Poughkeepsie, New YorkJune 1954

Insufficient Data

Summary

On June 19, 1954, a civilian in Poughkeepsie, New York, observed a round object in the sky during daylight hours. The witness described the object as appearing to be made of glass, silver, or unpainted metal, with a shiny surface. The object moved slowly across the sky and remained visible for approximately one hour.

The witness provided detailed information through an Air Force technical questionnaire. He reported that the object appeared round and plastic-like in shape, and he attempted to determine its position by taking a fix with an aerial on his car, using nearby buildings and landmarks as reference points. The object moved at a notably slow rate of speed. The witness indicated the sky was clear at the time of the sighting, and he was able to observe the object without obstruction.

When Air Force personnel reviewed the case, they checked with the Federal Aviation Administration for any civilian aircraft in the area, with weather services for balloon activity, and with nearby military bases for fighter jets or transport aircraft. The official investigation concluded that the sighting was probably a balloon. This assessment appears consistent with the witness's own description of the object as resembling a plastic balloon and its slow movement across the sky.

The full case file, consisting of 10 pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.

Reported location

Poughkeepsie, New York

Date of incident

June 1954

State / country

NY / US

Page count

10 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 21

PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD i 1. DATE i. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS 7 : ( & A 0 Was Bolloon an Juns 1954 | Poughkeepsie, New York CX Probably Balloon 3. DATE-TIME GROUP if TYPE OF OBSERVATION SARE Ads RIDSHE joa . O Was Aiicraft he | 3 Genund- Visual O Ground-Rodar BH Piabably Alrerats | 57 7 7 3 4 GMT Ell DY QO Ain Visuol BO: Alrs)aresp) Rader OU Possibly Aircraft 5. PHOTOS | a. SOURCE 0 Wos Astronomical Yes { 0 Probably Astronomical B Ne Civilian : 01 Possibly Astronomical 7. LENGTH OF DASERYATION LB NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BloEa{0] },] gee Reto Oa Te AL Eee, SH 0 Insuiticiant Dota for Evaluation 1 hour i 1 VE to N ae aE TE EE a ET Se ee RN eC AN REE Po Fe Rr 2 SM BIGU A SA] 0 PSS SC TSR 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Glass or silver or wnpainted metal, Round. Probable balloon sighting, Appeared as round plastic ballocen., Moved at slow rate of speed. ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)