Ä Area: I_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Msg#: 19472 Date: 10-22-96 00:00 From: David Tilbury - Sun Uk Read: Yes Replied: No To: All Mark: Subj: Area 19 - What is it and ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Reply-to: iufo@alterzone.com From: "David Tilbury - Sun UK"Originally to: iufo@alterzone.com Sender: iufo-approval@alterzone.com Original Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 11:33:22 +0100 (BST) -> SearchNet's iufo Mailing List Area 19 What is it and why should we care? by Tom Mahood, November 1995 Of the many stories floating out of the nooks and crannies of the Nellis Complex, none have really ever mentioned Area 19. Area 19 would appear to be a rather mundane location for anything to happen, correct? Well, maybe...and maybe not. There is a collection of oddities and slightly peculiar circumstances that suggest Area 19 may be worthy of a little attention. Area 19, along with Area 20 to its west, form the northern "cap" to the Nevada Test Site (NTS). This sizable chunk of real estate was added to the NTS in response to the 1962 Test Ban Treaty, which ended atmospheric testing. The bomb boys needed somewhere to play with their toys, and Yucca Flat was a little too close to Las Vegas for the rockin' and rolling induced by the larger blasts. The distance and geology of the Rainier Mesa and Pahute Mesa areas made them seem like an ideal location for massive underground tests. Well, nothing too strange about that. What is there that suggests anything out of the ordinary? The Power Line What first attracts attention to Area 19 is a simple power line. It's visible on both the Las Vegas aircraft sectional chart and the Pahute Mesa 1:100,000 USGS map. It begins at an even larger line near Highway 95 at Lathrop Wells, and runs almost due north through the NTS, terminating in Area 19. It would appear to be one of the main power feeds for the entire NTS, with considerable load carrying capability. According to NTS maps, the line terminates in Area 19 as a 34.5 kilovolt line at a 1,000 KVA substation. Where the power goes from there is not shown. Its point of termination is also worth a closer look. The maps show the line ending in the center of an unusual double ring of roads, a configuration not seen in other areas of the NTS. Strangely, there is no facility listed on any NTS document, at least that I've seen, at the line's termination. Officially there just isn't anything there. Yet aerial and satellite photos do indeed some "something" there. Finally, the very boundaries of Area 19 seem to be drawn "around" where the power line terminates. The location is absolutely centered in the middle of the northerly "bulge" of the Area 19 boundary. The Location Area 19 is about as far from anywhere as you can get within the Nellis Complex, shielded from prying eyes by many, many miles. It is much more remote than even the legendary Groom Lake base itself. A quick look at a large scale map reveals the location is fairly centered within the overall Nellis Complex, with viewing opportunities from neighboring peaks out of the question. However the recent airspace change at the north boundary of Area 19 does open the possibility of an air excursion near, if not exactly over, Area 19. Jurisdiction According to documents from the NTS, most (but not all) of Area 19 is set aside for nuclear weapons testing, and is shown as being assigned to the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). However, Paul McGinnis (who has done a lot digging into certain areas of the NTS...click here for his web site) was informed by the fine folks at the NTS that Areas 19 and 20 were under the control of the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA). He was further told that the NTS had no knowledge of what classified programs the DNA had underway in those two areas. The Cheshire Airstrip There is a fairly reliable (at least in my judgment) story of a "disappearing airstrip" and some sort of related semi-underground facility (click here to see the full story). The location given for this airstrip was Dead Horse Flat, in the center of Area 19. Press Tours On two occasions I've related the Area 19 suspicions to individuals I know who were planning "press tours" of the NTS. A press tour is usually a very small group of media representatives, being shown around the NTS by a press guide, and they are allowed cameras. Now the fun thing about press tours is that they pretty much can go wherever they want, as long as they have their guide to keep them out of trouble. This even includes Area 11 (Also known as Plutonium Valley), the site of plutonium dispersal experiments a number of years ago. It requires a limited "moon suit" but the NTS seems happy