6 Mile, SW Pass, MississippiOctober 1962

On October 14, 1962, a ship captain on the Mississippi River reported seeing an unidentified flying object near 6 Mile, SW Pass. Captain [name redacted], a river pilot, observed the object at 0518 (5:18 a.m.) bearing approximately 255 degrees (roughly west-southwest) from his position. He estimated the object's altitude at 20,000 feet and its angle of elevation at 40 to 45 degrees above the horizon. The object left a visible trail behind it, and the captain watched it for only 4 to 5 seconds before it broke apart or disintegrated. He explicitly stated it was not a meteorite.

A Navy message documenting the sighting was distributed to multiple military commands across the United States Armed Forces. The report emphasized the observer's credentials as an experienced river pilot, suggesting credibility. The file notes in its summary that although the witness insisted the object was not of meteoric origin, the description conforms to that of a bolide, which is a large, bright meteor that can explode in the atmosphere. The absence of any other reports indicating a different explanation led investigators to evaluate the case as a meteor.

The Air Force concluded this case as unidentified. The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below and consists of 22 pages.