Project Blue Book Case File
Donaldsville, LouisianaOctober 1962
Summary
On October 17, 1962, the crew of a Coast Guard cutter anchored in the Mississippi River near Donaldsonville, Louisiana, reported a glowing object in the eastern sky. The report came in through a military reporting channel and was filed under Project 10073, the Air Force's official record system for unidentified flying object reports.
The object appeared as a brilliant white glow with a circular shape over the eastern horizon. It rose, then descended to about 30 degrees of elevation. Witnesses said it made a ragged circular course and left huge white vapor trails. It then climbed away to the south at high speed and disappeared. Visibility was about 8 miles with broken clouds.
The Air Force noted the sighting was made from Louisiana looking toward missile test areas in Florida, including Eglin, Patrick, and Cape Canaveral. The known launch schedule showed no launch at that time, but the record stated the schedule did not list all launches. Because the object behaved like a missile launch, the case was treated as a possible missile.
Reported location
Donaldsville, Louisiana
Date of incident
October 1962
State / country
LA / US
Page count
3 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 46