Cedar Rapids, IowaSeptember 1955

On the evening of September 12, 1955, Steve Sedlacek, a 20-year-old photographer working at television station KCRG in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, spotted an unusual object while serving as a Ground Observer Corps volunteer. At approximately 8:04 p.m., he saw a cigar-shaped object about 25 to 50 feet long, colored a bright orange, hovering five miles to the northeast at roughly 300 feet above the horizon.

Sedlacek watched the object for three minutes through both his naked eye and a six-power binocular. He noticed no movement, no sound, and no vapor trail. The object suddenly faded eastward in three to four seconds and disappeared from view. He did not photograph it. The sighting occurred over the business area of Cedar Rapids.

The Air Force investigation, led by Captain Hans Bischofs of the 4602D Air Intelligence Squadron, checked several possible explanations. The Civil Aeronautics Administration reported that a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft had landed at Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport at 8:05 p.m., about one minute after the object faded. The Weather Bureau provided data on local balloon launches and wind conditions, but concluded that any weather balloon released at the time of the sighting would have climbed to roughly 180,000 feet. Radar contact with the object was never established.

In his final report, Captain Bischofs concluded that the sighting was probably caused by the Beechcraft Bonanza. He reasoned that the bright orange color could reflect city lights or the plane's own lights, that the apparent lack of motion might result from the plane flying slowly or head-on toward the observer, and that distance would account for the absence of engine noise. His commanding officer, Colonel John M. White Jr., concurred with this assessment.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 10 pages of documents.