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Coyne Helicopter Encounter

Aviation

An Army Reserve helicopter crew near Mansfield reported a near-collision with a luminous object and unexplained altitude change.

Witnesses — Lt. Col. Lawrence J. Coyne, 1LT Arrigo Jezzi, SSG Robert Yanacsek, SSG John Healey

Evidence — U.s. army disposition report (da form 2496 record), Flight crew signed attestations, Contemporaneous upi newspaper account, United nations committee testimony record

Status — Unresolved

Disclosure Rating — 4/10

On October 18, 1973, a U.S. Army Reserve UH-1H helicopter crew flying from Columbus to Cleveland reported a near midair collision southeast of Mansfield, Ohio, with an object described as metallic, elongated, and intensely illuminated.12

  Origin of the Report

The story originated as an internal U.S. Army report, not as a press claim. A November 23, 1973 disposition form from the U.S. Army Reserve Flight Facility at Cleveland Hopkins states that helicopter 68-15444 encountered an unidentified object at approximately 23:05 near Mansfield while at 2,500 feet on heading 030.12 The same record says the crew expected impact, executed evasive descent, and then observed anomalous altitude behavior while controls remained in a descent configuration.12

  Who Observed and Stated It

The four-man Army Reserve crew named in the Army record were pilot in command Capt. Lawrence J. Coyne, copilot 1LT Arrigo Jezzi, crew chief SSG Robert Yanacsek, and medic SSG John Healey.12 The disposition form states the report was read and attested to by the crewmembers with signatures.2

A contemporaneous UPI report published in the Mansfield News Journal on November 4, 1973, carried Coyne's public description of a near miss, a gray metallic object, a green beam into the cockpit, and an unexpected climb.3 Decades later, Jezzi publicly repeated key points about the rapid approach and unusual lighting in a 30-year retrospective interview, showing continuity in core witness claims while uncertainty about object identity remained.4

  Evolution of the Story

The case evolved from a military safety-style incident report in late 1973 into a frequently cited international UFO case by the late 1970s.125 In November 1978, during U.N. Special Political Committee consideration of UFO research, Lt. Col. Coyne gave a structured account describing the flight profile, loss of reliable communications response, compass anomaly, apparent forced climb, and rapid departure of the object.5

That U.N. phase marks a clear narrative transition: from local military and press records to policy-level discussion about coordinated international study of unidentified aerial phenomena.56 The core timeline and named witnesses remained stable, but interpretation expanded from incident documentation toward broader scientific and governmental debate.356

  References

  References

  1. nicap.org ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. cufon.org ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. ufologie.patrickgross.org ↩ ↩2

  4. ufologie.patrickgross.org ↩

  5. digitallibrary.un.org ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. digitallibrary.un.org ↩ ↩2

Occured on October 18, 1973

3 min read