Midwest and Southwest US, July 1961July 1961

In late July 1961, pilots and ground observers across the Midwest and Southwest reported seeing a bright, comet-like object in the early morning sky. The object was round and silvery white, with a distinctive tail that was about four times the object's width. Pilots aboard two commercial aircraft, American Airlines Flight 26 and Delta Flight 820, both heading from Los Angeles to Dallas, spotted the object around 0230 hours (2:30 a.m.) on July 25. The object appeared roughly 30 degrees above the horizon, off the left side of their aircraft. Ground observers at Winslow Air Force Station in Arizona also reported seeing it during the same period.

The object remained completely stationary throughout the observation period, which lasted about an hour. The pilots noted the tail was visible to them, though ground observers could not see it clearly. As sunrise approached, the object became obscured by clouds and disappeared. Notably, the pilots described the object as having no discernible movement or sound.

The Air Force's preliminary investigation quickly reached a conclusion. Within hours, investigators noted that a bright comet had been discovered on July 23, 1961, by astronomers in Seattle. This comet was visible to the naked eye in the constellation Gemini, positioned low on the northeastern horizon before sunrise, exactly where and when the witnesses reported seeing their object. The comet had a well-defined nucleus and a tail spanning about 25 degrees across the sky. The Air Force determined that the sightings matched the comet's position and characteristics precisely. A separate commercial aircraft report from July 22 near Louisville, Kentucky, was attributed to a weather balloon released from a station west of Louisville and carried eastward by prevailing winds.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, spanning 9 pages.