Guide to Investigation: Unidentified Aerial Objects - Incident Report 16 June 50

This document is a formal military report regarding an Unidentified Aerial Object sighting that occurred on June 16, 1950, near Tucson, Arizona. The report, filed under reference number AF202700, details an observation made by a pilot of a C-47 aircraft who was en route from Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The incident was reported to March Flight Service via interphone from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The witnesses identified as Lt. Col. L.R. Santini and S/sgt T.L. Cabrich of the 20th Bomb Wing, California National Guard, described the object as an equilateral triangle. The object was estimated to be the size of a C-47 and was observed at an altitude of 11,000 feet, traveling at an estimated speed of 700 mph in a westerly direction. The report notes that the object featured between ten and twenty white lights evenly spaced around its perimeter, and that no conventional aircraft lights were visible. The weather conditions at the time of the sighting were reported as clear with 30 miles of visibility. The document was signed by Major Lawrence C. Paulson, an Intelligence Officer with the 23d Bombardment Wing (M). The report includes standard administrative markings, including a declassification instruction under DOD Directive 5200.10, indicating it was to be graded at three-year intervals and declassified after twelve years.