Kansas City, KansasAugust 1958

On the evening of August 21, 1958, a man and woman standing in their yard in Kansas City, Kansas, witnessed a series of bright flashes moving across the night sky. The man, an artist, had been watching for the Sputnik III satellite rocket carrier when he first noticed a flash of light near the northern horizon at around 8:40 p.m. Over the next 30 to 45 seconds, he observed six flashes in total, each appearing as a bright point of light blinking on and off at intervals of a few seconds. The flashes traced a path from northeast to southwest, rising higher in the sky with each appearance until the object finally disappeared low in the southwest. When the man called his wife outside, she joined him in time to see approximately four more of the flashes. Neither witness heard any sound.

The U.S. Air Force investigator who examined the case determined that the sightings were likely caused by a B-47 jet aircraft in the area. At the time of the sighting, a B-47 called Nursemaid 34, piloted by Captain Roberts, was completing a training mission and preparing to land at Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka, Kansas. The plane was at 35,000 feet and heading west toward the base from the direction of Joseph, Missouri. The investigator noted that pilots routinely check their wing lights for ice buildup or flash their lights to alert other aircraft in the area before landing, which could account for the elongated flashes the witnesses described. The Air Force concluded in its September 17, 1958, response letter that this aircraft activity was "the solution to your sighting on that particular night."

The full case file, comprising 32 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.