PACIFIC 3920N 13320W and 4311N 13404W, March 1961March 1961

On the night of March 8, 1961, two Air Force transport planes flying over the Pacific Ocean witnessed what the military suspected was a space vehicle burning up as it reentered Earth's atmosphere.

The first aircraft, an RC-121 cargo plane (code-named ETHAN 25), was flying at 1,300 feet near coordinates 43 degrees 11 minutes north and 134 degrees 4 minutes west when Captain John D. Thompson and his crew spotted a thin, pencil-like object just above the wing. The object was bright red and white with a red tail. It appeared for about five seconds, traveling in a slight arc before breaking into four pieces and disappearing. The entire surface appeared to be burning. The crew was mature and experienced, with Thompson logging between 5,600 and 6,800 pilot hours.

A second aircraft, ETHAN 42, was flying at 8,000 feet roughly 100 miles away. First Lieutenant Jack S. Purezo and Technical Sergeant Donald R. Palette saw the same event. They described a pencil-shaped object about the size of a cigarette, bright white and brighter than nearby stars. It appeared slightly higher than their aircraft, and they watched it for five to eight seconds as it traveled about 15 degrees across their view before disintegrating. Parts fell away trailing behind the main object, which then separated into four pieces and burned out completely.

The military intelligence division concluded that the sightings likely represented the reentry of a space vehicle. The location, timing, and descriptions from both crews were consistent with a spacecraft burning up in the upper atmosphere. The file notes that the appearance of a fireball with a tail was characteristic of what is called a bolide, which is a very bright meteor that explodes.

The Air Force evaluated this case as "probably balloon," though the intelligence commentary suggests the investigators believed a space vehicle reentry was the more likely explanation. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 9 pages.