John Olsen Lear

John Olsen Lear was born on December 3, 1942, to industrialist and future Learjet founder Bill Lear and his wife Moya Marie Olsen Lear.[5][6] He was named after his maternal grandfather, famous comedian John Olsen.[5] His second and third birthday parties were covered in the "Society" page of an Ohio paper.[7][8]

Lear graduated from the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland and attended Wichita State University.[9][10] Lear claimed that in 1959 he had become the youngest American to ever climb Switzerland's Matterhorn.[11]

In 1965, Lear was employed by the Paul Kelly Flying Service when its founder was killed while piloting a LearJet. Lear testified at the Civil Aeronautics Board investigation into the crash.[12]

Between May 23 and 26, 1966, Lear and a crewmate flew a record-breaking flight around the world in a LearJet that covered 22,000 miles in 50 hours and 39 minutes.[13]

In August 1966, Lear was featured in the Wichita Press after he piloted a LearJet carrying the rock band The Byrds and the trip inspired them to write a song about the plane.[14] The track, titled "2-4-2 Foxtrot (The Lear Jet Song)", samples Lear's voice as he speaks over the radio.[14][15]

In 1968, Air Force personnel from Hamilton Air Force Base launched a rescue effort to help Lear land after heavy San Francisco fog interfered with landing. Traffic was cleared from the Golden Gate Bridge in anticipation of a forced landing. After a helicopter pilot established visual contact, Lear was able to successfully land at the base.[16]

Lear flew cargo planes for the CIA during the Vietnam era.[17] He claimed to have flown "secret missions for the CIA" between 1967 and 1983.[18]

External video
George Knapp interview of John Lear, KLAS TV 1987

In 1987, Lear released a press statement claiming that the US government has close contacts with extraterrestrials and were secretly "promoting" films like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind to influence the public to see extraterrestrials as "space brothers".[19] That year, he was interviewed by journalist George Knapp.[20]

In 1988, Lear authored "The UFO Coverup", a short document in which Lear spun a tale involving a secret government committee, Majestic 12, making a treaty with Gray aliens, only to later realize they've been deceived by the aliens.[21] The work includes:

• German recovery of a 'flying saucer' in 1939
• Ghost rockets of 1946
• Death of James Forrestal
• Majestic 12
• Roswell incident
• Aztec UFO crash
• 1952 Washington, D.C., UFO incident
• Alien abductions, implants, and crossbreeding
• Cattle mutilations and human mutilations
• Dulce Base and other alien-human underground bases

In 1989, Lear served as "State Director" for MUFON, hosting the 1989 symposium "The UFO Cover-Up: A Government Conspiracy?"[2] Despite initial objections from MUFON founder Walt Andrus, Lear was able to submit a slate of speakers after he threatened to split the symposium.[2] At that same symposium, Roswell author Bill Moore tearfully confessed to having intentionally spread disinformation to UFO researcher Paul Bennewitz on behalf of purported counter-intelligence agent Richard Doty.[2] Lear's speakers were slated to provide allegedly-independent verification of the Bennewitz claims.[2] One of those speakers, Bill Cooper, would later break with Lear after accusing him of being an intelligence agent.[1] Lear promoted alleged UFO whistle-blower Bob Lazar and his tales of Area 51.[17]

Lear made multiple appearances on fringe TV shows, including Ancient Aliens, America's Book of Secrets,Brad Meltzer's Decoded, and The Unexplained Files.[22] From 2003 to 2015, Lear was a regular guest on Coast to Coast AM.[23]

In 1970, Lear married Marilee Higginbotham, owner of a California fashion modelling agency, at a ceremony in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles.[9]

Lear died on March 29, 2022.[24][17]

• The UFO Coverup by John Lear - August 25, 1988