Donaldsville, LA., April 1958April 1958

# Summary

In April 1958, multiple witnesses near Donaldsville, Louisiana reported seeing a bright, fast-moving object streak across the sky. According to the case file, the object appeared light blue at first, then shifted to blue-green as it grew brighter. About five seconds into the sighting, it broke into two separate bodies and became completely engulfed in flames roughly ten seconds after the initial observation.

The witnesses described several distinct phenomena during the event. One observer reported a teardrop-shaped object about the size of a pea, with bright silver around its edges and bluish-silver in the center. Another account described an object that broke apart into four or five pieces while emitting bluish-white flames. The case file notes that all characteristics matched those of a bolide, a bright meteor that breaks apart as it enters Earth's atmosphere.

The sighting attracted additional attention when a jet trainer pilot from Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi reported a similar object breaking in two. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory weighed in on the sighting, ruling out the possibility that the flaming object was the Russian satellite Sputnik II. A spokesman for the observatory stated that Sputnik was over the South Pacific at the time the Louisiana witnesses observed their object, making the satellite an unlikely explanation for what the aircrewmen saw.

The Air Force's official evaluation of this case was recorded as "unknown," though the investigative notes suggest the phenomena were consistent with a natural meteor event. The full case file, comprising eight pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.