrative is no longer directly attached to the best-documented missile failure at Malmstrom.
- In either case, the evidential link between the reported red object and the verified Echo Flight shutdown becomes less straightforward than many popular retellings suggest.[Unexplained Mysteries]unexplained-mysteries.comUnexplained Mysteries James CarlsonUnexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event…
For historians of Montana’s UFO history, this is one of the central reasons the Malmstrom case remains disputed decades later.
What Meiwald, Figel and Carlson Actually Corroborated
The debate often becomes confused because different witnesses corroborate different parts of the story.
Fred Meiwald
Fred Meiwald, Salas’s former commander, has been cited by supporters as confirming that Salas was at Oscar Flight and that unusual events occurred there. His statements are generally used to support the claim that Salas was remembering a real incident, but they do not resolve whether the famous UFO narrative should be linked to the documented Echo Flight shutdown of 16 March.[Bahai Studies]bahaistudies.netorbs nuclear powerFred Meiwald, were at Oscar Flight on March 24, 1967, when their missiles went down. The…
Walter Figel
Former launch officer Walter Figel occupies a more complicated position. Figel later stated that security personnel reported unusual aerial objects during the period of the missile problems. However, accounts of exactly what Figel confirmed have varied over time. His testimony is frequently cited by UFO researchers because it provides some independent support for reports that guards discussed strange objects. At the same time, critics note that Figel did not provide evidence showing that any object caused the missile failures.[JASON COLAVITO]jasoncolavito.comunexplained files tells us to fear nuclear obsessed ufosWalter Figel, and Col. Frederick Meiwald) have confirmed bona fide UFO activity during the missile shutdowns. had caused the…
James Carlson
James Carlson, whose father was directly involved with the Echo Flight shutdown investigation, became one of the most detailed critics of Salas’s account. Carlson argued that Salas’s earliest public version placed him at Echo Flight and that later revisions effectively moved the UFO story to Oscar Flight after inconsistencies were identified. In Carlson’s view, the changing chronology seriously damages the reliability of the narrative.[Unexplained Mysteries]unexplained-mysteries.comUnexplained Mysteries James CarlsonUnexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event…
Whether Carlson’s conclusions are accepted or not, his criticism focuses on documentary consistency rather than on the broader question of whether unidentified objects exist.
Does the Timeline Conflict Disprove the UFO Claim?
Not necessarily. Memory errors do not automatically mean that every part of a witness’s account is false. Human recollections of events that occurred decades earlier can become confused, especially when multiple incidents happened within the same military organisation during a short period.
However, the timeline dispute does weaken one specific claim: that a red UFO was observed immediately before the documented Echo Flight shutdown of 16 March 1967. Once the possibility is introduced that Salas was actually recalling Oscar Flight on 24 March, the direct connection between the reported object and the verified Echo Flight malfunction becomes uncertain.[USA FClasses]usafaclasses.orgUSA FClassesBob's HistoryOn March 24, 1967 I was on duty at the Oscar Flight (Launch Control Center), located near Roy, MT. There were ju…
This distinction is important because the strongest version of the Malmstrom story depends on two propositions being true at the same time:
- The documented missile shutdown occurred exactly as recorded.
- The reported UFO sighting happened at the same place and time.
The timeline conflict leaves the second proposition open to question even though the first is not disputed.[Wikipedia]WikipediaMalmstrom UFO incidentMalmstrom UFO incident
Why This Issue Matters Within the Malmstrom Dispute
The Echo–Oscar timeline problem has become one of the most important credibility tests in the wider Malmstrom missile shutdown controversy. It does not settle the UFO question, but it changes how the evidence is weighed.