to oblige. Not so when the request is to visit Area 19. On one occasion the press group was told it was simply too far and there wasn't enough time. At another time, a different press group was told "The roads heading up there aren't maintained any more, and it's uncertain if we can get through", a curious statement considering that the access, Pahute Mesa Road, is paved. Neither response is particularly suspicious, unless taken in context with the other circumstances. The Rumors Now here's where we can go off the deep end, if not careful. These are rumors and should be weighed accordingly. The first is really not a rumor, at least to me, as I know the parties involved, but is strange enough that it should be listed under the category. Not long before his death, Ben Rich, the manager of Lockheed's Skunk Works, was asked a question. He was asked "Hypothetically speaking, if we had possession of extraterrestrial debris or even craft, who would you suppose would be handling it?" To this Rich literally growled, "Los Alamos!" and wouldn't discuss it further. While it could simply be speculation on Rich's part, it hints at an oft-rumored Los Alamos link. And LANL does have some sort of jurisdiction over Area 19. Another rumor comes from a former worker at the NTS. It was his recollection that "an awful lot of drilling" was done in Area 19, but relatively few nuclear blasts. He says there was a story released that the drillers hit an underground lake, and as a result the NTS was not able to fully utilize the area. This seems to tie in with the fact that while there were a goodly amount of blasts done in Area 20, and some in the southerly part of Area 19, the records show very few in the heart of Area 19. The worker did seem to think there was something '"odd" about Area 19. The final rumor is a doozy. I can't attest to its validity or the reliability of the source, and pass it along only as another bit of spice for the soup. It is, however, quite entertaining. The story related to me was that a number of years ago, there was some sort of secret SDI laser facility at the termination of the powerline, in the center of the ring of roads. During testing there was an explosion that destroyed much of the facility, resulting in its abandonment. Some time later, the "saucer boys" renovated the facility and moved in. They established a facility that housed a single, remotely controlled disc. The facility was a fairly elaborate underground complex (aren't they all!) with vehicular entrances to the south. The disc, your generic 10 meter variety, was powered by capacitors, allowing flight for a fairly limited time only, and did not carry pilots or passengers. The story also includes some sort of anti-aircraft emplacements at points along the double ring of roads. Whether they were to protect the facility from pissed off aliens attempting to recover their property, or simply to blow errant Cessnas out of the sky was unclear. Conclusion So, I guess I've provided clear evidence that there is a secret underground facility in the heart of Area 19, complete with its very own saucer and that Groom Lake was just a very public diversion. Yeah, right! Seriously, this may just all be a collection of routine circumstances, looked at in just enough of a skewed light to form a pretty crazy picture. Unfortunately it is human nature that if you look at something long enough, you begin seeing things that really aren't there. However anything REALLY secret is going to be very hard to spot. The people who do this for the government are a very clever bunch and probably do their jobs quite well. I think Area 19 is worthy of at least a little scrutiny. I'd sure like a tour.... -> Send "subscribe iufo " to majordomo@alterzone.com -> Posted by: David Tilbury - Sun UK -!- MailGate 0.25e ! Origin: Ask Your Fido Feed for SNETNEWS (1:330/201.1) Ä Area: I_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Msg#: 19474 Date: 10-22-96 00:00 From: David Tilbury - Sun Uk Read: Yes Replied: No To: All Mark: Subj: Test Site Train (fwd) ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Reply-to: iufo@alterzone.com From: "David Tilbury - Sun UK" Originally to: iufo@alterzone.com Sender: iufo-approval@alterzone.com Original Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 13:26:15 +0100 (BST) -> SearchNet's iufo Mailing List The Test Site Train by Tom Mahood, October, 1995 THE SOURCE: This information is third-hand and its reliability is unknown. It comes from a distant family friend who worked with and was close friends with an individual who claims to have worked in/near Area 51 in the late 1970s through early 1980s as an electrical technician. After hearing the story, I delicately approached the individual directly