Maury Island incident

[1][2] On August 1, two Air Force officers tasked with investigating the incident were killed when their plane crashed outside of Kelso, Washington.

Project Blue Book chief Edward J. Ruppelt characterized the story as "the dirtiest hoax in the UFO history."

The Maury Island incident has inspired an eponymous film, artwork, and local celebrations in Des Moines, Washington.

According to Dahl, a substance resembling lava rocks fell onto their boat, breaking a worker's arm and killing a dog.

Crisman showed "white metal" debris to Arnold and Smith, who interpreted it as mundane and inconsistent with Dahl's description.

[1] Arnold then decided to contact Lieutenant Frank Brown of Military Intelligence, Fourth Air Force, Hamilton Field, California.

"[2] Ruppelt observed: The majority of the writers of saucer lore have played this sighting to the hilt, pointing out as their main premise the fact that the story must be true because the government never openly exposed or prosecuted either of the two hoaxers.

Gray Barker's 1956 book They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers, which helped to popularize the concept of "men in black", cited the supposed event.

[10] The debunked Majestic 12 documents also referenced the story, claiming that the metal fragments were part of a nuclear reactor, and had been turned over to the CIA.

[13] The 2014 short film The Maury Island Incident depicts the hoax and resulting events from Dahl's point of view.

Artist impression of the Maury Island UFO incident
A 2014 public mural depicting the incident