Albuquerque, New MexicoAugust 1951

On the evening of August 25, 1951, a Sandia Base security guard and his wife observed what they described as a large flying wing type aircraft passing over their trailer home in east Albuquerque. The pair estimated the object was about one and a half times the size of a B-36 bomber, which they were familiar with. The aircraft flew low, at roughly 800 to 1,000 feet altitude, traveling south-southeast at an estimated speed of 300 to 400 miles per hour. Most strikingly, the witnesses heard no sound from the object at all.

The craft had distinctive features that the witnesses carefully described. Six to eight pairs of soft, white glowing lights lined the trailing edge of each wing. Dark stripes ran beneath the wings from front to back. The object's wing edges were swept back at about 15 degrees, and the wings showed no taper toward the tips. The witnesses noted that lights from nearby Central Avenue and passing automobiles reflected off the underside of the craft, giving it a silvery appearance against the twilight sky.

Air Force investigators checked all logical possibilities. Military and civilian aircraft operations in the area at that time were identified and eliminated. The radar stations at Kirtland Air Force Base detected nothing unusual. The Strategic Air Command confirmed they had no B-36 aircraft in the region, and Northrop Aircraft Company stated none of their experimental flying wing bombers were flying. The guard's background was verified, and as a holder of a "Q" security clearance (a high-level classified access clearance), he was considered mentally stable and reliable. No other witnesses came forward despite efforts to find corroborating observers.

The investigation took an interesting turn when photographs from a sighting over Lubbock, Texas, on the same night were sent to Albuquerque. When shown these photos, the witnesses stated the arrangement of lights appeared similar to what they had observed, though questions about the authenticity of the Lubbock photographs remained unresolved. The Air Force closed the investigation without reaching a final conclusion, noting that any further evaluation would depend on establishing whether the Lubbock photographs were genuine. The complete case file, 33 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.