Air Intelligence Information Report: Sighting of Unidentified Flying Object, Red Oak, Iowa, 17 December 1955

On December 17, 1955, at approximately 18/0122Z, a fast-moving, soundless object was observed in the sky over Red Oak, Iowa. The witness, a 15-year-old high school student and GOC observer, reported that the object appeared suddenly in the southwest, glowing like a skyrocket. It was described as having no particular shape, roughly the size of an automobile headlight, and changing colors from white to red to blue before appearing to explode and burn out. The sighting lasted approximately fifteen seconds. Similar reports were received from a CAA control tower operator in Kansas City, Missouri, and a Braniff International Airways pilot flying near Kansas City. The pilot, a former physics professor, identified the object as a 'nickel meteorite' due to its greenish cast. Following these reports, Detachment 2 of the 4602d AISS conducted an investigation. They contacted the University of Nebraska, where Dr. C. B. Schultz, in consultation with Professor Collins and noted meteor expert Dr. Lincoln La Paz, concluded that the sighting was definitely a meteorite. The experts determined that the object was a bolide-type meteorite that exploded near Humbolt, Nebraska, with the main body striking the earth. The investigators concluded that the discrepancies in the observers' accounts—such as some believing it burned out while others thought it struck the earth—were due to atmospheric haze near the horizon and the relative positions of the observers. The possibility of an aircraft crash was investigated and ruled out by the CAA. The final assessment by the Air Intelligence Information Report confirmed the event as a natural astronomical phenomenon.