The documented fact remains that ten Echo Flight missiles lost strategic alert status in Montana on 16 March 1967. The disputed part is whether Salas’s famous description of a glowing red object belongs to that event or to a different incident at Oscar Flight several days later. Because the answer remains contested, historians, investigators and sceptics generally treat the UFO connection as less certain than the missile malfunction itself.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaMalmstrom UFO incidentMalmstrom UFO incident
Viewed narrowly, the timeline conflict does not show that Salas invented his story. What it does show is that the most famous witness in the Malmstrom case has attached the alleged UFO encounter to different dates and locations over time. For many researchers, that inconsistency is the single strongest reason for caution when assessing claims that a UFO directly caused the documented Echo Flight shutdown in Montana.[Unexplained Mysteries]unexplained-mysteries.comUnexplained Mysteries James CarlsonUnexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event…
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Endnotes
1.
Source: unexplained-mysteries.com
Title: Unexplained Mysteries James Carlson
Link:https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=195390
Source snippet
Unexplained MysteriesJames Carlson - Echo flights of fantasy - part one25 Nov 2010 — When Robert Salas, the primary witness to this event...
2.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Malmstrom UFO incident
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmstrom_UFO_incident
3.
Source: jasoncolavito.com
Title: unexplained files tells us to fear nuclear obsessed ufos
Link:https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/unexplained-files-tells-us-to-fear-nuclear-obsessed-ufos
Source snippet
Walter Figel, and Col. Frederick Meiwald) have confirmed bona fide UFO activity during the missile shutdowns. had caused the...
4.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Talk:List of UFO related hoaxes
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AList_of_UFO-related_hoaxes
5.
Source: usafaclasses.org
Link:https://www.usafaclasses.org/1964/Salas_Robert/history.htm
Source snippet
USA FClassesBob's HistoryOn March 24, 1967 I was on duty at the Oscar Flight (Launch Control Center), located near Roy, MT. There were ju...
Published: March 24, 1967
6.
Source: bahaistudies.net
Title: orbs nuclear power
Link:https://www.bahaistudies.net/asma/orbs_nuclear_power.pdf
Source snippet
Fred Meiwald, were at Oscar Flight on March 24, 1967, when their missiles went down. The...
Published: March 24, 1967
Additional References
7.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1s3c4p9/captain_robert_salas_who_claims_that_ufos/
Source snippet
March 16, 1967 where 16 nuclear missiles simultaneously became non-operational at two...Read more...
Published: March 16, 1967
8.
Source: kevinrandle.blogspot.com
Title: Salas said all the missiles had
Link:https://kevinrandle.blogspot.com/2013/05/robert-salas-and-me.html
Source snippet
A Different Perspective: Robert Salas and Me19 May 2013 — Salas claimed the UFO caused the missiles of Oscar Flight to “go off-line.” Fre...
Published: May 2013
9.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Ex-Air Force captain on mysterious nuke incident at base during Cold War
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7uzLVw5HwA
Source snippet
1967 Malmstrom Air Force Base Missile Incident w/ Robert Salas...
10.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvbQtdKRoTc
Source snippet
Ex-Air Force captain on mysterious nuke incident at base during Cold War...
11.
Source: youtube.com
Title: No Format
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtGaxsfgRJ4
Source snippet
Inside the Malmstrom Incident! How a UFO Disabled 10 Nuclear Missiles...
12.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10n29IRC8OU
Source snippet
No Format - UFOs and Nuclear Weapons - Robert Salas Testimony...
13.
Source: mymetmedia.com
Title: Let’s talk UFOs
Link:https://www.mymetmedia.com/lets-talk-ufos/
Source snippet
My Met MediaRobert Salas is a fraud and every witness Robert Hastings has ever interviewed in connection with the Echo Flight Incident of...
14.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1166clb/criticisms_against_robert_salas_maelstrom_afb/
15.
Source: scribd.com
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/42303580/Echo-Flights-of-Fantasy-Anatomy-of-a-UFO-Hoax-by-James-Carlson
16.
Source: abcnews.com
Link:https://abcnews.com/Technology/airmen-govt-clean-ufos/story?id=11738715