Ripley, West Va., September 1959September 1959

Insufficient Data

Summary

In September 1959, a resident of Ripley, West Virginia reported seeing an unusual object in the night sky. The witness described an oblong shape that changed color from red to blue. The object appeared larger than a star and had a plain outline that was visible every other night for about two weeks from the same location.

The object moved generally from east to west, and the witness reported that its motion seemed to revolve or tumble. The sighting lasted approximately one hour. The witness watched the object fade into the distance over the course of the observation.

The Air Force investigators found the witness unreliable and noted that wind data presented problems for the case. The prevailing winds at the time were generally from the east, which would not match the object's eastward-to-westward movement. Because of the witness's credibility issues and the insufficient quality of the available data, the Air Force did not pursue the investigation further. The case was marked as insufficient data for evaluation. The file does not state a definitive conclusion about what the object was.

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

Reported location

Ripley, West Va., September 1959

Date of incident

September 1959

State / country

? / XX

Page count

10 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 36

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 10

View transcribed text

| PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD Sia :
i 1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
E Avy it : : O Was Balloon
Laseifiivenos Ripley, West Va. O Probably Balloon
; 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION HELL I Eb
3 1820-1930 Local Le : : O Was Aircraft
Local ort atn Jb de See Ts 8:Ground- Visual 0 Ground-Radar O Probably Aircraft
1 CMT 0 Air Visual O Air-Intercept Radar O Possibly Aircraft
5. PHOTOS - SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical
0 Yes 0 Probably Astronomical
3 “8 Ne Civilian O Possibly Astronomical
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE Bi OR Rind Sues Epub bes teh
| OI Insufficient Data for Evaluation
: : 2 0 Unknown
q about 1 hr one fast to West
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS
Oblong 0oj changing color fm red to blue lotion & general description conform
: w/plain outline visible every other to balloon observations. lo wind or
night for about two weeks fm same decationd weather data received, howev Nhe
Ubj larger than star, Faded into distance. | prevailing wind is generally East at
Motion seemed to revolve or twible, 2lt & the winds would be wrong. for thi
Direction generally last to West. Witness type of cbservation. Case not investi-
considered unreliable, gated furlter because of reliability of
witness, “onsidered as insufficient dasd.
:
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52)
3 1
[
AY

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28984532