Air Intelligence Information Report: Unidentified Flying Object Report, Panama, 9-10 March 1958

This Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-4-58), dated 18 March 1958, details a series of unidentified aerial phenomena observed in the Panama Canal Zone between 9 and 13 March 1958. The report, authored by Captain Vernon D. Adams of the Director of Intelligence, CAirC, documents multiple radar contacts and visual sightings. On the night of 9-10 March, radar sites, including Battery D of the 764th AAA Battalion on Flamenco Island, tracked two unidentified objects. These objects were described as having erratic, evasive movement and were observed to travel at speeds reaching 1,000 miles per hour. When searchlights were directed at the objects, they reportedly ascended from 2,000 to 10,000 feet in five to ten seconds, causing the tracking radar to lose its lock. Personnel at the radar sites reported seeing red and green lights, though no noise was associated with the objects. Subsequent investigations by aircraft, including a T-33 from Howard Field, yielded negative results. On 11 March, a Pan-American Airlines pilot reported an unidentified object larger than his DC-6 aircraft, which was also tracked by Hawk Radar. The report concludes that the objects were likely solid, given the radar's ability to lock onto them, and notes that the Air Force confirmed no weather balloons were in the area at the time. The document emphasizes the necessity of reporting such sightings to the nearest Major Air Command in accordance with AFR 200-2.