DECLASSIFIEDUSAF PROJECT BLUE BOOK · NARA T-1206
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

PROJECT BLUE BOOK

UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT CASE FILES · 1947 – 1969
CASE REFERENCE6787105
DATE OF SIGHTINGMarch 1957
REPORTED LOCATIONBetween Mockvilleand Arrity N C
FRAMES16

Machine transcription · mean legibility 73.4/100 · engines: tesseract-200dpi

Transcribed Frames

FRAME 001 / 016tesseract-200dpi
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD

12. CONCLUSIONS

0 Wos Balloon
O Probably Belloon
0 Possibly Bolloon

O Was Aircraft
ELX Probably Aircroft
0 Possibly Aircraft

GO Was Astronomico!
O Probably Astronomical
O Possibly Astronomicol

O Other
0 Insufticient Data for Evaluation

1. DATE 2. LOCATION
i
8 March 1957 ee > ?
‘3. OATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION N.C
2:00 EST :
Local PERE a2 . 2 3Ground- Vi sual DO Ground-Radar
GMT 09/0500Z O Air Vi sual O} Air-Intercept Rodar
5. PHOTOS ae 6. SOURCE
O Yes
z =No Civilian
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | %. COURSE
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS

ne object long w/round nose,

ong. color gray-white,

30 feet
green light very

right width of nose--fiame 30 feet,
ong, no sound, alt 2000 feet to 500
eet. Object taded trom view.

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)

4

Possible a/c
afterburner,

sighting,

jet wy

-_- CCC Cr OOe OO OOOCl'"'"

i i ee me
FRAME 002 / 016tesseract-200dpi
——_——

TAB A

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSION OF UNIDENTI? ZiNG OBJECT REPORT
OF PAN AMERICAN AIRLINE CAPTAIN ON 9 MARCH 1957

1. There is no compelling reason to believe that the
object was other than a “bolide," commonly referred to as
a "fireball." These are very rarely encountered, but the |
object conforms exactly with the description of firebail
reports received by the Air Technical Intelligence Center
Guring the last ten years.

9. Interrogation of Captain gg by the New
York unit of the 4603d Air Intelligence Service Squadroa
further confirms this conclusion, His detailed descrip-
tion, in brief, “dazzling bright light with a green halo,"
coincides with the description given by the other crew |

3. These objects are extremely bright, resembling
magnesium flares; and, unlike meteors, do not bura them
selves out in the upper atmosphere, but coatinuse down to
lewer levels. Theig encounter can be a frightening

experience, particularly in a piteh-black sight, as | :

4. The fact that another pilot 175 miles away
observed the object at the same moment rules out aircraft {
and guided missiles. in addition, the Strategic Air :

Command reports ne aircraft were in the area at the tine,
asd Patrick Air Ferce Base advises no cperations were
conducted during the period.

S$. The attempt by the press to somehow relate Younus
must also be ruled out. This planet was not visible at
that time aad place—3:30 in the morning, 2t approximately
350 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida.
FRAME 003 / 016POOR LEGIBILITY — PENDING RE-EXAMINATION
, pe r .
- f ) ( WTS q

’ AFOIN/Gen Lewis/ajs/55613/15 Mar 57 uf mi
aay DOR ‘ ;

15 Marea 1957

MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF OF STAPF, USAF

- General White has edvised that you are interested

fa au ” tacident deg by Pan American Airline Pilet,
Santee SRR af sn enidontitied flyiag object which

aneut 340 miles east of Jackzeavilie, Florida,

~

2 oe
‘this 2. A pred baw Beda conducted by cur Unideatifried
a eayiag Oujest Section of ATIC at Wright-Patterson AFB.

ft scotivakion ane wehieat teal of

. ity ~ a

*,

at ta ee: :
Ge the basis of the evidence available, which
‘fmeluces an intesvice Captain Whe, there is
ee raeberisate sa atteizeteties. f voltae tes Le
* Commenig referred te ac x “Sirebsii,” A bolida is a

i
meteor. BHLoh,. oacene = joie tre: cud: ae the vnpaxy sto
Si oT
;
petetan) bes sng ye ah re {
sb) Y: ah ht 7
Fr my Figil i
ae :
. ’ ‘he ~ a

