87 DEG 11 'N - 34 DEG 49 'N (N. Alabama)), August 1952August 1952

Insufficient Data

Summary

On August 17, 1952, Captain Jack Buchanan was flying a T-6 training aircraft from Murfreesboro Airport toward Shaw Air Force Base when he spotted something unusual in the sky over northern Alabama. Flying at 4,000 feet with a heading of 95 degrees, Buchanan observed an intensely white, round object with no exhaust or trail. The sighting lasted about five seconds before the captain looked down to check his watch. When he looked back up, the object had disappeared.

Buchanan estimated the object was approximately eight miles away at an altitude of around 10,000 feet. He described the conditions as cloudless with excellent visibility of about thirty miles. The object appeared to be stationary. When Buchanan tried to turn his aircraft to intercept it, he was unsuccessful. No other aircraft were in the area at the time, and the captain found no indication of any weather phenomena that might account for the sighting.

The Air Force interviewed Captain Buchanan and noted in the file that he was a level-headed and capable officer with nearly nine years of service. He had flown extensively and gave a detailed, consistent account of what he observed. The file contains his location at the time of the sighting (87 degrees 11 minutes 30 seconds west, 34 degrees 49 minutes 30 seconds north) and indicates weather conditions were clear with no activity or conditions that could explain the sighting.

The Air Force evaluation form indicates the sighting was classified as unknown. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives and comprises 8 pages.

Reported location

87 DEG 11 'N - 34 DEG 49 'N (N. Alabama)), August 1952

Date of incident

August 1952

State / country

? / XX

Page count

8 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 14

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 8

View transcribed text

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28948399