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Out of this world: Coyne Incident focused UFO attention on north central Ohio in 1973

MIFFLIN — The mention of Unidentified Flying Objects naturally grabs the attention of even the least curious observer. It’s easily among the most interesting topics relating to outer space and aviation.

However, when people think of UFO’s, locations like Area 51, Roswell, New Mexico, and various sites in Nevada and even Wisconsin all jump in front of north central Ohio.

Ah, but we’re not completely out of the loop, so to speak.

On Oct. 18, 1973, UFOs became the centerpiece of conversation in this region and beyond. That was the night the Coyne Incident, or the Mansfield Encounter (whichever you prefer), became one of the best documented UFO events in United States history.

The incident began when the four-man crew of a military helicopter led by U.S. Army Capt. Larry Coyne saw something truly unforgettable in the night sky.

The crew, including Coyne, 1st Lt. Arrigo Jezzi, Sgt. John Healey, and Sgt. Robert Yanacsek, was flying back to Cleveland from Columbus and was stopping in Mansfield to refuel. But as they got near Charles Mill Lake, they noticed a red light that seemed out of place off in the distance. In short order, the odd light appeared to be flying on a collision course with the helicopter.

Coyne noticed this, and as he was preparing for evasive maneuvers, the odd light stopped in front of the helicopter in mid-air.

“A cigar-shaped gray metallic object filled the entire front windshield. A red light was at the nose, a white light at the tail, and a distinctive green beam emanated from the lower part of the object,” the crew reported.

The object scanned over the cockpit with a green spotlight. It then flew off over Mansfield.

Several witnesses on the ground also reported seeing an odd red light in the sky. After this event, Coyne submitted a report where he claimed that the object was real and needed to be investigated.

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Footage and interviews about the Mansfield Encounter extracted from 1979 documentary UFOs: It Has Begun with Rod Serling.

To this day the Coyne Incident is considered one of the most credible accounts of a UFO encounter, largely because of the impeccable credibility of the crew.

Interestingly, there have been a number of other UFO reports published in north central Ohio media.

One of those events occurred n March of 1948 and was covered by the News-Journal. In this sighting, Mansfield resident Olive Owen reported seeing a strange light in the sky travelling in an irregular pattern near Possum Run Road.

On March 11, 2004, two Ontario residents filed reports with the National UFO Reporting Center describing a similar unidentified aircraft. The object was described as a triangular shape, flying at speeds around 50 mph above Route 309 towards Columbus, and had several yellow lights randomly displayed on the bottom of the object.

More recently, on June 6, 2018, a chevron shape was reported flying over Mansfield. In a report to the National UFO Reporting Center, the object was described as silent, flying between altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet, and disappearing into the sunlight.

These are just a sampling of several interesting UFO incidents in the region over the past 80 years. There were no less than eight stories published by the local media of UFO sightings since 1948.

The stories of varying detail are often captivating and even intriguing — based largely on the subject matter.

For more on these incidents and other reference materials, check out Jayson Schechty’s article Strange Sightings in the Night Sky, gleaned from the Sherman Room documentation compiled at the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library.

Author Taylor Perry is a student at Ohio Northern University.

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This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Richland Source can be found here.