Mesa, ArizonaJune 1949

On June 24, 1949, a man in Mesa, Arizona, watched four metallic disc-shaped objects hover over the desert for about thirty minutes. While he was changing a tire on his car, he noticed the objects hovering near a small cloud at an extremely high altitude. The discs were steel gray in color, reflected sunlight brilliantly, and appeared ruby red when viewed from a great distance. They had a distinctive shape, described as two principal parts: a disc with two flanges extending around it, making them appear rectangular at some angles. A fifth disc appeared later, moving from west to east at an even higher altitude than the other four, remaining visible for about twenty-five seconds.

The primary observer was William A. Crismon, the owner of a gold bond mine in nearby Goldfield, Arizona. He was examined by Air Force investigators and found to be generally reliable, though the agents noted he seemed somewhat emotional during the interview. Crismon used seven-power binoculars to observe the objects for part of the time. Three other witnesses were present: Crismon's brother, a supervisor of the Water Association, and two children, ages seven and nine.

After hovering for roughly twenty minutes, the four original discs dispersed in different directions. One moved southeast, another went east, a third headed northeast, and the fourth climbed upward at approximately an 82-degree angle. The fifth disc moved straight eastward. None of the objects produced any visible exhaust, made any sound, or showed any conventional propulsion system such as propellers or jets. No physical evidence was recovered.

The Air Force investigation encountered some complications when interviewing the other witnesses. The supervisor of the Water Association could not clearly determine whether the objects were conventional aircraft or something else. The two children were so frightened by threats of punishment from their parents that they refused to discuss the sighting with investigators, no matter what incentive was offered. The secondary witnesses generally corroborated Crismon's account about the time, date, direction of travel, and approximate altitude, with only minor differences in detail about how long the fifth object remained visible.

In its final report dated January 19, 1950, the Air Force concluded that all logical leads had been developed and closed the case, though it offered no definitive explanation for what Crismon and the other witnesses had observed. The 16-page case file is reproduced in full below as held by the National Archives.