ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICODecember 1952

At 2309 hours (11:09 p.m.) Central Standard Time on December 28, 1952, a military pilot taking off from Borger, Texas sighted an unusual object traveling from east to west between Borger and Amarillo. The pilot described it as an elongated, cigar-shaped object about the size of a medium bomber, with an exhaust trail roughly eight times the object's own length. The sighting lasted 10 to 20 seconds. Weather conditions included broken high clouds at 30,000 feet with 10 miles visibility.

The same evening, three separate ground observers in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area reported seeing a similar object traveling in the same direction. One observer near Albuquerque described a milky-white, round object several seconds of arc in diameter, with a faint luminous trail extending behind it for about 8 to 10 times the object's width. The object traveled in a curved path, moving from east to west in a manner that would have placed it near the Kirtland Field traffic pattern. It passed slightly north of zenith and disappeared behind clouds at approximately 30,000 feet altitude. The observation lasted about 4 to 5 seconds, with no sound heard and no visible wings or other features. A second Albuquerque observer working at Kirtland Air Force Base's radio station reported a bright white object moving from east to west, leaving a contrail or exhaust trail. A third observer from the Sandia Corporation provided similar details of a round object with a luminous trail. The time difference between the Amarillo sighting and the Albuquerque sightings was approximately 6 minutes, suggesting the same object if traveling at speeds near 3,000 miles per hour.

Air Force investigators at Kirtland AFB identified all air traffic in the area during the sightings. The official report considered whether the object might have been a meteor, noting that the brief sighting duration and presence of a tail were consistent with meteor characteristics. However, the investigators concluded there was insufficient information to afford a definitive explanation. The report noted that the Air Force Technical Intelligence Center was checking past sightings against known meteor tracks in hopes of finding an answer.

The full case file, comprising 27 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.