Hangar 18 drew inspiration from real UFO lore and conspiracy theories, but took significant creative liberties. The film’s premise of a government cover-up following a UFO crash and the storage/study of alien technology in a secret military hangar echoes elements of the Roswell incident and rumors about Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. However, the specific plot details, characters, and alien encounters depicted in the movie are fictional dramatizations rather than based on documented UFO cases. While the film leveraged popular UFO themes of the time, it was primarily a work of science fiction rather than an attempt to accurately portray real UFO incidents or government activities.
Hangar 18 involves a U.F.O. cover-up following an incident aboard the space shuttle. The orbiter is launching a satellite, which collides with an unidentified object passing close by. The space collision kills a fellow astronaut who was in the bay at that time, however, the entire incident is witnessed by astronauts Price and Bancroff.
This video is hosted on YouTube.com, not this site. It may be removed at any time, but it has been up for about a year so we assume the rights for public showing have been paid by the persons who posted it.
Upon returning to Earth, both men slowly investigate what they know happened in space — and which the government authorities try their best to hide. The damaged spacecraft however, has been recovered after it is observed making a controlled landing in the Arizona desert. Although the aliens on board die, the government technicians begin their foray into trying to understand the extremely delicate processes which operate the complex ship.
On board the craft, the technician team makes three discoveries. The first is an unknown woman in some sort of stasis, who later awakens in the back of an ambulance screaming (leading moviegoers to believe she may have been an abductee). The second is the fact that symbols found on certain control panels are the same as symbols which reside here on Earth, albeit in ancient places. The third is the fact that the aliens have been here before–as the team discovers some type of surveillance footage noting power installations, military installations, and major cities worldwide.