for more details, but was rebuffed and told "I was too high profile", whatever that means. I also sensed the individual was upset the story was passed on as a breach of confidence between friends. THE STORY: Pretty much what follows is all I know. If there are details that are missing, it's because they weren't told to me. The individual was hired by a major firm (name unknown) in the late 1970s as an electrical technician. The person thought it was to be a routine job, but ended up going into a secret program. The worker lived in Parhump, Nevada, and drove in daily to the town of Mercury on the Nevada Test Site. There, the worker, along with others, got into a bus with blacked out windows and left Mercury. After an undisclosed amount of time, the bus arrived at a "train station", presumably someplace on the Test Site. It was described as a typical station, with rails and platforms. It was not mentioned whether it was above or below ground. Next, the worker got on the "train" (apparently your typical BART/METRO type of subway vehicle) and traveled underground for another undisclosed period of time to the facility the worker was employed at. The only clues to the whereabouts of the facility was that it was UNDER a dry lake. Just which one was never related. The facility was quite large and the worker's job was to maintain wiring in the tunnels. Exactly what was being done at the facility, or its purpose, was also never told. The worker was there until the early 1980s (1981 I think, but am not certain) when there was an accident. Something was accidentally released, perhaps chemical, perhaps radiation, and about 70 people were exposed. About 1/3 recovered with no problems. Another 1/3 died. The final 1/3 "disappeared" and were not seen again. Just what "disappeared" meant was never made clear. In any event, the worker knew several of the people who died or disappeared and was so upset, the worker submitted a resignation. There was great pressure applied by management to withdraw the resignation, but the worker was quite firm. The worker relocated to Colorado, and for about 6 months was followed by unmarked vehicles. Then, one day, the surveillance just stopped. POSTSCRIPT: Taken by itself, it's just another amusing story to be filed away for future corroboration. There would certainly be problems explaining just how a facility of that magnitude could be constructed, operated and maintained without more people knowing about it. However....Sometime after hearing the story and discussing it with a few discrete individuals, a second story, partially confirming the first surfaced. Another person, geographically far separate and of apparently no connection to the first, told of working at NTS in the mid or late 1980s. This second person told virtually the identical transportation story. However this individual got off at what was described as an "underground SDI research facility". But he said the train continued on, to where he did not know. POST-POSTSCRIPT: In discussing the story with someone who had some experience in the nuclear device tunnels at the Test Site, a possible explanation was offered. This person suggested the "underground train" could simply be a distortion (after retellings) of the trains used to move workers and goods in the tunnels in the Rainier Mesa area. I've toured these facilities and none are remotely like a BART train, but it is a possibility. Some of the tunnels go in for over a mile. The worker also pointed out that most, if not all, of the busses used to ferry workers around the Test Site have very dark desert tint windows. Again, and aspect of the story (the blacked out windows) that could have been distorted through retellings. . While these are attractive rationalizations, the element of the story having the facility under a dry lake bed (as well as the casualties) remains unexplained. -> Send "subscribe iufo " to majordomo@alterzone.com -> Posted by: David Tilbury - Sun UK -!- MailGate 0.25e ! Origin: Ask Your Fido Feed for SNETNEWS (1:330/201.1) Ä Area: I_UFO ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Msg#: 19478 Date: 10-22-96 00:00 From: David Tilbury - Sun Uk Read: Yes Replied: No To: All Mark: Subj: The Cheshire Airstrip ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ Reply-to: iufo@alterzone.com From: "David Tilbury - Sun UK" Originally to: iufo@alterzone.com Sender: iufo-approval@alterzone.com Original Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 13:00:42 +0100 (BST) -> SearchNet's iufo Mailing List The Cheshire Airstrip By Tom Mahood, October 1996 THE SOURCE: The source of this story is a commercial pilot who flies for a regional airline. This is a secondhand story, in that the source was told the story by others. The