UFO Sighting Report — Hale, Michigan, 11 November 1964

On 11 November 1964, at 2220Z, a civilian witness and Captain Eugene L. Thornton of the 445th FIS observed two objects near Hale, Michigan. The objects were described as round, pea-sized, and appearing side-by-side, with one being orange and the other black. The orange object appeared to be burning and possessed a tail of flame, eventually breaking away from the black object. The observation lasted approximately 8 to 10 seconds before the objects were lost behind trees. The flight path was described as straight with no maneuvering, heading South and East. Military investigations, including queries to the Detroit Air Defense Sector (DEADS), local GCI stations, and the 379th Bombardment Wing, yielded no reports of military aircraft in the area. A check with Detachment 28 of the 26th Weather Squadron negated the possibility of weather phenomena. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency was that the sighting was a 'possible decay,' specifically linked to the breakup of the Cosmos 50 satellite, which had disintegrated on 5 November 1964, with various fragments burning in the atmosphere during that period.