An unspecified Air Force aircraft crashed in Nevada last month, and some theorists claim it hit near Area 51 and that officials are covering up the incident.
The crash occurred on Sept. 23.
Creech Air Force Base, a 45-mile drive northwest of Las Vegas, said on Oct. 4 that an aircraft from the 432nd Wing stationed at the base crashed without any fatalities or injuries. Base officials did not say what type of aircraft was involved or exactly where the crash occurred.
Base officials also said investigators found signs of tampering at the unspecified crash site on Oct. 3, including an inert replica bomb and an aircraft panel of unknown origin. Creech AFB said the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the FBI were looking into the incident.
Joerg Arnu, operator of Dreamland Resort, a website dedicated to theorizing about Area 51, told Las Vegas’ KLAS-TV that the Air Force narrative of events was bunkum.
He contends the Creech AFB allegations of tampering are “designed to make people not go there, discourage people from going there.”
Mr. Arnu claimed that, while listening to radio traffic at Area 51 the night of the crash, he heard personnel say, “We just had an asset go down.”
He added, “This is not Creech security. This is Area 51 security, and they had an asset go down. Then the next thing you hear, UAV, unmanned aircraft, unmanned aircraft with ordnance.”
Mr. Arnu also claimed that public land near Area 51, including along Nevada State Route 375, designated by the state as the Extraterrestrial Highway, was locked down in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
The 432nd Wing does have units known to use unmanned aerial vehicles, including the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone, according to The War Zone defense news site.
The Federal Aviation Administration implemented temporary flight restrictions for an area 5 nautical miles east of Area 51 from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1, citing national security, according to KLAS-TV.
Area 51 has long been in the thick of stories about unidentified flying objects and aliens.
