Zuni, New MexicoMay 1952

Unidentified

Summary

On May 24, 1952, a pilot flying a T-6 trainer aircraft near Zuni, New Mexico, spotted two unusual objects in the sky. The pilot, identified in the file as Glenn Bras, was cruising at 15,000 feet and flying eastward about 6 to 7 miles southwest of Zuni when the objects appeared directly in front of his plane at a 45-degree angle above the horizon.

The two objects were torpedo-shaped and reddish in color. According to the report, they appeared to have no center section, with only the front and rear portions visible. The objects moved through a 60-degree arc across the sky while slowly descending. The pilot watched them for approximately 15 to 16 seconds before they disappeared to the south. He could not determine their speed or distance from his aircraft.

The Air Force considered the pilot's reliability to be excellent. However, the file notes some puzzlement about the sighting. One comment in the case card reads, "Possibly astronomical, but why two?" The initial assessment suggested the objects might resemble a fireball or other astronomical activity, though the presence of two objects raised questions about that explanation. In the end, the Air Force marked this case as "unidentified," meaning investigators could not reach a definitive conclusion about what the pilot had seen.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, containing 7 pages.

Reported location

Zuni, New Mexico

Date of incident

May 1952

State / country

NM / US

Page count

7 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 10

LJ : I } A PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD EN ( 12. LOCATION # {12 CONCLUSIONS [ af . ' ; 10 Was Balloon AT ray 1952 mo [8 Frebobly Salles | 3. DATE-TIME GROUP E OF OBSERVATION Tg. FOUL. ) \ w A Local. 01 Wr AT Sh bab pike A | 0 Ground- Visual O Greund-Rader | a dled pop SUE : ont 0827 Zz... Ser Ee KAir Visvol O Airelntercept Radar . - Passibly Arcralr Ps. PHOTOS SATA rs 4 8. SOURCE : oe 0 Was Astronomical 0 Yes ; iJ Probably Astrorantical 3 i X No : Airline Pilot xX Peasibly Astronamical 124, | 2. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 18. NUMBER OF OBJFCTS 2. COURSE 120 Sher ooo oe A | : £) insufficient Data fos Evaluanon | ' 0 lak nawn CE ee EE RY ao HS SH SERS '|10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS | Possibly astronamical--but why two? Appcared to have no conten scetion, Color Reddish { Seen in front of A/C, Object, moved Shape Torpedo | through 60° arc at 45° elevation, : Were slowly decending when they | disappeared, } : i Ee) ; | : oi . KESRREES oh NPP ET NE TT WT VR WE mb oe P+ Ot Pn a. | ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP §2) , . 1