Unidentified Flying Object Sighting Report — Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana, 12 February 1953

On 12 February 1953, at approximately 0600 hours Central Standard Time, ten crew members of the 52nd Bombardment Squadron at Lake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana, observed an unidentified flying object. The sighting occurred while the personnel were on the ground during the preflight of a B-29 aircraft, approximately 200 yards north of Hanger 3. The witnesses described the object as delta-shaped and approximately fifteen feet in diameter, with a bluish-white color. A notable feature of the object was a trail that appeared in a pulse-jet fashion, with pulses significantly smaller than the object itself, extending to the rear four times the object's length. The object was estimated to be at an altitude of 5,000 feet and traveling at a speed of 1,500 miles per hour. It approached from 130 degrees and maintained a straight and level flight path for the duration of the twelve-second observation before suddenly disappearing. The witnesses reported that the object's brightness exceeded that of the star Sirius and that it possessed a steady brilliance. There was no sound associated with the object, and no maneuver or loss of altitude was observed during its 90-degree azimuth transit. Weather conditions at the time were reported as CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) with no meteorological activity, which the report notes facilitated the spotting of meteors. The observers were deemed reliable by the reporting officer, Major Donald R. Casety. Despite the detailed description provided by the ten witnesses, no physical evidence or photographs were obtained, and no interception or identification action was deemed feasible. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency, ATIC, was that the object was likely an astronomical phenomenon, specifically a fireball, which had unusual coloring as it passed through the earth's atmosphere.