Air Intelligence Information Report: Sighting near Vichy, Missouri, 12 February 1953

On 12 February 1953, at approximately 2030 hours CST, Captain Robert B. Bailey, an ATRC staff pilot, observed an unidentified aerial object while flying a C-47 aircraft near Vichy, Missouri. The aircraft was en route from Webb Air Force Base to Scott Air Force Base at an altitude of 7000 feet and an indicated airspeed of 170 knots. Captain Bailey reported that the object appeared as a circular light, approximately one foot in diameter, which varied in intensity and changed color from red through amber to green. The object was initially observed off the left wing at a distance of approximately one mile. According to the pilot's statement, the object remained visible for 5 to 10 minutes, during which time it dropped back relative to the aircraft, increased its speed, and performed three dives and zooms on a course parallel to the aircraft before disappearing upward at a right angle. The crew chief and a seaman passenger on board the aircraft corroborated the observation. Following the sighting, Captain Bailey contacted the Vichy Radio Range Station, which reported no other aircraft in the immediate vicinity. A subsequent radar check by the ADF radar station confirmed that only the C-47 aircraft was present in the area. The incident was formally reported via a CIRVIS in-flight report and documented in an Air Intelligence Information Report (ATRC-6-53). The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center was that the object was the planet Venus. Investigators noted that the planet, when viewed through a slight haze, appeared as a brilliant light and seemed closer than normal. Despite the high reliability and experience level of the witnesses, the intelligence assessment determined that the planet's position at the time of the sighting coincided with the observed phenomenon.