65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Serial_130
- Date
- 4 Aug 1947
- Place
- near Boston, Massachusetts (primary case); also Manitou Springs, CO and Oklahoma City, OK items in same serial, United States
- Record
- Pentagon file
- Assessment
- Not assessed
- Evidence strength
What was reported
A bundle of 1947 Army Air Forces Counter Intelligence Corps and Air Defense Command interview reports on the summer 1947 'flying disc' wave, retained in the FBI file. The lead item is the well-documented Pan American Airways Constellation case of 4 August 1947: pilot Alphaeus O. Powell and navigator Walter I. White, flying Gander-to-La Guardia near Boston, independently sighted unidentified objects from the cockpit, with differing size/color/course estimates that made investigators unsure if it was the same object. Other items in the serial include three Pikes Peak Railway employees' May 1947 sighting near Manitou Springs, CO of a maneuvering silver object, and Byron Savage's Oklahoma City sighting of a disc-shaped object in May 1947. No formal Air Force evaluation/rating was filled in on the Powell-White case form.
What officials concluded
No conclusion stated
the case form's 'Evaluation' field was left blank; agents' notes state Powell was ruled out as having seen a tow target, pilot balloon or radiosonde device because he was familiar with all three
- Agency
- FBI
- Released in
- 123456
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- Yes: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- Yes: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- Yes: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Why this rating All observations here are unaided visual sightings by credible, trained witnesses (an airline captain and navigator, a licensed pilot), but each is single-sensor with no radar, photo or physical trace; the two-witness Pan Am case even shows internal disagreement about whether one or two objects were involved, which weakens rather than strengthens the case as independently corroborating evidence.
As described in the file
- Witnesses
- Powell (airline captain) and White (navigator), same aircraft, viewing independently through different windows; separately, three railway employees (Manitou Springs) and one private pilot (Savage, Oklahoma City)
- Sensors
- Visual
- Shape
- Powell: cylindrical, blunt at both ends, like a P-40 fuselage; White: elliptical, blunted at the ends; Savage: round and flat disc, ~10:1 diameter-to-thickness
- Size
- Powell: about the length of a P-40 fuselage; White: ~15 feet long, 2-3 feet deep
- Lights and colour
- Powell: bright orange; White: deep gold, reflective surface; Savage: frosty white
- Motion
- Powell est. ~160 mph, course 200 magnetic; White est. ~175 mph, course ~110 magnetic; Savage est. ~3x jet aircraft speed
- Duration
- Powell ~50 seconds; White ~50 seconds; Savage 15-20 seconds
- Altitude or range
- Powell: ~7,800 ft, ~1 mile away; White: ~1,000 ft below aircraft, ~5 miles away; Savage: 10,000-18,000 ft
- Effects
- None reported; Powell noted no gaseous dissipation as would be expected from a rocket or jet exhaust
Pentagon files
65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Serial_130
Open the original on war.gov
What the file claims
- Unverified
Pilot Powell and navigator White, in the same aircraft, saw objects with different colors, sizes and courses, making it unclear whether they saw the same object.
- Unverified
Three Pikes Peak Railway employees watched a silver object execute climbing, diving and direction-reversal maneuvers near Manitou Springs in May 1947.
- Unverified
Byron Savage judged the Oklahoma City object he saw 'must be radically built and powered, probably atomic.'
On the map
42.36° N, 71.06° W, plotted at the town or city
Show on the map