1951
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
|
I. DISCUSSION OF INCIDENT
On the evening of 24 November 1951, seven people observed an unidentified aerial object, from four separate locations in Southern Michigan. The object was observed in the SW quadrant traveling at speeds "much faster than a Jet" at an apparently low altitude (below 2,000 ft. or 2° - 4° above the horizon) in all the observations. The object traveled horizontal to the earth and in one instance was noted to lose altitude just before it disappeared. No sounds were heard by any of the observers. In each case the time the object was in sight was 5-6 seconds or less.
Additional information is given below and in inclosed overlay which shows apparent track of objects. It will be noted that these are only the apparent tracks.
| Time | Shape | Color | Trail | Course | Apparent distance (miles) | Observer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820E | Egg | White | Red | WSW | 2-3 | AF PFC |
| 1820E | "Football" | White | Orange red | W | 1 | AF PFC |
| 1825E | Oval | White | White | SW | 10-20 | AF Pvt |
| 1824E | Round | White | None | WSW | - | Tower Operator |
| 1825E | Round | Bluish White | None | SW | 30-40 | Airline Crew (airborne) |
II. WEATHER
CAVU and exceptionally clear at all points of observation.
III. STATUS OF THE INVESTIGATION
The possibility of jet aircraft in the area, unidentified radar returns, and known meteoric or aurora phenomenon were checked with negative results. From the reports, it is reasonable to assume that all the observers sighted the same object. There is a time span of five minutes between various sightings but this could be due to errors in the watches of the observers. Assuming that the tower clock would be the most accurate, the time would be 1824 EST. From the estimates of