“i ee DI X REF - OIN-X2B2
ee FILE CY ~ orm
FRAME 004 / 016tesseract-200dpi
(COPY GEN, WATSONS MSG: TO HQ USAF RE PAA INCIDENT OF 9 Mar 57)

PP YFWKA
DE YFWKC 4
UNCLASSIFIED
P 141955Z
FM AFSSO ATIC
TO AFSSO HQ USAF
UNCLAS EFTO CITE; A‘-155, (PERSONAL FROM GENERAL WATSON TO COL CHAPPEL, )
REFERENCE REQUES'T FOR SOME FIRM CONCLUSIONS OR EXPLANATION REGARDING
PAN AMERICAN AIRLINE INCIDENE, 9 MAR 57. ON THE BASIS OF ALL DATA AND
EVIDENCE AVAILABLE THE FOLLOWING ARE CONCLUSIONS OF ATIC: |

A, ‘THERE IS NO COMPELLING REASON TO BSLIEVE THAT THE OBJECT. WAS
OTHER THAN A "BOLIDB", COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS A "FIREBALL," THESE ARE

VERY RARELY ENCOUNTERED, BUT THE OBJECT CONFORMS EXACTLY WITH THE DESCRIPTION

OF FIREBALL REPORTS RECEIVED BY ATIC DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS,

B, INTERROGATION OF CAPT “QMO THIS MORNING BY THE NEW YORK
UNIT OF THE 4602D AISS, FURTHER CONFIRMS THIS CONCLUSION? HIS DETAILED
DESCRIPTION, IM BRIEF, "DAZZLING BRIGHT LIGHT - WITH A GREENISH HALO,"
COINCIDES WITH THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN BY THE OTHER CREW MEMBERS,

C® THESE OBJECTS ARE GENERALLY OBSERVED ONLY A FEW SECONDS; ARE
EXTREMELY BRIGHT, RESEMBLING MAGNESIUM FLARES; AND, UNLIKE METEORS,
GENERALLY, DO NOP BURN THEMSELVES OUT IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE, BUT
CONTINUE DOWN TO LOWER LEVELS, THEIR ENCOUNTER CAN BE A FRIGHTENING
ian» PARFICULARLY IN A PITCH-BLACK NIGHT, AS DESCRIBED BY CAPT

D, MiSSILSSAND JETS ARE RULED OUT, THE LATTER IS CONFIRMED BY A
TWX FROM SAC AND ADC, REPORTING THAT NO ATRCRAPT WERE IN THE AREA AT THE
TIME, THE FACT THAT OTHER PILOTS APPROXIMATELY 175 MILES AWAY OBSERVED
THE OBJECT AT THE SAME MOMENT, RULZS OUT AIRCRAFT AND GUIDED MISSILES,

E, ALTHOUGH BO MESSAGE HAS BEEN RECEIVED FROM PATRICK AFB AD
YET REGARDING "RUMAWAY" OR OTHER GUIDED MISSILE OPERATIONS, THIS POSSIBILITY
SEEMS UNLIKELY,.« KRASOHS: FIRINGS ARE USUALLY CONDUCTED DURING THE DAY
AND BEFORS. MIDNIGHT; THE GENERAL FIRINGS ARE TOWARDS THE SE; AND THE COURSE
OF THE OBJECT ENCOUNTERED APPEARED TO COME FROM THE WEST,

F, THES ATTEMPT BY THE PRESS TO SOMEHOW RELATE VENUS, MUST ALSO BE
RULED OUT, THIS PLANET WAS NOT VISIBLE AT THAT TIME AND PLACE: 3:30
IN THE MORWING, AT APPROXIMATELY 550 MILES EAST OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA,

IT IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THIS OFFICE, THT IN RESPONSE TO ANY
QUERIES BY THE PRESS REGARDING THIS INCIDENT, THE AIR FORCE BRIEFLY STATE,
SUBSTANTIALLY, THE FOLLOWING:

A, ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION NOW AVAILABLE THE PILOT UNDOUBTEDLY
ENCOUNTERED AN OBJECT VERY RARELY SEEN, A 'BOLIDE" OR “FIREBALL”, ‘THIS
COINCIDES WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTS IDENTIFIED AS "FIREBALLS"
RECEIVED BY ATIC OVER A PERIOD OF TEN YEARS,

B, ‘THE FACT. THAT THE OBJECT WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY OBSERVED BY ANOTHER
AIRCRAFT 175 MILES TO THE REAR RULES OUT GUIDED MISSILES AND AIRCRAFT,
(THIS IS TO COMBAT THE PROPONENTS OF "FLYING SAUCERS" AND SOVIET MISSILE
AND AIRCRAFT "THREATENING" OUR SHORES, )

C, THESE CONCLUSIONS WERE CONCURRED WITH BY A WELL-KNOWN ASTRONOMER
AND ASTROPHYSICIST FROM THE SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY, TO
WHICH THE REPORT WAS SUBMITTED FOR HIS INDEPENDENT REVIEW,

‘nga HAROLD E, WATSON, BRIGADIER GENERAL, USAF, COMMANDER, ATIC
1140 4IKO

se/a05en MAR CER ANE. PRB r AP Op RE ARE EN EATRICK APB STATES:

DURING THAT PERTOD,

— save - _
FRAME 005 / 016tesseract-200dpi
NS ill

- I
é | !
i R aaa ( |
#04 SO. FILE CLASS:
pe, % | OFFICIAL FILE COPY }
i Ne
i "%
LS ae 24 Maveh 1957 __ OFFICE OF RECORD |
L one i )
— —
[APO eC Conclusions Regarding Pan American Airline Uro Incident, |
Aa |

AEOINGA 1. Reference Commander's request to undersigned for som firm con-
Stisions or explanation regarding this incident to be submitted to his
office by no later then 1400 hours, Thureday, 14 March 1957; also,

Memorandum, substantially same subject, dated 13 March 1957.

2. Resulte of prisrity requests for investigations to pertinent USAF
| AFOIN-48@2%8 Bave mot all been received as of this memorandum. However, long-
Tistance calls were continuously received directly from 46028 AISS, SAC,

AFOINS

AFOIN -Ae0)| ana tam Bastern Ate: Defense Force in response to ATIC's reques’ for

Tt va action. Ou the basis cf all data and evidence available the
p32 . ere this office's conclusions.
Fa Wniroaere 08 _ Ge» Thee ig om compelling reaeon to believe that the object
‘aon Seo then. a “yalige”, commonly referred: to as a “Fircball.". These :

iver $ *: Barge acme yp handbadh so An apne dhanyseagheet ihn

- 63 ‘

Be eat) oe Z

this mociae the Hew York 2 |
thig coneluston. detailed 2

with green halo,” . ay

2 abe A

miy « few witeahai amine RRS
flares; and, wiibe meteors, ‘

, ia,
xt eetahtr sesaming

AFOIN- pt man themselves out in the upper atacosphere, but continue dow to 4
| levels. Thety encounter can be & frightening experience, particularly © |
fe | pitch-black night, as described by Capt Van Winkle. |
HEIRS d. Meteors ani jets are ruled cut. The latter is confirmed by
ae TUK from SAC, reporting thet no aircraft were in the area st the tine,
___SECIN: he Pact that ancthar pilot 175 miles ewsy obeerved the object at the ec" ae
— ama} momen’, Fules Out Sixcrart unt guided wissiies. | : ia
Bee 2 Although no message hes been received from Patrick AFB as
x Serpertin “runaway” of other guided missile operations, this possibility
~_AFO jam coiealy. Reasons: firings are usually conducted during the day and
— Tables subdaeas Yar aebeea) Fitesas tae tatlner ae AH; anh Whe comes ob

—the-poject encountered appeared to be from South to orth.

