Spot Intelligence Report: Unconventional Aircraft Sighting, 24 January 1950

This Spot Intelligence Report, dated 8 February 1950, details an encounter with an unidentified flying object by three military officers aboard a C-45 aircraft. On 24 January 1950, at approximately 1650 hours, while flying from Pope Air Force Base to Bolling Air Force Base, the crew—Captain G. B. Edwards, Captain Theron C. Fehrevach, and 1st Lt. John H. Van Santen—observed a large, dark, spheroid object. The object was estimated to be 200 to 250 feet in diameter and was positioned at approximately 7,000 feet, just above the cloud layer. The witnesses described the object as having a flat bottom and a pronounced black trail that followed it, which they likened to an oversized parachute with a large black object hanging below it. The object demonstrated high maneuverability, performing horizontal flight, oscillating, and stopping before accelerating to speeds exceeding 300 miles per hour. The C-45, traveling at 160 miles per hour, was unable to overtake the object, which maintained a distance of 5 to 10 miles. The witnesses explicitly stated the object could not be a cloud, meteor, or celestial body. The report notes that the officers were interviewed on 30 and 31 January 1950 by Special Agent Rea S. Van Fosson. The investigator concluded that the witnesses were sincere, mature, and well-trained in aerial observation. The officers expressed reluctance to report the incident, citing the influence of public opinion and media coverage, specifically mentioning a December 1949 article in True Magazine by Keyhoe, though they denied having read it or being influenced by it. The report confirms that no other reports of the aircraft were made at the time of the incident.