Incident No. 270 — Unidentified Flying Object Sighting, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 10 March 1949

This document consists of a formal report and accompanying correspondence regarding an unidentified flying object sighting near Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 10, 1949. The primary report, dated March 11, 1949, was prepared by the Fourth Army Intelligence Liaison Officer at Sandia Base. The witness, Corporal Paul James Hutchinson of the 8457th M.P. Company, observed the object between 2200 and 2215 hours while stationed at the intersection of the Ordnance Area road and the Kirtland Field perimeter fence. Corporal Hutchinson, who was noted to have no previous experience as an observer, described the object as a single, spherical, yellow light, approximately twice the size of an automobile headlight. The object traveled from east to west at an estimated speed of 200 miles per hour, maintaining a steady horizontal path at an elevation of 30 to 40 degrees. The witness reported no sound and no exhaust trails associated with the object. Weather conditions at the time were clear. No photographs were taken, and no other witnesses were present. On March 25, 1949, Colonel Eustis L. Poland of the Headquarters Fourth Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, forwarded this summary to the Commanding General of the Air Materiel Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, referencing previous directives regarding 'Unconventional Aircraft' and Control Number A-1917. The document is marked as unclassified and includes instructions for periodic downgrading and eventual declassification under DOD Directive 5200.10.