Project 10073 Record Card: Los Angeles International Airport Sighting, 22 March 1957

On March 22, 1957, at 0755Z, a radar sighting was reported by the Los Angeles International Airport tower and Long Beach Municipal tower. The observation involved two objects, described as rectangular and of a size comparable to a conventional target. The objects were initially detected 10 miles northwest of the station, moving at an estimated speed of 3600 MPH. The objects traveled on a 320-degree magnetic heading, stopped at a range of 40 miles, returned toward the station to a range of 10 miles, stopped again, and finally proceeded on a 320-degree magnetic heading until they moved beyond the range of the radar scope. The total duration of the observation was 40 seconds. Two F-89 aircraft from Oxnard were dispatched to the area, but no visual sightings were reported. The official conclusion reached by the investigating officer was that the incident was a radar malfunction. This assessment was supported by the fact that the station's radar lost high voltage and went off at 0807Z, shortly after the event. The observer, Norman Johnson, a civilian air operation specialist, was noted as reliable, though lacking technical knowledge of radar equipment. The report was processed through the 27th Air Division at Norton AFB and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB.