608 Montrose Drive
S. Charleston, W. Va.
September 25, 1949.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington D. C.
Gentlemen:
An incident happened this afternoon which after consideration I felt I should report. I most certainly do not want this incident disclosed, as I do not want any publicity concerning it. If you regard it of no special interest to the F.B.I. please disregard this correspondence.
I was flying from (Clark Field) to Parkersburg, W. Va. this afternoon and about four miles airline, southwest of Parkersburg, I suddenly noticed a bright yellow object coming directly towards me. It came at me with such speed, added to my 100 m.p.h. forward speed that it startled me and had passed by in a matter of a couple of seconds. But it passed by about 100 feet under my ship and about 50 feet to my right, and because of the dark green background of the forests below I was able to get a very clear outline of the object, and what I believe is a very accurate description.
Color - bright canary yellow
Length - about 15 to 18 inches
Diameter - About 4" - in the largest part
It resembled a rocket, in fact was about the same shape and proportions as the fuselage of a Lockheed Air Force X-90
No wings but vertical and horizontal fins on rear 1/3 of the rocket.
No visible means of propulsion such as propeller, vapor trail, smoke or exhaust.
The front of the rocket was very sharp with a needle nose, the needle looked about 6" long and was the size of a lead pencil.
The rear end was blunt similar to the rear end of a jet fuselage.
I was flying my ship, (a Luscombe 8A, NC 1440K) and was traveling about 100 m.p.h. at the time.
I was at 3450 ft above sea level at the time.
I was flying a compass course of 60 degrees, and the rocket was traveling almost west at 240 degrees.
It happened about 2:45 P.M. on the above date.
The visibility was exceptionally good, about 30 miles.
The yellow object looked very sharp and clearly outlined because of the dark green background.
If you will refer to the Huntington sectional aerial map this object was sighted over a very small town named Lubeck, which is about 4 miles direct west of South Parkersburg.
It appeared to have spent its force and seemed to be dropping slightly as it passed by, or had been fired or launched from a higher altitude than the altitude I was flying.
My wife was with me but she did not see the object, and I did not tell her of the incident until we had landed at Parkersburg.
Very truly yours,
[Signature]
RECORDED 87
ENCLOSURE
62-83894-202
Note: Handwritten annotations such as “(9/25/49)”, “Wetbair 10-28-49”, and “F.B.I.” are not transcribed as they are not part of the typed body text. The redacted blacked-out regions are represented as [redacted] per instructions. The signature is rendered as [Signature] since it is not legible. All other visible text, including marginalia and stamps, is included as transcribed.