UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL OBJECT; Fireball Sighted 1358 hours, 24 February 1950, at Albuquerque, New Mexico

This report details an investigation into an unidentified aerial object sighted on February 24, 1950, at the Albuquerque Municipal Airport in New Mexico. The investigation was initiated following information provided by Dr. Lincoln La Paz of the University of New Mexico. Two weather observers, whose reliability was deemed unquestionable by the investigating officer, reported seeing the object at approximately 1358 hours. One witness, who was tracking a weather balloon through a theodolite, observed the object as it crossed the field of view. He described the object as round but not spherical, similar in size to the upper dark portion of the moon, and noted it was darkened on the top-left side. The object appeared to be at an elevation of 20 to 23 degrees and moved in a straight flight path toward the West-Southwest. The witness noted that the object's speed, when viewed through the theodolite, was a crawl compared to a shooting star. A second observer, a weather forecaster with seven years of experience, also witnessed the object from the roof of the TWA building. He described it as bright white, reflecting light like metal, and noted it was very brilliant, more so than a white weather balloon. He observed the object for 20 to 30 seconds before it faded out of sight. Both observers confirmed that the sky was cloudless and that they had never seen any similar phenomena before. The investigation, conducted by Special Agent Cristino B. Griego of the 17th District Office of Special Investigations, concluded that all logical leads had been exhausted and the case was closed. The report is marked as confidential and includes a directive for declassification after 12 years.