Casper, WyomingMarch 1953

On the evening of March 23, 1953, three civilians standing on the ground at Natrona County Airport near Casper, Wyoming spotted a bright orange disk moving rapidly across the sky. The object had no trail and made no sound. It appeared at approximately 2008 hours (8:08 p.m.) Mountain Standard Time and remained visible for about two minutes before disappearing behind Casper Mountain to the south.

The witnesses described the object as acting like it was surveying the Air Force base. It ranged back and forth over the base in a pattern one witness compared to a hunting dog searching for prey. The disk initially appeared to move east, then circled to range the base from north to south before finally climbing rapidly and vanishing in the distance.

One witness, interviewed in detail by Air Force investigators, said the object resembled a large aircraft landing light but had a more orange-yellow color and did not behave like any conventional aircraft she knew. She noted that the light occasionally blinked off for a second at irregular intervals. The witnesses could not detect any change in the object's shape as it approached or moved away. All agreed there was a glow surrounding the light.

Air Force investigators noted that at least four intelligent and reasonable people had witnessed something out of the ordinary. They found no evidence of weather phenomena that could explain the sighting and recommended that further investigation by more qualified personnel was warranted. However, the case file includes commentary from an Air Force analyst suggesting the March 23 Casper sighting could have been a meteor if the reported two minute observation time was in error. The analyst questioned how large the disk appeared and asked for clarification on what "altitude" meant in the report.

The full case file, comprising 12 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.