Sighting of Object Resembling Flying Saucer on 6 April 1956 Near Henderson, North Carolina

This document collection details the investigation into a UFO sighting reported by an FBI employee and her fiancé (a CIA member) on April 6, 1956, near Henderson, North Carolina. The witnesses, while driving on Route 1 at approximately 5:00 A.M., observed an oval-shaped, light-blue object that appeared to be spinning and moving in a zigzagging pattern. The object was estimated to be less than 25 feet above the ground, as wide as the highway, and two to four feet thick. It passed over their vehicle at a high rate of speed without making any sound. The witnesses were interviewed by Dr. J. Allen Hynek on September 13, 1956, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Given the witnesses' professional backgrounds in intelligence, they were deemed reliable, though they expressed significant concern that publicity regarding the sighting could negatively impact their careers. Dr. Hynek and Captain George T. Gregory, the investigating officer, concluded that the available data was insufficient to identify the object. They proposed a possible explanation that the object was a kite snagged on a telephone wire or tree, which, when viewed from a moving car, could create the illusion of a 'large top' moving with 'startling speed.' Despite this hypothesis, the case was officially categorized as 'insufficient info' due to the lack of concrete evidence. The correspondence includes internal Air Force routing slips, a letter from J. Edgar Hoover to the Air Force, and a follow-up letter from Dr. Hynek to the witness requesting further details to minimize 'unknowns.' The final memorandum from Captain Gregory confirms the case status and notes the inclusion of a rough sketch of the sighting.