Rapid City, Mich., February 1959February 1959

Insufficient Data

Summary

On February 24, 1959, airline and airport witnesses over and near Rapid City, Michigan, reported a bright object in the early morning sky. The sighting was about 6:30 a.m. and lasted about 37 to 45 seconds. Witnesses included a Capital Airlines crew and several airport control towers.

They described one round, bluish white object that flew straight and level, then broke apart. It traveled from east-northeast to west-northwest on a horizontal path and was very bright. Airport towers in Michigan, Chicago, and Madison, Wisconsin, reported it. Tower operators said it was shooting off sparks before it appeared to disintegrate, and they believed it was a meteorite.

The Air Force concluded the object was astronomical. The record card said the object was probably a large meteor. The reported duration was rather long for a meteor, but officials said that did not rule a meteor out.

Reported location

Rapid City, Mich., February 1959

Date of incident

February 1959

State / country

? / XX

Page count

4 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 35

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 4

View transcribed text

A EP ” ih £di 3 Tt CA A ds dha ua Renshie
- Wa PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD a i: s
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
ODO Was Balloon |
2h Feb Repid City, Mich. O Probably |
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION DO Possibly Balloon | |
0 Was Aircraft :
LOH cnc —————— O Ground-Visval O Ground-Radar QO Probably Airer oft |
GMT TXAin Vi svol 8 Airinsercept Reder |D Possibly Airerchs |
5. PHOTOS OX Wes Astronomical Meteor
O Yes O Probably Astronomical
ey c Airlines O Possibly Astronomicol
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE TR hass—
DO Insufficient Date for Evaluation] |
0 Unknown
oe Sac one ENE to WNW
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS |
Rpund, bluish-white obj which broke Obj was probably a large meteor.
lapart after straight and level flight. Time duration reported is rather long
for a meteor, However duration does
not rule meteor out.
"ATIC PORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)
.

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28982055