From the Archives #3: Dallas, Texas, January 6, 1953
From the Archives #3: Dallas, Texas, January 6, 1953
Two Air Traffic control personnel witness a triangular UAP maneuver near Dallas, Texas, before it "blend[ed] in with stars." The incident drew the attention of Air Force officials.
By Dustin Slaughter (@DustinSlaughter)
The UAP Register aims to connect present-day reporting with historical cases (whenever feasible), as we believe that one of the most compelling reasons to take these phenomena seriously is their consistent presence throughout history. ‘From the Archives’ takes this a step further by delving into captivating UAP/UFO cases sourced from collections of U.S. government documents, including those mandated for release under the UAP Disclosure Act to the U.S. National Archives.
Two veteran Air Traffic Control (ATC) operators reported an unidentified flying object seen maneuvering for over one hour 50 miles north of Dallas Love Field in the early morning hours of January 6, 1953. The incident was documented in a report contained in the files of the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book.
Wyle Moore, who at that time boasted over 14 years of ATC experience and over two dozen years of flight experience; and M.F. Fechenbach, with 10 years of ATC experience; described the object as “delta-winged in shape with [a] large round opening in the center which changed color from orange to red.” The object’s altitude for most of the event remained no higher than 2,500 feet.
They also observed other unusual features on the “equilateral triangle”-shaped craft, including the leading point of the triangle presenting a “bluish-green” glow with “brilliant white wings.”
Unlike most sightings involving triangular-shaped craft throughout the annals of UAP/UFO history, this object displayed a tail section (of indeterminate length). The two observers also noted that this tail section exhibited a “fuzzy” glow that changed color from “orange to red to blue.”
For most of the encounter, the men watched as the craft, which remained silent with no visible means of propulsion, essentially maintain “straight and level flight.” Love Field personnel alerted other radar stations to the object’s presence.
According to the report, Oklahoma City Municipal Airport (now Will Rodgers International Airport), located some 200 miles from the witnesses’ location, “reported radar contact with [the] object” and at one point “gave an estimated speed of over 600 miles per hour.”
Moore, Fechenbach, and others, watched as the object moved from north of the airport to north-northeast and finally south-southeast. It then “hovered, made a slight curve, then went practically straight up and disappeared by blending in with stars.”
According to a Dallas Times Herald report (page 16) of the incident, other pilots at the airport joined the two witnesses in the control tower to view the object. One amateur astronomer, Oscar Monnig, “who has investigated such phenomena all over the country,” according to the newspaper, suggested that the phenomenon was nothing more than the “reflection of artificial light or cirrus clouds.”
Firemen who had received a call about the object from the ATC tower also witnessed it.
“I wish I’d never seen it,” an unnamed fireman told the newspaper. “It’s too fantastic, and now there’ll be a lot of talk. I just wish I’d never seen it.”
Other witness accounts of the object, as reported in the newspaper, varied in some details. Descriptions differed regarding the colors of the nose and wings, and whether a flame was emitting from the object's tail. Despite these discrepancies, it’s clear that these witnesses observed something unusual.
The significance of the event is further underscored because the incident was brought to the attention of high-ranking Air Force officials.
The report was forwarded to the USAF’s Director of Intelligence in Washington, D.C.; the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio; and Ent Air Force Base in Colorado, then home to the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD).
You can read the full report here.