Rendlesham Sergeant Penniston Ground Contact 1980

On December 26, 1980, the first night of the Rendlesham Forest incident, USAF Security Police Sergeant Jim Penniston and Airman First Class John Burroughs investigated lights in the forest near RAF Woodbridge. They encountered a triangular craft resting on the ground in the forest, emitting colored lights. Penniston approached to within arm's length and placed his hands on the craft's surface. He described the exterior as smooth black glass with raised symbols. Penniston recorded the symbols he observed in a notebook — a contemporaneous document that still exists. He later reported receiving a mental impression of binary code information at the moment of physical contact. The notebook was submitted as evidence in multiple investigations. Burroughs corroborated the close encounter. Both men testified before the US Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on UAP in 2023. Penniston's encounter is the closest documented physical contact by a US military servicemember with an unidentified craft in the public record.