—— ee ae ee ee

INITIAL F

, REV 70 FER 56) ROUTING AND COORDINATION SHEET AF-WP-O-30 NOV 56 25M
FRAME 006 / 016tesseract-200dpi
——— ae

| wl at
A q “hy , FILE CLASS:
ty aren’ OFFICIAL FILE COPY

zag Yor 1s Max 57 ___ OFFICE OF RECORD

?, The attempt by the presa to somehow relate Yenus, must also
a cut. This planet was not visible at that time and place: 3330
morning, at approximately 350 miles West of Jacksonville, Florida,

Of significance is the fact that our conclusions and available data
maitted to the Assceiate Dimctor of the Saithsonian Astrophysical
for review and analysis. He firmly concurs: his comments and

the recommendation of this office, that in response to any
rte press regarding this incident, the Air Force triefly state,
wie tan 2 the following:
AFOINaXd | On the basis of information now available the undoubtedly
SE kev an object very rarely seen, a bolide or "fireball.” The

AFOIN- et.

‘*
Ay
~

y

Thite Ha te combat ther yropacantes re “lying saucere” axl, Soviet missile ang

AFOIN- 1 &
TEARS Oe Oa, ag

¢ Ba sant eae eit
gy: yay <¢,

beat
+ ~ ah

* - “4 *, .

—
;
*
. » .
’ =
ie 4 :
- I Cs
a
~ ey, :

AONE

‘

AL .
.
my,

4

a?

AFOIN-4D

2Or 4 144 REV 2 FEB $6) ROUTING AND COORDINATION SHEET AF -WP-O-30 NOV 56 25M
FRAME 007 / 016tesseract-200dpi
. vw

. ‘ . »
~* * “ - e
en 7 . . =
{* =| {
" & Gee eR ’
: . , “s » ° - , ;
Ca e -
—, ; - = /

ae

14 March 1957

STATEMENT BY DR. HYiNEK

Following prepared for Captain Gregory after an examination of vre-
liminary reports on ee ee of 9 March 57:

a. Bolides, or fireballs, differ from ordinary meteors in that they
are very much brighter (sometimes transforming night into temporary day)
and appear like a magnesium flare hurtling through the lower atmosphere,
and in that they persist to much lower levels in the atmosphere. Pre-
dominantly white-yellow in color, these often have orange and greenish
tints intermixed. A bolide is generally a mass of meteoric material that
ignites through friction with the earth's atmosphere. It becomes visible
at heights above 50 miles but, unlike an ordinary meteor, does not burn
out in the air but frequently persists until it crashes to earth.

b. A close encounter with such an object is an extremely rare
occurrence, and represents a frightening experience. However, astronomical
records show that people who have observed real fireballs (and the majority
of people don't see one in a lifetime) grossly underestimate their distance.
There are cases on record in which two observers 200 miles apart both
reported the flaming object to have landed "just beyond the hill” or "in

the next field.”

c. A fireball appears to travel at uncommonly high speeds (actually

travel at 6-40 miles per second) and the great apparent angular rate leads
even the best observers unconsciously to regard object as very much closer
than it actually was. A typical fireball lasts from a few seconds to 10 or

20 at most.

ad. In present instance, a pilot 175 miles away saw it simultaneously,

it lasted 5 seconds, and it had the appearance of a flare. Even the greenish

color reported fits the pattern of a typical, but rare, observation of a
bolide.

e. One case of a bolide comes to mind in which a truck driver, late
at night, drove the truck completely off the road as a result of the light
received by a fireball sighting, a fireball that landed several hundred

miles from the truck.

f. There is therefore no basic evidence that contradicts the
hypothesis that the Pan American flight had an encounter (and perhaps at
some distance) with a bolide. The reported fact that object passed beneath
right wing is explainable by the fact that bolides do crasn to earth and do
often appear to perform a low, nearby horizontal path.

