In January 1948, Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Captain Thomas Mantell died while pursuing an unidentified flying object near Fort Knox, after his P-51 Mustang went into a fatal climb. The U.S. Air Force later suggested he had been chasing a high-altitude Skyhook balloon, but many still regard the Mantell incident as one of the first major UFO cases of the modern era.

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we are joined by filmmaker Seth Breedlove, whose forthcoming documentary Lost Contact: UFOs After Wartime revisits one of the earliest controversies in the study of UFOs, involving the fatal plane crash that claimed the life of pilot Thomas Mantell in 1948. What does a fresh look at eyewitness testimony reveal about this classic of post-war ufology?

Have you had a UFO/UAP sighting? Please consider reporting your sighting to the UAP Sightings Reporting System, a public resource for information about sightings of aerial phenomena.

The story doesn't end here... become an X Subscriber and get access to even more weekly content and monthly specials.

Want to advertise/sponsor The Micah Hanks Program?

We have partnered with the AdvertiseCast to handle our advertising/sponsorship requests. If you would like to advertise with The Micah Hanks Program, all you have to do is click the link below to get started:

AdvertiseCast: Advertise with The Micah Hanks Program

Show Notes

Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS.

Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as "classic" episodes, weekly "additional editions" of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more.

Like us on Facebook

Follow @MicahHanks on X.

Keep up with Micah and his work at micahhanks.com.

Lost Contact: The Mantell Incident and Post-War UFOs | MHP 09.23.25.