Report of Unusual Flying Object — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 11 February 1952

This document collection details a sighting of an unidentified aerial object by two senior USAF pilots, Major Richard J. Gedeon and Captain George P. Arns, on 11 February 1952. While flying a T-11 aircraft from Cleveland to Langley Air Force Base, the pilots encountered a cold front near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, forcing them to change their flight plan. At approximately 0300 EST, they observed a brilliant, comet-like object to their right, displaying a yellow-to-orange flame coloration. The object maintained a straight and level flight path, pulsating at one-to-two-second intervals, and traveled at what the pilots described as 'jet-like speed.' The sighting lasted approximately one minute. Both pilots, experienced in aviation, explicitly stated that the object was not a meteor, noting that its course lacked the characteristic orbit of such a body. They also ruled out conventional aircraft due to the duration of the sighting and the unique nature of the pulsating light. The report includes correspondence between the Tactical Air Command (TAC) and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The TAC office formally challenged the ATIC's initial assessment in Project Blue Book Report No. 5, which had dismissed the incident as a 'description similar to meteor.' The TAC argued that the ATIC's conclusion was in error based on subsequent conversations with Major Gedeon, whom they characterized as a serious-minded and reliable witness. The document also contains inquiries directed to Capital Airlines regarding whether they were testing experimental high-intensity rotating aircraft markers in the Pittsburgh area at the time of the sighting. The collection further includes a separate, similar report from 12 February 1952, involving a MATS C-47 crew near Washington, D.C., which was also investigated for potential links to experimental lighting or helicopter activity. Ultimately, the reports reflect the military's internal process of evaluating pilot sightings against known phenomena, experimental technology, and meteorological conditions, while highlighting the difficulty in reaching definitive conclusions for certain observations.