Project Blue Book Case File
New Orleans, LouisianaJuly 1949
Summary
On the morning of July 7, 1949, a man driving in New Orleans observed something unusual in the sky. The object appeared round or oval in shape, was moving north, and had a bright, glowing appearance. The sighting lasted between thirty and forty seconds before the object disappeared behind some trees.
When the man first saw the object, he thought it might be a reflection of sunlight on an airplane that was banking sharply. But the object's shape stayed the same for the entire time he watched it, which made him doubt this explanation. The object seemed too steady and consistent to be a simple glint of light from a banking aircraft.
The Air Force interviewed the observer at length. He was an insurance salesman with experience studying birds, and investigators rated him as reliable. He described the object as bright silver, cigar-shaped, and roughly the size of a large transport airplane. According to his account, the object was traveling at about the same speed as an ordinary transport plane, moving directly overhead in a northerly direction. In a separate report, he said he watched it for about three minutes as he drove on Elysian Fields Avenue, and the object seemed to climb slowly before disappearing in the distance.
The investigation file contains no final conclusion about what the object was. The Air Force's 9th District Office of Special Investigations closed the case on September 10, 1949, stating they saw no need for further investigation.
The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 21 scanned pages.
Reported location
New Orleans, Louisiana
Date of incident
July 1949
State / country
LA / US
Page count
21 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unknown
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 6