Frank Mannor

Frank Mannor was a Michigan farmer who, on 20 March 1966, observed a glowing object over a swampy area near his property in Dexter, Michigan. His sighting was one of several in the area that week, sparking a major media frenzy — and was covered by J. Allen Hynek, Air Force consultant to Project Blue Book, with his notorious "swamp gas" explanation, which he later deeply regretted.

• Farmer in Dexter, Michigan
• Sighting on 20 March 1966 in the vicinity of his property
• Object hovered over a swampy area
• One of several sightings in the area in the same week
• The Mannor case triggered major media attention
• J. Allen Hynek explained the phenomenon as "swamp gas" — an explanation he later deeply regretted
• The Michigan swamp-gas incident became a turning point in public perception of official UFO explanations and contributed to the call for the Condon Committee investigation

For the UAP timeline, Mannor is a key case of delegitimisation of official U.S. UFO explanations: without his sighting and the swamp-gas episode, neither the Condon Committee call nor Hynek's own break with Project Blue Book would have gained the same argumentative weight.