Air Intelligence Information Report: Laredo, Texas Sighting, 4 December 1952

On the night of 4 December 1952, 1st Lt Robert O. Arnold, a pilot with the 3640th Pilot Training Wing, was flying a T-28 aircraft locally near Laredo Air Force Base, Texas. While holding at 6,000 feet, Lt. Arnold observed a rapidly moving bluish light at an altitude of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The object, which lacked standard position or fuselage lights, performed a series of maneuvers including a counter-clockwise orbit around the base, a head-on pass at the observer's aircraft, and rapid vertical ascents to 15,000 feet. The object was estimated to be traveling in excess of 500 MPH. Lt. Arnold observed the object for approximately seven minutes. The encounter occurred under clear weather conditions. Following the incident, the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) investigated the report. Official records indicate that a weather balloon was released from Laredo Air Force Base at 2053 hours, which coincided with the time of the sighting. The final conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the object was 'probably a balloon,' with ATIC noting that the maneuvers reported by the pilot were likely exaggerated. The report includes details of the pilot's flight path and the object's movements, and mentions that neither the control tower nor other aircraft in the vicinity observed the light. The document is classified as an Air Intelligence Information Report and was later downgraded and declassified under DOD Directive 5200.10.