Air Intelligence Information Report: UFO Sighting 20 July 1959

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-1-59) prepared by the 818th Air Division regarding a series of UFO sightings reported on 20 July 1959 in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. The investigation was initiated following a request from the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) to clarify details of a sighting that had been reported in local newspapers. The report compiles testimonies from several observers, including a geology student and planetarium lecturer, a Lieutenant (JG) in the USNR with twenty years of astronomical study, and a staff director at a local television station. These observers described a bright, star-like object that appeared stationary before moving in a straight line at high speed, with a drift pattern contrary to known astronomical bodies. When viewed through telescopes, the object was described as having long spikes at the top, bottom, and sides. The investigation included a thorough check of local air traffic, including T-33 and L-19 aircraft, as well as FAA and GCI radar data, all of which yielded negative results regarding the object's identity. The reporting officer, Captain Lorenzo H. Herring Jr., noted that while the observers were generally reliable and knowledgeable about sky phenomena, he could not reach a definitive conclusion as to what they had seen. He specifically noted that the timing of the sightings ruled out sun reflection and that the observers should have been able to distinguish the object from known aircraft lights. The report also highlights discrepancies in the reporting process, noting that some accounts were picked up by reporters and published in small towns, which the intelligence officer considered unreliable. The document concludes that no positive identification could be made, and the nature of the object remains unexplained.