Incident #251 Sighting Report — San Antonio, Texas, 20 January 1949

This document is a formal Summary of Information regarding an Unconventional Aircraft sighting (Incident No. 251) reported by M/Sgt Ellis C. Stone of the Fourth Army AG Section. On 20 January 1949, at approximately 1835 hours, M/Sgt Stone observed a single spherical object while located 6.2 miles northeast of San Antonio, Texas, near the intersection of Judson and Nacogdoches Roads. The witness described the object as having a luminous bluish-green color with a yellow tinge. It was observed moving from ESE to NNW, with an initial elevation of 15 degrees that dropped to 12 degrees as it disappeared over a small sand hill. The object exhibited a gliding motion and left a trail that varied in length from three to seven times the diameter of the object itself. This trail was described as light pink in color, with bright red sparks spraying from it at approximately half its length. The total duration of the sighting was estimated at five seconds. Following the report, investigators interviewed personnel at the San Antonio Municipal Airport and the CAA Control Tower, who confirmed they had received no reports of unusual aerial activity and that the airport was closed to all but commercial traffic and two special flights that evening. The document includes a handwritten note on the first page identifying the object as an 'Astro (Meteor)'. The report was forwarded by Colonel Eustis L. Poland to the Commanding General of the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for further review.