Shallet, in the Saturday Evening Post articles, described Project
"Saucer's" reconstruction of the case. Mantell was said to have
climbed up to 25,000 feet, despite his firm decision to end the chase
at 20,000, since he carried no oxygen. Around 25,000 feet, Shallett
quoted the Air Force investigators, Mantell must have lost
consciousness. After this, his pilotless plane climbed on up to some
30,000 feet, then dived. Between 20,000 and 10,000 feet, Shallett
suggested, the P-51 began to disintegrate, obviously from excessive
speed. The gleaming object that

{p. 38}

hypnotized Mantell into this fatal climb was, Shallett said, either
the planet Venus or a Navy cosmic-ray research balloon.

The Air Force Project "Saucer" report of April 27, 1949, released just
after the first Post article, makes these statements:

"Five minutes after Mantell disappeared from his formation, the two
remaining planes returned to Godman. A few minutes later, one resumed
the search, covering territory 100 miles to the south as high as
33,000 feet, but found nothing.

"Subsequent investigation revealed that Mantell had probably blacked
out at 20,000 feet from lack of oxygen and had died of suffocation
before the crash.

"The mysterious object which the flyer chased to his death was first
identified as the Planet Venus. However, further probing showed the
elevation and azimuth readings of Venus and the object at specified