UFOB Sighting Report - Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, November 1953

This document consists of a series of military teletype reports regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOB) sighting that occurred on November 21, 1953, near Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The report, filed under the guidelines of Air Force Regulation 200-2, details an incident involving two objects observed by an Air Force pilot and a control tower operator. The witnesses described a quick, successive flash of bluish-white light, similar to lightning or an anti-aircraft (ack-ack) burst, which illuminated the aircraft's canopy, cockpit, and wings. The duration of the event was described as a split second. The report notes that the pilot was flying a T-33 aircraft at an altitude of 8,000 feet and a speed of 320 MPH at the time of the sighting. Weather conditions were reported as clear with no wind. The official conclusion reached by the 4602D AISS (Air Intelligence Squadron) was that the phenomenon was likely caused by a meteor or meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere. The document also includes a separate, unrelated Hydrographic Bulletin report from November 22, 1953, regarding a meteor sighting near Shemya Island, which describes a large meteor traveling in a westerly direction that burst into two bright balls of fire. The primary report is marked as unclassified and includes routing information to various Air Force intelligence commands, including the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.