Report on Observation of an Unidentified Object in the Sky

This document is a formal memorandum dated April 27, 1950, detailing an aerial observation made by a Northrop Aircraft, Inc. flight crew on April 18, 1950. The crew, consisting of pilot Max Stanley and observers Lloyd Balsam and Sam F. West, were flying an F-61C aircraft (No. AF 8367) in connection with Project MX-775 when they were alerted by the Amarillo Airport office to an unidentified object in the vicinity of Memphis, Texas. The object had been under observation by CAA personnel in Clarendon and Childress, Texas, since 9:00 A.M. that morning. Upon reaching the area at an altitude of 20,000 feet, the crew sighted the object to their southeast. Initially appearing as a metallic reflection, the object was later observed at 30,000 feet. The crew described it as a silvery, metallic, sphere-like object with a translucent quality, featuring prominent detents on the top and bottom connected by a dark streak or shadow. The object exhibited a slow, tilting, sideways movement and lacked any visible means of propulsion. The crew attempted to coordinate with a B-36 aircraft in the area, but the B-36 was unable to sight the object. After approximately 20 minutes of observation, the crew was forced to descend due to oxygen depletion. The observers, all of whom possessed technical or engineering backgrounds, concluded that the object was not an airplane, weather balloon, or celestial body. The report was forwarded through the Los Angeles AF Procurement Field Office to the Air Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The document was originally classified as 'Confidential' and later downgraded to 'Restricted' by the Intelligence Department.