SHAW AFB, S.C., October 1952October 1952

On the evening of October 1, 1952, a U.S. Air Force pilot flying a reconnaissance aircraft near Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina spotted a brilliant white light that exhibited unusual flight behavior. First Lieutenant Thomas J. Piontek, an experienced pilot with over 1,100 flying hours and a Korean War veteran, sighted the object at 1857 hours (6:57 p.m.) Eastern Standard Time while flying at 22,000 feet. The object was described as intensely bright, roughly the size of a star but three times brighter, circular in shape, and about one inch in diameter as it appeared to the pilot. It showed no visible aerodynamic features, exhaust trail, or signs of propulsion, and made no sound.

The object remained visible for approximately 23 minutes as Piontek maneuvered to observe it. During this time, it performed several striking maneuvers: horizontal flight, vertical flight, hovering in place, gentle turns, and at one point an abrupt turn followed by a dive. The light moved much faster than the aircraft, which was traveling at 270 miles per hour indicated during the first part of the encounter. The object appeared to the left of the aircraft's nose at an unknown distance, moved across to a position at 2 o'clock (to the right), came to what seemed like a complete stop, then reversed direction and passed in front of the aircraft before stopping at 10 o'clock (to the left). Throughout the sighting, the object remained slightly below the altitude of Piontek's aircraft.

Piontek attempted to intercept the object by cutting in front of its path and pushing his engines to full power, but could not close the distance. He also tried to alert the ground radar unit to track the object electronically, but was unsuccessful in making contact. The pilot eventually lost visual contact with the object while maneuvering to avoid another aircraft. Weather conditions at the time were clear with a full moon and eight statute miles of visibility. No physical evidence of the object was recovered, and no other witnesses were present to corroborate the sighting.

The Air Force's evaluation of this case was marked as "unknown," indicating that the investigating officers could not reach a definitive conclusion about what Piontek observed. The full case file, comprising seven pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.