Project 10073 Record: Unidentified Aerial Object Sighting, New Orleans, Louisiana, 12 April 1950

This document comprises a series of records and a summary of information regarding an unidentified aerial object sighted in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the night of 12 April 1950. The primary report, filed by the 112th CIC Detachment of the Fourth Army, details the account of a witness who was awakened by his wife to observe a round, dark red or orange object descending over Lake Pontchartrain. The witness, who was in bed at his residence near the lake, described the object as appearing like a small sunset, approximately three feet in diameter, and moving from north to south at an altitude of roughly 300 feet. The object reportedly sailed toward the shore, lost altitude, and landed. After landing, it appeared to hesitate, attempted to rise, fell back, and eventually came to a standstill. The witness, who was not wearing his reading glasses at the time, observed the object for approximately ten seconds. He later drove along the lakeshore in an attempt to locate the object but was unsuccessful. He expressed an opinion that the object might have been a plastic balloon due to its uniform color and lack of light glare. Official military evaluation of the incident, forwarded by the Fourth Army to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, concluded that the sighting was likely an aircraft, specifically suggesting it could have been a seaplane landing on the lake. The document includes a map of the sighting area in New Orleans and notes that weather conditions at the time were clear with no wind. The report is marked as unclassified and includes instructions for periodic downgrading and eventual declassification.