—_—— _——
FRAME 008 / 016tesseract-200dpi
\

g. However, aithough the evidence is not contradictory, and although
it appears probable that the sighting was due to a bolide, the possibility
of a guided missile or flare is, of course, not ruled out, but all available
information does not indicate the presence of such at the time of sighting -

3:30 A.M.”
eer:

Dr. J. A. Hyne
Associate Director
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

o_o o- cepa wre ~~ - =

Pale dues Avera. uta, Ataa) prick NT A
in : :
Miss v.01 Tv ~~ C46 a <
\ Ph
4 ;
’
}
;
i
Tee
‘ =" ’
—

ead lt bea at ge j
FRAME 009 / 016tesseract-200dpi
Se BETWEEN MOCKVILLE, CMA NeCe AND MTe ARRIY CMA Ne Co
6

\- <u >. gee cia FLA cA PHON

492495 CMA LING DISTANCE TRICK DRIVER

PAGE THREE RJESKB 6D

Be N/A

7. DUE TO THIS REPTs BEING RECV’D THREE DAYS LATE
Ae NO WEATHER AVAILABLE

Be NONE ;

1 “Goren erent a ee rr ee

De NONE

Ee NONE

Fe NONE

8. NONE

9. NONE

13. NONE

11. OPERATIONS OFFICER 668TH ACWRON CMA NO COMMENT
12. NONE

BT

12/15527 MAR RJESKB

~
FRAME 010 / 016tesseract-200dpi
ee EP . TO fo hr) FT LONG CMA FRONT WAS 16 TU 12 FL IN DIAMETER CMA FLARED
OUT TOWARDS TAIL CMA SINGLE VERTICLE FIN PD .
Ae LONG CMA ROUNT NOSE

Be EP FT LONG

Ce GRAY DASH WHITE

De ONE

Ee N/A

Fe WIDTH OF NOSE WAS GREEN LIGHT CMA VERY BRIGHT

Ge FLAME CMA 3@ FT LONG

FACE LO RaLSKE cn: Se ae a eee | ao
He NO SOUND CMA PAUED SPECIAL ATTENTION FOR SAME CMA NOT AVAILABLE PD
Ie N/A - ip cere : 7 ae oe ree
2. APPROACHED FROM NW MADE COMPLETE CIRCLE
Ae SAW IT THROUGH WINDOW OF TRUCK

2. GUPPP FT WHILE APPROACHING THEN DECENDED TO 508 FT

C. 588 FT

De APPROACHED FROM NW MADE COMPLETE CIRCLE CMA DESAPPEARED IN NE

Ee FADED OUT OF VIEW (|
Fe TwO MINUTES |
3. NAKED EYE

Ae GROUND VISUAL

Be NONE

Ce N/A

Re § MARCH 57 CMA 240@ EST

9 MARCH 1957 $167

Be NIGHT CMA VERY CLEAR
FRAME 011 / 016tesseract-200dpi
° Crivk
f
‘ «@ i t
° ‘
f
‘
‘es
(
a
Z |
re
{
“e
7 -
, - {
-~ é ~ ~ 4 -
e -
(
. C j
". j . “i {
:* AGO SORRY C).: NEE 4SESCIVY YLIEULIO“N EOH SYAE ChE KOL VAVITUecrE SB =
“

13Man5? O07 Wf
KBAS53 ee

PP RJEDEN RJEDWP RJEPWH RJEPNB
DE RJESKB 6D

P 12153¢7 | - eid
FM COMDR 668TH ACWRON MACDILL AFB FLA as
TO RJEDEN/ COMDR ADC ENT AFB COLO
RJESKB/COMDR 35TH ADIV DOBBINS AFB GA

“

RJEDWP/COMDR AIR TECH INT CNTR WRIGHT PATTERSON AFB OHIO
RJEPHO/DIR OF INT HQ USAF WASH DC

INFO RJEPNB/COMDR EADF STEWART AFB NY

BT

/UNCLASSIFIED/ZOPS 2223 PD ATTN’ EADF CIC PD
FRAME 012 / 016POOR LEGIBILITY — PENDING RE-EXAMINATION
TRE

et ee

SCT Rs 1s eee

a  <ceead

oad

a St le

fee ee eee we eiey oe

-_ aa ry o.

