Zuni, New MexicoOctober 1952

Unidentified

Summary

A high-ranking government executive traveling in a military aircraft near Zuni, New Mexico, on October 15, 1952, observed an illuminated object performing unusual maneuvers. The executive was aboard a B-25 bomber flying with two Air Force officers when the sighting occurred. The object displayed two blinking red lights on its upper section and had a strong spotlight effect on the lower portion. The aircraft's occupants reported that the object appeared to rotate or spin as it moved, hovering at times and then accelerating to high speeds while executing erratic changes in direction.

The observer was described in Air Force records as "highly credible" with substantial qualifications for unbiased observation. He was accompanied by two co-observers whose background and attitude toward unusual aerial phenomena were similar to his own. The original observer stated that before this sighting he had been a skeptic about such phenomena, but the encounter convinced him otherwise. The object remained visible for approximately 40 minutes during the observation.

The Air Force concluded that the object's true identity could not be determined from the available evidence, listing it in the case file as "unidentified." The file contains extensive witness questionnaires, technical data sheets, and correspondence between Air Force offices, including inquiries from the Pentagon and Office of the Secretary of the Air Force regarding the sighting's details.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives and contains 26 scanned pages.

Reported location

Zuni, New Mexico

Date of incident

October 1952

State / country

NM / US

Page count

26 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 15

“oR - 4 : i PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD 3 1. DATE { 2. LOCATION ¥ 12. CONCLUSIONS E: 3 . 0 Wos Ball | i 1h Oct 52 en a} Probobly Balloon k. 3. DATETIME GROUP TTT [4 TYPE OF OBSERVATION sic —-|8 Possibly Bellon tocol —. LB/2150 USE | © GmundVisvel ~~ D.Ground-Rodor G Probably Atreray ony. 15/050 2 BW Air-Visval O Air-Intercept Radar | Possibly Aircraft 1 "Ss. PHOTOS : FEE ee D Was Astronomical : oe | civilian mm [me | 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION | 6. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BEE ib 40 Glace | 1 | £ ERR——" Date for Evaluation jo. BRIEF SUMMARY OF mioWTING [comes y High rovernnent executive was flying in Source is highly credible, chici of B-25 a/c with two AF officers from { ‘ Senate and Wnite Bouse liaison i Pentagon, sighted illuminated object which also a pilot. performed maneuvers from hover to high speed and executed erratic changes in course. | Object had two blinking red lights above ; upper section, and the lower portion of the object had a strong spotlight effect. Objett gave the iLupression of "turning", or opinning of the main body. | ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SKP $2) ; g