Richard Lang

Richard Lang is a ufologist, researcher and speaker with an unusual mix of aviation, law-enforcement and security backgrounds. He is a licensed FAA Commercial Pilot with a B.S. from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, a Virginia-certified law-enforcement officer (2002) and private investigator (Virginia, 2001), served post-9/11 as a TSA agent in counter-terrorism and aviation security, sat on the Anti-Terrorist Advisory Council Board and served as a reserve police officer and Special Deputy for the U.S. Marshall Service. He has been active in the civilian UFO research community since the 1990s.

• Licensed FAA Commercial Pilot with a B.S. in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle
• Virginia-certified law-enforcement officer (2002) and private investigator (Virginia, 2001)
• Post-9/11 TSA agent in counter-terrorism and aviation security, Anti-Terrorist Advisory Council Board, reserve police officer and Special Deputy for the U.S. Marshall Service
• Joined MUFON in the 1980s, certified investigator, Chief Investigator in North Carolina and Virginia
• Lead Investigator on the Discovery Channel series Close Encounters (2012–2013, seasons 1–2) and UFOs over Earth
• Leader of the BAASS/MUFON SIP Project and STAR Team (2009–2010) handling about 800 cases per month
• Agency Director for ARIRA (Aerospace Research Investigation Reporting Agency) and the AIRIA Project; author of UFO Investigation: A First Responder's Guide to UFO Encounters among others

For the UAP timeline, Lang is the prototype of the methodically operational field investigator: someone who translated his aviation and law-enforcement experience directly into a UFO investigation methodology — from MUFON investigator through BAASS coordination to documentary work. His first-responder manuals represent a rare case of institutionalised methodology beyond academic circles.