Unidentified Flying Object Report — West of Wake Island, 13 February 1958

On 13 February 1958, the crew of an Air Force C-54 aircraft, while flying over the Pacific Ocean west of Wake Island, reported an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The sighting occurred at approximately 0914Z. The crew described the object as a circular, greenish-blue, grapefruit-sized object that appeared as a bright, instantaneous flash. The pilot, Captain William L. Faurot, initially believed his aircraft was being fired upon. The incident was documented in an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-17-58) by 1st Lt. Harald W. Ingholt of PFICO-C, Hq PACAF. The report includes detailed statements from the crew, including the co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer, and radio operator. Radar contacts were also reported in the vicinity during the time of the sighting. Following an investigation, the official conclusion reached by the intelligence officers was that the phenomenon was likely a flare fired by another aircraft operating in the area at a lower altitude. The report notes that another aircraft, identified as Project 53, was in the vicinity at the time. The investigators determined that the flare's description, in terms of color and intensity, was consistent with a photo-flash cartridge. The report provides a thorough assessment of the crew's reliability, noting that while the pilot was under the impression of being shot at, the flight engineer's notes, made immediately after the event, were considered highly accurate. The document serves as a record of the incident and the subsequent intelligence assessment, concluding that the sighting was not an anomalous event but rather a flare from another aircraft.