On the record

The Robertson Panel

Catalog FG-022When January 14–17, 1953Where Washington, D.C.

The CIA asks top scientists if UFOs are a threat. Their answer shaped policy for decades.

After the 1952 Washington flap, the CIA gathered physicist H.P. Robertson and other scientists to review Air Force evidence, including the Tremonton and Great Falls films. In four days they concluded the reports showed no threat and no evidence of anything outside known science. Their real worry was that a flood of reports could clog military channels during a crisis, so they recommended a public education campaign to reduce interest and suggested watching civilian UFO groups.

Weigh the evidence

The ledger

What the record shows, what people say, and the best explanation available so far.

What's documented

The panel's report was later declassified and is in the CIA's reading room.

What's claimed

Proof of a deliberate debunking cover-up.

Best explanation so far

The panel did recommend reducing public interest, which fed decades of cover-up suspicion. Its conclusions about the evidence itself were conventional.

Where to look