Harbor Avon, North CarolinaMarch 1957

Insufficient Data

Summary

On March 9, 1957, a low flying object was reported near Harbor Avon, North Carolina. The object was observed traveling from east to west at high speed and close to the water. According to the report, it was long and cylindrical in shape with no apparent wings or tail surfaces, and made a great deal of noise.

The sighting came to official attention third hand. A civilian area director reported the incident to the Air Force's Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) on March 11, 1957, three days after the event. The director confirmed that weather conditions at the time were clear with bright sunshine.

The report notes that a Pan American airliner crew also submitted an account of a sighting around the same time, describing a large, brilliant greenish white object at 19,000 feet that forced the pilot to make an abrupt maneuver. A second transoceanic airliner flying behind the first also reported observing the object. The Air Force sent investigation forms to all witnesses and tasked personnel to conduct interviews with the affected aircraft crews.

The case file notes that the final report was not received and that supporting data was not available for analysis. The Air Force rated this case as "Unknown." The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives (12 pages).

Reported location

Harbor Avon, North Carolina

Date of incident

March 1957

State / country

NC / US

Page count

12 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 27

p08 aR PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD I. DATE : 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS i dol O Was Balloon 9 March 1937 Harbor Avon, North Carolina |O Probably Balloon 3 lesa Bid eo es =nsn 0 Poasibly Bolloon 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION | Lacs BADeli gO. oir B:Ground- Visual O Ground-Rador a Lk Bal GLI GMT 09/23307/2400Z 0 Air Visudl O Air-Intercept Radar O Possibly Aireraft 5. PHOTOS 3. SOURCE O Was Astronomical O Yes O Probably Astronomical SNe | civilian 0 Possibly Astronomicol 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE : RE 0) 31]; AOA ate et HACE BX Insufficient Data for Evaluation ; 0 Unknown fow seconds one i West : 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Low flying object observed irom boat Final rpt not received. Possibly : in harbor of object that looked like a low flying jet a/c; nowsver, a missile flying West. Very low. Rpt the supporting data is not avail- : relayed third hand. Called in to ATIC |able for this analysis. : on 12 March, ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 352) : 4 ' ;