Sampson AFB, New YorkJanuary 1953

On January 26, 1953, at 1:20 p.m., an airman at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, New York, saw a large rectangular object glowing in the sky. The object was roughly 150 feet long and 12 feet wide. It traveled from east to west through an arc of 70 to 80 degrees while climbing at a shallow angle. The front and rear of the object appeared hazy, but the main body was clearly outlined. The witness heard a high-pitched hum, similar to an electric motor, coming from the direction of the object. After about one minute, the object rapidly gained altitude and slowly faded from view. The humming sound continued for a few seconds after the object disappeared, then stopped abruptly.

A second witness, another airman, heard the high-pitched hum after being called outside to look at the object, but did not see it himself. The Air Force later used a theodolite (an instrument for measuring angles) to determine that the object's angle of elevation at the start was roughly 9 degrees and at the end was roughly 43 degrees. Weather conditions at the time were clear with 10 miles visibility.

The Air Force investigated whether the sighting could have been caused by a helicopter or aircraft. A commercial Boston Airlines flight with a cruising speed of about 240 knots was in the general vicinity around 1:45 p.m., though the timing did not precisely match the sighting. The Air Force's conclusion stated "possibly aircraft," but it was marked in the file as unidentified.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 9 pages.