Incident #121 Sighting Report — Cartersville, Georgia, 9 January 1948

This document details the investigation into Incident #121, a sighting of an unidentified aerial object reported by an Eastern Air Lines pilot on January 9, 1948. The pilot, flying an Eastern Air Lines DC-3 from St. Louis to Atlanta, observed an object crossing his path at approximately 3,000 feet altitude near Cartersville, Georgia. The pilot described the object as circular with a flat top, resembling a pot, and emitting an intense blue flame. He estimated its speed at 400 mph and noted that it turned earthward after crossing his flight path. The pilot explicitly stated that the object did not have the trajectory of a wingless missile and compared it to 'Buzz Bombs' he had encountered while serving with RAF pilots during the war. A purser on the same flight also observed the flame, though he could provide no further identification details. Military authorities, including the Maxwell Flight Service Center and the Third Army, conducted thorough checks of flight plans and records for the nights of January 8, 9, and 10, 1948, but found no evidence of jet aircraft or explosions in the vicinity. The report notes that while the possibility of the object being a meteor was considered, it was deemed unlikely due to the reported color and speed. The document also addresses a separate, unusual event involving the death of seventy-five cattle on a farm in Newnan, Georgia. Although the witness expressed concern about a potential connection between the sighting and the cattle deaths, the Atlanta Office of the Animal Industry Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture advised that the cattle died of an 'unknown' disease that had persisted in the country for over a year. Investigators concluded there was no basis for a connection between the aerial sighting and the cattle fatalities. The file includes various internal military correspondence, including indorsements between Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and other commands, confirming that no further information could be furnished regarding the object.