Project 10073 Record: Sighting at Biggs AFB, 11 March 1950

On March 11, 1950, at approximately 1900Z, a sighting of an unidentified aerial object was reported at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. The incident involved three military witnesses: Captain Alvin J. Ziegler, 1st Lieutenant Billy Payne, and Captain Sterling R. Alford. The witnesses described the object as round, white in color, and appearing the size of a quarter. Captain Alford, who utilized a telescope during the observation, further described the object as having a half or quarter moon shape. The object was observed traveling from the south to the west in a straight, level path at an altitude estimated to be over 20,000 feet. In response to the sighting, Biggs AFB dispatched jet fighters to an altitude of 20,000 feet, but the object remained above that altitude. The report was processed through military channels, including the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) and the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB. Following an investigation, the object was officially identified as the planet Venus. Consequently, all further investigation into the incident was discontinued.