Metuchen, New JerseyJuly 1961

In July 1961, a woman in Metuchen, New Jersey reported seeing an unidentified object in the evening sky. She initially thought it was a skywriter but became puzzled as the object approached. It appeared bright as the sun and golden in color, with what looked like a fiery exhaust. The object moved in an arc across the sky during the roughly ten-minute sighting.

The Air Force's investigation began when her report reached the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Investigators asked her to complete a detailed questionnaire along with any other witnesses, hoping to gather more specific information about the sighting's timing, location, weather conditions, and the object's apparent movement and size. The case file preserves these forms and related correspondence.

In their analysis, Air Force evaluators noted that the information in the original report was limited. However, they considered several conventional explanations. They suggested the bright initial observation might have been a high-flying jet aircraft reflecting the setting sun, while the later "fiery exhaust" appearance could have been a distorted reflection of sunlight. The file notes that jet aircraft often operate near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and frequently go unheard by ground observers, particularly at high altitude. The evaluators concluded there was no evidence pointing to anything other than an aircraft.

The full case file, as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below and comprises 16 pages.