see alts bay AW! TWwere
Dag wm aveh eet. ope oho J

PRELIMINARY ANAYETS

Oo © eed hd ee beh tt 10 Oe eves fhe '¢

Af? ¢ mS le "SS Ao1 rs = f - ea -ry
s aubh'd 44D 4. 3 ty Ly ) ae DK | a 328 ~ Bik: FD 1957 é

(VTRP TTF Me As? DoT ts age on ten
Feary 4” a Lid. ni R= LEASES

Ser MA iar TPA POA {> ) Srna, 1c mre \
Vatede od Ls wt adie ee ee \~--r _ oto de gait /
- -~ =~ -*-, P

7 LOeri SATIS TT V3. Bone , 57 5
he ee ee eee oe 2 ee ee . ++ ~- pa ys ee /

eee

a
FRAME 013 / 016tesseract-200dpi
SH te eB)

{
ee rae | ( Ta YAKS '
K Ul Wy Plaga id LT.

REPORT aaa score

This incident received wide newspaper mention. The Research Section has in-
vestigated it, as special representatives of NICAP as well as for CSI, and the
follovring account is the result.

A few minutes before midnight on March 8, 1957, Captain er Lee a

WHE took his airliner up from Idlewild Airport, bound to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Co-pilot » Flight Engineer —EEay and stewardesses im
a: completed the crew on Pan American Airlines flight 257. There
were ll passengers aboard. The flight was routine, except that it was necessary

to keep to the west of the normal flight course in or rder to avoid a storm center

farther out in the Atlantic.

el /-
el

At 3:33 a.m. (EST) the plane was far out over the Atlantic, about 650 miles
to the east of Jacksonville, Florida, flying at 19,000 feet on a south-by-east
heading (between 1609 and 175° true). At this point, the flight abruptly ceased
to be routine. About 80° to their right , <M and “ashuta simultaneously
saw a brilliant light. Jp 126 the impression of seeing an orange glow at
first, although he was later uncertain about this detail. At any rate, it seemed
to "come out of nowhere," and immediately assumed the appearance of a round, bril-
liant greenish-white "spotlight," almost as large as a full moon.

The light appeared "contained," having a clear and well-defined edge; Washuta
described it as “"rim-like” around the edge. This "rim" seemed to reflect a green-
- ish color, while the center was a brilliant white. It looked like a spotlight
directed to the front of then, so that they were not looking directly into the
source of light.

first thought was that it might be a jet interceptor with a spot-
light in the nose, but he immediately rejected this idea because of the brilliance
of the light, and "because they (interceptors) always come at least by twos — one
pulling alongside of you ready for action, the other throtring a spotlight on your
identification markings from a distance to find out who you are,!!

The object seemed to be of adout airplane size, and no more than a half-mile
away (an erroneous impression, as he discovered later). It was exactly level with
him, and apparently heading horizontally across the nose of his plane, on a colli-
sion course. ‘/ithin two seconds after first seeing it, he pulled the plane up
and to the left in a violent evasive manoeuver to avoid possible collision; the
plane climbed 1500 feet in a matter of seconds. In concentrating on handling the
plane, he lost sight of the object. (Tre news accounts reported that V.'/. saw the
object "slip by under my right wing." ( Actually, VM 5-5) ins » this was not
so: the object was hidden from his sight by the right wing as it lifted.)

Washuta, who was seated in the right of the cockpit, had a better view of
the light, and renortedly observed it for about four seconds, after which it "went
out." By the tine QHMMimmiees righted the aircraft, the light was no longer to
be seen. Neither the co-pilot, busy with the navigation instruments, nor any of
the passengers, had seen it.

