Smithville, TennesseeApril 1960

On the night of April 29, 1960, a man near Smithville, Tennessee saw a round red light flashing in the sky. He had stepped outside to get coal for his stove around 5:40 a.m. when he noticed the object. It appeared to be about the size of a basketball, flying at an altitude of roughly 200 to 300 feet above the ground.

The object moved from north to south, then made three separate stops before turning and heading east. After about three minutes of observation, it disappeared slowly into the distance. The witness heard no sound coming from the object. He was certain it had stopped during its flight, a detail he repeated to the investigating officer.

A helicopter pilot and squadron administrative officer from Sewart Air Force Base interviewed the witness. The officer concluded that the flashing red light most likely came from an aircraft at a greater distance than the witness realized. He suggested that the object's apparent slowness and the stops the witness observed could be explained by distance and darkness playing tricks on perception. When the officer shared this assessment with the witness, the man agreed it could have been an aircraft, though he remained uncertain.

The Air Force's official evaluation was that the sighting probably involved an aircraft. No photographs were taken, and no other witnesses were reported. The full case file, comprising 10 pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.