Alpha, OhioDecember 1959

# Summary

In December 1959, a young observer in Alpha, Ohio reported seeing a red, yellow-white object in the evening sky that pulsed with light. The sighting lasted about one minute and thirty seconds. The object appeared first to the northwest at roughly 30 degrees above the horizon, then moved toward the west-southwest and climbed to about 40 degrees elevation. The observer heard no sound and saw no exhaust trail.

The Air Force investigation considered several possible explanations. A weather balloon had been released in the area that evening and was tracked by radar. It headed north initially, then circled eastward, before breaking apart about eight minutes into its flight at an altitude of roughly 13,000 feet and a distance of about 40,700 feet from the observer's position. However, investigators noted that a balloon could not have moved from the northwest to the west-southwest and climbed 10 degrees in elevation in only ninety seconds, which is what the observer reported.

Another lead concerned aircraft in the area. An F-101 fighter jet was airborne during the sighting, and a KC-135 tanker (a military refueling plane) with four bright landing lights landed shortly before the sighting. One investigator noted the tanker's lights were unusual and that the pulsing effect the observer saw might have resulted from the aircraft banking and turning. However, the observer reported hearing only a propeller-driven aircraft coming in to land, with no jet engines before or after the UFO sighting.

The Air Force evaluator concluded the sighting was unknown. The case file notes that the observer appeared to be a competent witness who was restrained about jumping to conclusions, though the OCR quality of the final investigation notes makes some details difficult to read with complete certainty.

This case file consists of 12 pages as held by the National Archives.