In the cabin, there was pandemonium. All those who had not had their seat
belts fastened had hit the ceiling of the cabin when the tail dropped, and three
people were more or less seriously injured: liiss qa ++: a possible concus-—
sion, lirs. oo. ee of Philadelphia, who appeared to have a broken rib; and
one ilonserrate Soto, injuries unspecified. C| ‘tian far
FRAME 014 / 016tesseract-200dpi
18. |

Mis and the co-pilot tried to assuage the panic in the cabin, but it
wa calm reassuring voice over the loudspeaker that was most effective

in settling the passengers. The knowledge that a UFO had been responsible for '
their distress seemed to calm their agitation. (IS erroneously reported that,

‘

according to passengers, a strong light "like a huncred suns" filled the cabin of |
the aircraft.) |

mmedia ollovin ine b ‘radio sudder cane alive:
Immediately folloiring the incident, radio lenl live

at least six other aircraft had seenthe object. All were flying roughly SSE on
the same route, and they occupied an area, from north to south, more than 300 miles

long.

Noout 150 miles to the north 0! A at 31° 35’ N, 70° 50! ‘I, was Capt.
Cant and Flight Engin-

r, piloting PAA's Plight 269 at 19,000 feet. OC:
eer sav the object to the WSW, as did

» and described it as
arcing upward and then falling slightly in a concave trajectory as it moved on an
apparently ESE course. According to the press, MMP described it as being "almost
a magnesium flash, white with pale greenish tints arovnd it ... At first I thought
that it was a flare, then I thought it could be another of those 'mis~-guided'
missiles. I saw it for about five seconds - it must have been moving at a terrific
speed,"

Flying 15 minutes ahead of AMBERegiapt. Delle. piloting PAA's Flight
257-A at 15,000 feet, did not notice the object. “MMe cives his om posi-
tion as 30° N, 70° ho' WwW.) | |

- Some 180 miles to the southeast ig N, 68° 15' WW, was
PAA Flight 215, flying at 17,000 feet. Cap and Flight Engineer
saw the object, again to the west of them. "It appeared first as

a bright light, traveling fast ... it grew in intensity until it was exceedingly
brilliant for a moment as it passed, then it seemed to fade." Its angular size, . |
to \fyland as to qq, was "as large as a full moon at the zenith." It was
greenish-blue at the perimeter, blending into a white centcr. He said it "looked
at first as though it were coming directly toward us on our flight level. It
either veered slightly, or our original imnression vas in error, as it slanted
diagonally across our starboard auarter descending, and seemed to 'go out.' As it
passec, there was a definite reddish tinge to the tail or rear portion, and a

piece seemed to fall off, or was ejected. The portion that dropped off was 10%

the size of the whole, and was definitely reddish in color." lViyland had the object
in vievr from two to five seconds.

Nbout 220 miles SSE of Van ‘linkle, at roughly 27° N, 69° 20' W (650 miles east
of Vest Palm Beach) was PAA Flight 215-A, piloted by Capt. ager flying
at 19,000 feet, the same altitude as SIRAUNMMOIENE nc GMa did not see
the object reported by the other pilots, but he had seen something identical almost
iwo hours earlier, SMBs flight engineer, , saw the object(s)
involved in both incidents.

According tgggggmmPthe object seen at 3:33 aom. - observed by all the other
pilots - was seen to the west of his plane and appeared to be going parallel to
his direction. He said it seemed as large as “a dine held at arm's length." The
Second engineer, who called attention to the phenomenon, estimated that
it was in view for two or three seconds. Round, it_had no -mregged edges - "smooth"
was QQQMR word for it - and was a brilliant -greenish-white in color. He saw a
slight projection at the rear that detached itself and turned red as it fell. At
point, the . began to are downward at a slight angle, and then

did not think the object was a meteor.
FRAME 015 / 016tesseract-200dpi
> 19.

Almost two hours earlier, about 12:5 aem., while Flight 215-A was in the
vicinity of Delta Oscar (a positional. marker located off the Carolinas) , Sagi
and Q@@WWPhad seen a similar object - "smaller than a full moon," according to
qm —«s streaking north or NMI, This object was also due west, or almost due
west, of their position. It moved in a completely horizontal trajectory, and had
a red tail-like projection, which suddenly dronped off, and fell "like a flare."
The main part, which tras green, continued in a straight line and passed out of

s range of vision. Rs, who was seated on the right side of the cockpit,
looked back as it passed, and thought he saw it quickly disappear into clouds;
however, a later check indicated that there were few, if any, clouds in the area.

said he saw it for about three seconds; Smith slightly longer. Several
of S passengers had seen it also.

