Casper, WyomingAugust 1962

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of August 26, 1962, a resident of Casper, Wyoming saw a light flash on and off in the sky for just 1 to 2 seconds. The object passed out of view when an oil storage tank blocked the witness's line of sight. The light was the color of a match flame and resembled a ball of fire, though the witness also described it simply as a light that switched on and off. No sound was reported.

The Air Force received the report through Senator Gale W. McGee's office and sent the witness a detailed questionnaire to complete. The case file shows that investigators looked into the possibility that the sighting was a meteor, noting that the object's high speed and brief duration were consistent with meteor activity. However, the file also mentions that the object's dimming or going out in the middle of flight was unusual, though this could happen on rare occasions. Investigators considered the possibility that weather conditions at the time might have obscured the object in some way. The sky that night featured a dull moon with only a few stars visible.

The Air Force classified this sighting as "probably balloon" in its official evaluation, though the file does not provide detailed reasoning for this conclusion given the witness's description of the bright, fleeting light.

The full case file, consisting of 19 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Casper, Wyoming

Date of incident

August 1962

State / country

WY / US

Page count

19 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 46

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 19

View transcribed text

EEE TRTEETRS————— EE IE ste tessss or
~
i PROJECT 10073 RECCRD CARD
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
(m] dab her lr
26 August 1962 Casper, Wyoming 0 Prabably Balloon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP i. TYPE OF OBSERVATION QO Possibly Bellen |
TTR ie a RB Ground-VYisual 0 Ground-Rodar a i he oy APR
i GMT. 27/06347 | 0 Air Visual 0 Air-Intercept Radar 0 Possibly Aircraft :
5. PHOTOS | 3. SOURCE Was Astronomical Me LOOY
0 Yes 0 Probobly Ht bodpnti td :
" HX No | civilian biz 0 Possibly Astronomica
7. LENGTH OF O33ERVATION | 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CHE A a LAT
DO Insufficient Data for Evaluction
0 Unknown :
SEL TE TE ERR SE SOR | TSE FIN TC ARRSRSR si rR CE OR
19. BRIZE SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Obj appearing as a light flashed on Meteor sighting, Speed,duration
and off in sight 1-2 seconds, Passed |& flight indicate this evaluation
ont of sight when view was blocked by| Dimming or going out in middle of
oil storage tank. No sound, Color of : flight unusual although occuring
match flame, Like ball of fire, High Bpeed.//on rare occasions, Also
Just a light going on & off. possibility that this was obscure
by weather conditions at the timel
Dull moon & a few stars were out,
ATIC PORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
/ ¢ EE Ee ——— TT — sid YORI eit ila of
3
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fi :
{ /;
Ab ? 9
. [3

/ 19

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28998798