Project Blue Book Case File
130 MILES SE OF NEW ORLEANS, LANovember 1954
Summary
On the night of November 22, 1954, a pilot flying a National Airlines plane spotted an unusual light in the sky 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. The pilot was cruising at 17,500 feet on a direct course from New Orleans to Tampa, Florida, when he saw a glowing object directly in front of his aircraft. The light was blue and white and appeared to flash.
The object moved in ways the pilot found striking. It shifted up and down and around his position, then slowly faded away toward the northeast. The entire sighting lasted between three and five minutes. The pilot later told Air Force investigators that he believed the object was definitely a star, though the description he initially gave, the object's movement, and its flashing appearance suggested something more dynamic than a stationary star.
An intelligence report filed at the time noted that naval aircraft from Key West Naval Station in Florida were operating in the area, but the report judged such aircraft as an improbable explanation for what the pilot saw. The Air Force classified the case as unknown, meaning investigators could not reach a definitive conclusion about the object's identity.
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 8 pages.
Reported location
130 MILES SE OF NEW ORLEANS, LA
Date of incident
November 1954
State / country
LA / US
Page count
8 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 22