W of Augustine Island, AlaskaMarch 1959

Insufficient Data

Summary

On March 8, 1959, a civilian airline pilot west of Augustine Island, Alaska, reported a bright object in the night sky. The sighting was about 4:39 a.m. (1139Z) and lasted about 3 seconds. The witness was an experienced captain flying a Northern Consolidated Airlines F-27 at 17,000 feet.

He described one point of light, slightly larger than a star and bright green, that appeared as a streak due to its speed. It entered the field of vision at the right of the windscreen, crossed to the left at the same horizontal level in level flight, did not appear to drop, then disappeared in a flash of bright light like an explosion to the north. The pilot emphatically stated he did not believe it was a meteor, citing the intense color and horizontal path.

The Air Force concluded the case was astronomical. The University of Alaska astronomy department suggested a meteorite or fireball because of the short duration. Officials also noted very tenuous evidence pointing to a possible reentry of a 1959 satellite object, but said further evaluation was impossible due to lack of data. The record card listed the conclusion as a large fireball.

Reported location

W of Augustine Island, Alaska

Date of incident

March 1959

State / country

AK / US

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
Wik PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD | |
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS i
0 Was Balloon
2 RE 5Q 8 oll oust 1 ne Tal anc La re) 8] Probably Balloon
eee ee ee se Sei] Possibly Balloon
3. DATE-TIME CROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERYATION y :
v i 0 Was Aircraft
Loca! m—- (@] Ground Vi sual (m] Ground Radar a Probably Aircraft
As MC LL 0 Air-Intercopt Rador illic Senta
5. PHOTOS . SOURCE O° Was Astronomical. 22 22 1
QO Yes C0 Probably Astronomical
a Ne bias a O Possibly Astronomical
’ hb | xX ] p. 1
7. LENGT™ OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE CHE Tein RT,
O Insufficient Dota for Evaluation
: le : 0 Unknown
10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 1. COMMENTS
| Point of light, slightly larger thin a Concur with University of -losks
star, bright green. .ppe re d a8 stre2x due evaluctions The description, flight
j to speed, Had horizontal flight, did not path & time duration is of a large
appear to drop. Diseppecred in o flash of Lirebald,.
bright light like =n e:plosion to the
: North, :
ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP $2)
[J
= EE LTTE hrs FE CWC RP Te SRC As ARTA hr AES esas amet v :

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28982436