Howard, KansasJanuary 1950

On January 6, 1950, three U.S. Air Force officers flying a C-47 transport aircraft spotted an unidentified object near Howard, Kansas. The crew consisted of Captain Robert Zielonka, Captain Frederick Howard, and 1st Lieutenant Harold Simpson, all assigned to Headquarters of the 8th Air Force at Carswell Air Force Base in Texas. They were heading to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, when they saw the object at about 1420 hours (2:20 p.m.) at an altitude of 5,500 feet, roughly 7 miles west of Howard.

All three men agreed the object was bright silver in color. Captain Howard noted it had a red nose. They described the shape as an elongated oval, similar in form to a football. The observers disagreed on size, with two estimating the object at 30 to 40 feet long and one judging it at 50 to 60 feet. The entire object reflected light like an aluminum aircraft. It flew in straight level flight on a heading of 90 to 100 degrees (due east) at a speed the crew estimated between 300 and 500 miles per hour. The object remained visible for less than two minutes and then faded from view. No sound was heard. The weather that day was reported as CAVU, an aviation term meaning clear and unrestricted visibility (all clouds above 10,000 feet).

The Air Force Office of Special Investigation at Offutt Air Force Base launched an inquiry. They verified that all three observers were experienced pilots with at least three years of service and were alert and not fatigued at the time. The investigators checked with Olathe Naval Air Base in Kansas and confirmed that no weather balloons or flares had been released on January 6, and that no unconventional aircraft had been reported in the area. The weather office at Olathe confirmed clear conditions that day. The investigators concluded that all logical leads had been developed and considered the case closed.

The file does not state an official Air Force conclusion as to what the object was. The complete case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 12 scanned pages.