Dan 'Tanna' Isbell
Retired USAF colonel and test pilot. In 1980 a young F-111 pilot at RAF Upper Heyford, where he saw a silent triangle on 26 December. Tells it under his own name; says he gave the FBI an interview in 2023.
Witness profile
Retired Air Force colonel and test pilot who as a young F-111 pilot saw a silent triangle stop over the golf course at RAF Upper Heyford on 26 December 1980. He told no one, not even his wife, for decades, then went public under his own name.
Describes the witness from the record, their own retellings and how they come across. No score for the person; the factors at the end belong to the cases.
From the record service · posting · clearance · testimony
| Service | US Air Force, F-111 pilot, later test pilotService record | documented |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Colonel (retired)Service record | documented |
| Posting | RAF Upper Heyford, 1980 (nuclear-alert duty)Service record | documented |
| FBI | Interviewed by the FBI in 2023 after his report to Americans for Safe AerospaceHis account; the FBI has asked to release it | own account |
Retellings over time from the transcript library and records
Following: A silent triangle over the Upper Heyford golf course, 1980
- 2023-05-27 Report to Americans for Safe Aerospace · first tellingPassed to the FBI.
- 2023 Safe Aerospace Podcast with Ryan Graves · heldNamed, on camera. Not yet in the transcript library.
first tellingheldclarifieddetail addeddetail shiftedrecord
On camera demeanour notes, timestamped
How they look and speak: hesitations, self-corrections, emotion. Dashed slots still need the video.
Safe Aerospace Podcast, 2023
Forty years of silence, then a named account: how he carries it.Needs the video on Igor's PC
Feeds case plausibility consistency · restraint · character
Current factor values from the case ratings. The arrow shows which part of this profile backs each one.
Profile updated 2026-10-23