surround it with thermite powder and ignite it, heating the metal to the 1000 degrees C range. A cooling rate appropriate to wrought-iron microstructure could be achieved by spraying water on the mixture. However, the material was in a molten state when the witnesses arrived. The surface of the ground was frozen to a depth of at least 4 inches and the air was at 320 F. Under such conditions, cooling by water spraying would have generated considerable amounts of ice. A check made with chemical and construction firms in the area disclosed no source of thermite. Negative conclusion.

C. Piece of Equipment from Aircraft

Because of the proximity to Eppley Air Field it was thought the object could have fallen from an aircraft landing on the runway heading 320 degrees. However a check with the airport indicated no abnormal aircraft activity at the time. All airlines operating into Eppley Field responded that they had no arrival using that runway which would bring an aircraft within the vicinity of the impact site (Braniff had landed at 7:32 p.m.). Furthermore the aircraft would be low and the metal could not be heated by the air to the melting point while falling. Negative conclusion.

D. Meteoritic Impact

There was no significant crater, the material remained in a molten state quite long, the composition is not compatible with meteoritic nature as noted above (very low nickel element in particular) and the spectrographic analysis did not disclose any metal components which should be an integral part of meteoritic materials. Negative.

The material sent to Ames Laboratory at Iowa State University was analyzed by Dr. Robert S. Hansen, director of the Ames Energy and Mineral Resources Research Institute. The material was found to consist of solid metal, slag and white ash inclusions in the slag. These were examined by X-ray fluorescence, electron beam microprobe and emission microscopic techniques under the supervision of Edward DeKalb of the analytical spectroscopy section.

Ames' findings were as follows: "The metal is chiefly iron with very small amounts (less than 1%) of alloying metals such as nickel and chromium. The slag is a foam material containing metallic iron and aluminum with smaller amounts of magnesium, silicon and titanium." The white ash was found to be calcium, with some magnesium.

In the course of research and follow-up for this paper the author contacted Mr. Robert Allen, who confirmed that the case had remained unsolved after twenty years.15 He kindly supplied us with copies of his correspondence with Air Force Space Systems, who had stated that in their opinion the material was

15Author's telephone conversation and correspondence with R. Allen, September 1997.