4 Mi SE of Astoria, Mo., November 1957November 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On November 4, 1957, a pilot flying a DC-3 aircraft saw an egg-shaped object with a bright orange glow in the sky about 5 miles away from his position near Astoria, Missouri. The object appeared at an altitude of roughly 3,000 feet and remained visible for about 10 minutes. The pilot was flying through overcast conditions at the time, which made the object's bright appearance stand out even more sharply against the clouds.

The object's exact course and speed were not recorded in the available case file. The Air Force investigators noted that the sighting lasted long enough to observe, but they lacked sufficient wind data to properly evaluate what the pilot had seen. Based on the description alone, the investigators suggested the object could have been a weather balloon, though they did not have enough information to reach a firm conclusion.

The case was officially evaluated as "insufficient data for evaluation," meaning the Air Force could not determine with confidence whether the sighting involved a balloon, aircraft, astronomical phenomenon, or something else. The file notes that without wind data from that time and location, a complete analysis was not possible. The full case file, consisting of 12 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

4 Mi SE of Astoria, Mo., November 1957

Date of incident

November 1957

State / country

? / XX

Page count

12 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 29

es ¢ ; Mgt pepe Sopa i R— WeRRI———— LL i PPE AR we of 1 EAE RY TEA EI SA TY EMR Hn £2 pri V i y a ™ Ld oe 9 . Ir 4 Al ag ; L nd ’ G ; 4 i i : PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD | : | : 1. DATE : ‘ 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS |. : ; ; 0 Was Balloon | _4 November 1957 4 Mi SE of Astoria, Mo. 0 Probobly Balloon 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION i TYE wane - Vi : DO Was Aircroft ER CX Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar 0 Probably Aireraft guy 04 / 21307 fel 0 Ai~Visuol O Air-Intercept Rodor DO Possibly Aircroft E] 3. PHOTOS SOURCE O Was Astronomical a Q Yes 0 Probobly Astronomical | Cx Mo Military DO Possibly Astronomicol 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CR UR SRR Se : OX Insufficient Date for Evaluation . ; : 0 Unknown : 10 minutes ona not given 19. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Egg shaped object, bright orange, Without wind data, cannot properly very bright, evaluate, However, from descrip- : : tion could he balloon. Case listed as insufficient data. 3 ATIC FORM 329 (REV 25 SEP 52) : Em ed es 0 eR Shas b. i 1 3 . BS iy" fh AY |