Long Island, New YorkAugust 1949

On the evening of August 6, 1949, an instrument designer named W. and his wife were sitting on the rear porch of their home in Jackson Heights on Long Island, New York. At approximately 1650 hours (4:50 p.m.), W. looked upward and spotted what he described as a round black object about a foot in diameter. The object was traveling from west to east in a straight line at a steady speed. It had an irregular edge and appeared to be rotating clockwise. W. called his wife's attention to it immediately, and both of them watched it for about 8 minutes before it disappeared into haze.

An Air Force investigator visited the couple on September 3, 1949, to take their statement. According to the report, W. was 31 years old and worked as an instrument designer for a company on Long Island. His wife was 30 years old and worked as a secretary. Both observers stated the object emanated no smoke or light of its own. The investigator also noted that W. saw what looked like reflections from a propeller in the sun on the front of the object. The investigators ruled out a nearby weather balloon, which had been released from LaGuardia at 21:30 (9:30 p.m.), well after the sighting. However, the investigators found that two advertising balloons had left Lakehurst for Kingston, New York, at 1404 (2:04 p.m.) and 1424 (2:24 p.m.), traveling at an estimated altitude of 1000 to 1500 feet at speeds of 45 to 50 knots. These balloons were traveling in the general direction of the prevailing wind. The investigators also noted that the sun was positioned such that it could not have created a reflection on the front of the object, making a simple reflection explanation unlikely. Tower personnel at LaGuardia reported no unusual occurrences. The Air Force's final evaluation of this case was listed as unknown, and no conclusion appears to have been reached by investigators.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 18 pages.