Boston, Mass, November 1948 - Incident Number: 210November 1948

On November 10, 1948, an observer in downtown Boston looked out a window around 5 a.m. and saw three fast-flying single-engine aircraft passing over the Charles River Basin from east to west. The planes appeared very light or white in color against the city lights, like "three pale moths." The two outer planes flew in a straight line, while the middle plane weaved back and forth. According to the observer, there was no sound coming from any of the aircraft, and they flew at no great height.

The observer had soloed a small aircraft at some point and had been involved with various social and political organizations. An Air Force investigator described him as average in intelligence and character, though capable of being mistaken in an observation. The investigator was unable to confirm the exact date of the sighting, which made it difficult to check whether aircraft of the observed type were actually operating in the Boston area at the time. The landlord or owner of the apartment building proved uncooperative during the investigation. FBI files indicated the landlord had connections to various radical organizations.

An Air Weather Service analysis of the case noted that there was no astronomical explanation. The summary noted it was "rather surprising" that despite the poor light conditions, the observer could identify the objects as single-engine planes, yet could not hear any sound from them. The analysis concluded it was "inclined to believe objects were not aircraft," though the basis for this conclusion is not clearly explained in the available portions of the file. No witnesses other than the original observer were interviewed.

The full case file, consisting of 17 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.