Returning to the 3:33 a.m. object, three other aircraft are reported to have
observed this: another Pan-American flight (unidentified); the pilot of an Eastern
Airiines plane who thought the object was a two-stage rocket; and one Trans-Carrib-
bean pilot who said it was a meteor. We have not been able to get in touch with
any of these pilots. Fee /

a —

| It is quite clear from the testimonies of the De Aaa the object they savr
was much farther avay than they at first realized. Note that over a 300-mile base-
line, all of them saw it to thetrwest or southwest; that it appeared to be moving
in roughly the same direction relative to all observers; and that its angular
measurement from ali of these tidely-separated points was approximately half a
@egree. These circumstances obviously indicate an exceedingly large object seen
at.a,distance. measured in the hundreds of miles. The nearest possible location

_for:the appearing-point permitted by the geometry is at about 29° N, 78° W. This
point is 80° te the right of a 160° heading for MMMM, 100° to the right of
a 185° heading for Wyland (assuming this is 185° true, not magnetic), and places
the object about 250 miles from Wyland, and somewhat more than 100 miles fro
* However, since it appeared no larcer to QW than to SR: .

: Wa location so close pt, is not very plausible; something like
28° N, .75° 3, 300 to 400 miles from all the planes, is more likely. GQ hin-
self has calculated that it was from 300 to 600 miles distant from him. An angular
measurement of one-half degree at four hundred miles gives the object a diameter
in excess of three miles; but such calculations are misleading when applied to
luminous bodies, which always appear far larger than they are.

This large scale of the phenomenon is highly suggestive of a meteoric fire-
However, it should be noted that none of the four witnesses (

Pi Ge whom we have interviewed believed that it was a meteor.
GIA’ said he has seen some extremely spectacular meteors, but none has ever
resembled this object. The absence of any visible tail; the difference in quality
between this "contained" light and a flaming fireball; and its substantially hori-
zontal trajectory at unreasonably low altitudes, seem different from what vould be
expected of a meteor. And the chances against seeing two such remarkably similar

— a 8 ee ee

"meteors" over the same area within the span of two hours are "astronomical."

ball.

On the other hand, the object appeared for only five seconds at the most -

typical of meteors; it exhibited no sort of controlled manoeuver; and the wide area
over which it was observed is typical of fireballs rather than of UFO phenomena.
One is inclined to say that this was neither a "normal" UFO nor a "normal
fireball. Can it be classified as a "green fireball"? [It was certainly not a deep
“elly-ereen in color, but the behavior was very similar (cf, Ruppelt, pp. 72-3,78).

2
Thera is a large group of sightings strikingly similer to this one, some of them in

= ee eee

ed
FRAME 016 / 016tesseract-200dpi
20.
this same area, On May 8, 1952, at 4:30 a.m., a pilot had a near-collision with

a similar object while en route to San Juan. (See The Report on Unidentified
Flying Objects, by Ruppelt, pp. 178-80.) On April 23, ooh, several PAA pilots
saw an "object with an orange-green light zip by." (Flyi ng Saucer Conspiracy, by
Keyhoe, p. 133.) Auriphebo Simoes is one of those who have seen such a "fireball"

(O Disco Voador, #3).

Anf on March 25, 1957 - not three weeks afterghgMMMIB™ report - Capt.~ie
piloting PAA Flight @g§MBSan Juan to New York, had a daytime sighting
along the same route, (Details on this observation are now being sought.)

(Mote on sources: Besides the data secured directly from four of the wit-
messes, acditional information on the March 9. sightime was gleaned from the N. Y.
Times, 3/10 (UP 3/9); N.Y. Mirror 3/10 (AP 3/9); 1. @. Journal-American, 3/9 (INS)
and 3/11 (INS by ae 3 and numerous other papers carrying substantially

the same wire accounts. Our thanks go also to Bill Nash of PAA and Chris Pantages
of Riddle Airlines for their valuable assistance.)

—— —