Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting of 21 April 1955, New Orleans, Louisiana

On 21 April 1955, at approximately 2200Z, Sergeant Louis Ponticelli, an instructor with the Army Senior Air Instructors Office, reported a UFO sighting while flying as a safety observer in an L-19 aircraft near Moisant Airport, New Orleans, Louisiana. The witness, who had previous experience as an aircraft observer in Korea, described the object as a bright silver, delta-wing craft, roughly the size of a B-17, which appeared to be hovering at an altitude of 15,000 feet. The observation lasted between one and one-and-a-half minutes. The witness attempted to have the object tracked by radar via the Moisant Airport tower, but the tower was too busy with other traffic to assist. The object was lost from sight when the L-19 entered a cloud bank. An investigation was conducted by Flight 2-C of the 4602D Air Intelligence Squadron. The investigation included checks with the Naval Air Station in New Orleans and the Flight Service Center at Maxwell AFB. These checks confirmed that no weather balloons were released in the area that could account for the sighting, but noted that numerous aircraft were in the vicinity at the time. The investigating officer, 1st Lieutenant Richard G. Vaughn, concluded that the object was likely an aircraft. This conclusion was based on several factors: the witness was observing from a moving aircraft, which could create an illusion of the object hovering; the duration of the sighting was estimated and potentially inaccurate; and the presence of other aircraft in the area provided a plausible explanation. Colonel John M. White Jr. concurred with this assessment, officially classifying the incident as likely being an aircraft.