source appears to be highly reliable, but the reliability of the initial story is unknown. However, it was related as firsthand knowledge to the source by more than one individual. THE STORY: The source, as mentioned, is a commercial pilot with a strong interest in Area 51. While socializing with his fellow pilots the topic of Area 51 came up, and he discovered that several of his friends and acquaintances had previously worked for EG&G and Key Air. They had flown the "commuter runs" between Las Vegas and the Groom Lake and the Tonopah Test Range facilities. That in itself was of some interest, but occasionally they flew to somewhere else in the Nellis Complex. This "somewhere else" is what made the story of such interest to pilots as it was far from routine flying. Before these flights left Las Vegas, the pilots had to get clearance from NORAD to ensure there weren't any foreign spy satellites overhead. As they approached their destination, they contacted the ground and set up their landing pattern. What made this difficult from a pilot's viewpoint was that there wasn't a runway in sight, only miles of sagebrush covered desert. Then, as they continued their approach a runway suddenly appeared in the midst of this sea of nothingness. How was this accomplished? According to the pilots, the runway was painted (and perhaps textured) to match the surrounding desert. As the plane approached, sprinklers within the runway were turned on to wet the surface, thus making it stand out from the adjacent terrain. After landing, the passengers quickly got off, as the planes were not allowed to linger. The pilots related that the substantial complex the passengers then entered was camouflaged to look like a series of hills, or may have actually been built partially into the hills. There is no information as to just what this facility's function is. When asked if he was told the location of the airstrip, the source took out a Las Vegas aircraft sectional chart and indicated a location at the very northern portion of the Test Site: Dead Horse Flat within Area 19. The source wasn't 100% certain of his recollection on this point, and said it could also be in the Gold Flat area, just north of Area 19. This is in the no-man's-land between NTS and the Tonopah Test Range. In either case, the approximate location would be the very far northern reaches of the NTS. It was the source's recollection that the aircraft involved were primarily 737s. When asked how long a runway would be required, the source (who was somewhat familiar with 737 operations) said that based upon density altitudes for the area, typical loadings and normal safety factors, 8,000' would be a reasonable minimum. Recently, I had the opportunity to relate the story to another pilot who flies 737s on a regular basis. This pilot thought the distance necessary to land and take off a 737 could be considerably less than the 8,000' mentioned by the first pilot. My second pilot contact said that by limiting fuel and passenger loads, and the use of performance landings and take offs, the distance needed could be as little as 5,000' So, is there a mystery facility at the far northern end of the Test Site? Perhaps, but there are some difficulties with this story. While an airstrip as described could be hidden quite well visibly, it would be much harder to hide it from satellites carrying multi-spectral scanners. Scanners such as these, with the ability to "look" at things in a number of different wavelengths, can usually see though most camouflage. The good ol' USGS sells just such a thing with their very nice Landsat Thematic Mapper images of the Pahute Mesa and Cactus Flat 1:100,000 maps. No such facility is present on either image, although the old airstrip on Buckboard Mesa shows clearly. There is always the possibility the images have been manipulated in the interest of national security, but we have no such control over the Russians, and there are several Soviet satellite photos now floating around. Furthermore, the presence of such a facility in the Gold Flat area is not too likely. The airspace over Gold Flat is part of the airspace that has been opened to civilian use on weekends. Such an action doesn't make a lot of sense if you have something secret you want to hide under that airspace. Accordingly, on my own overflight I eyeballed the area pretty well and saw nothing but bomb craters. So, if the place exists, it would more probably be in the Dead Horse Flat vicinity of Area 19. The story itself awaits some type of confirmation, but it might be one to keep an eye on. -> Send "subscribe iufo " to majordomo@alterzone.com -> Posted by: David Tilbury - Sun UK -!- MailGate 0.25e ! Origin: Ask Your Fido Feed for SNETNEWS (1:330/201.1)