Moriarity, New MexicoApril 1952

On April 13, 1952, four airmen stationed near Moriarity, New Mexico, reported seeing a silver, disc-shaped object flying at high speed with erratic movements. The observers were familiar with jet aircraft and ruled that possibility out. The object appeared to tip edgewise and briefly vanish from sight, and the witnesses estimated they watched it for four to ten minutes.

The Air Force checked radar stations in both Moriarity and Albuquerque. No unusual radar returns were recorded on April 13. A piball weather balloon (a balloon used to measure atmospheric conditions) had been released from Albuquerque at 1400 MST that afternoon, but the prevailing winds would have carried it south of Moriarity. After two hours and forty-five minutes, the balloon would have risen too high to be visible. Even accounting for the possibility that the balloon leaked and leveled off at a lower altitude, wind patterns suggest it would still have drifted south of the sighting location. The object's speed and maneuvers did not match a balloon's normal drift pattern.

A separate radar sighting on April 30, 1952, also involved targets tracked at extremely high speed. Radar operators at the 763rd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron recorded blips moving at approximately 3,700 miles per hour. Four experienced radar observers documented the tracks, which appeared on the scope as clear, distinct blips similar to conventional aircraft returns. An Air Force electronics expert noted the radar returns could possibly have been caused by deliberate jamming or interference from another transmitter, though actual airborne targets remained a possible explanation.

The Air Force investigation concluded that the April 13 visual sighting could not be identified. Weather officials considered it highly improbable that the object was a weather balloon. The April 30 radar case file is reproduced in full below as held by the National Archives, comprising 23 pages of scanned documents.