Lakehurst, NJ., November 1950November 1950

On the night of November 7, 1950, a Navy pilot flying an AD-6 aircraft approached Lakehurst Naval Air Station at about 3,500 feet. He spotted a steady white light off his right wing, roughly five miles away and slightly above him at around 4,000 feet. The pilot thought it was another military aircraft and decided to test his radar by attempting to intercept it. The time was approximately 1915 (7:15 p.m.), and he was due to land at 1930 (7:30 p.m.).

As the pilot pulled into a climbing turn to position himself behind the object, something unexpected happened. Without warning and without making any kind of turn, the light dove at him at what he described as incredible speed, passing directly over his canopy about 100 to 200 feet above. Believing he had narrowly avoided a collision with another aircraft, the pilot quickly executed a tight "flipper" reversal turn to regain sight of the object. This time he was certain he was on its tail. He pushed to full power and attempted to hold the light in front of him, but the object made another head-on pass, veering slightly to port and below so his crewman could see it too. The pilot described the light as roughly 10 to 12 inches in diameter, steady white, and moving with fantastic speed.

Unable to raise Lakehurst tower on the radio, the pilot switched to his squadron's frequency and requested assistance from any nearby aircraft. His commanding officer and two F1F fighters responded and set course for Lakehurst. During the next five to six passes, the pilot and the object entered a port orbit together. The pilot climbed at a 60-degree angle at speeds of 150 to 135 knots, but the light continued to turn around him in wider and wider orbits, making about two orbits for each one of his. At 11,500 feet, the pilot abandoned the chase and simply orbited to keep the object in sight. When his commanding officer reached 14,000 feet over the area, the pilot reported that the object appeared to be at about 18,000 feet and still climbing. By the time the other F1F pilots arrived, the object was still visible but faint, at approximately 25,000 feet. The entire encounter lasted 25 to 70 minutes. The commanding officer never saw the light himself, though his wingmen did.

In his report, the pilot noted that he had combat experience with jet aircraft and believed this object was traveling at least twice the speed of a jet fighter, or roughly 400 knots. He tried unsuccessfully to see any shape or wings as the object passed, and could detect no exhaust, wash, or slipstream. It remained only a single steady white light with extraordinary speed and maneuverability.

Air Force headquarters considered whether the object might have been a lighted weather balloon, but the pilot's description of its performance made this explanation seem unlikely. The headquarters memo noted that if the pilot's account was accurate, the object's estimated rate of climb of over 2,000 feet per minute and its speed far exceeding jet fighters would rule out a balloon. No definite conclusion was reached based on the information presented, and the file shows that investigators requested additional reports from other personnel at the location and time to determine if corroborating observations existed. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives and consists of 7 pages.