Subject: The
Kirtland UFO Incident; Albuquerque, New Mexico; November 4, 1957
Francis
Ridge:
Apparently the UFO flew right-to-left along the East-West runway, then
turned SW toward the tower, stopping near the nuclear weapons storage
area
for about a minute. McDonald mentioned that the UFO stopped near the
Kirtland
"Drumhead Area" where the B-58 operated. If the object hovering near a
WSA (Weapons Storage Area) didn't get your attention, you have to read
what the implications might have been with the B-58 "Hustler"! See Joel
Carpenter's preliminary analysis link below. And there's a lot more.
CAA tower personnel, R.M. Kaser and E. G. Brink, were reliable
observers
with 23 years of airport control tower experience between them. A
lighted
object came down steeply at the east end of a runway, left the flight
line,
crossed runways, taxiways, and unpaved areas at about a 30 degree
angle,
and proceeded southwest towards the control tower at an altitude of
less
than 100 feet. Observed through through 7x binoculars, the object
appeared
to be egg-shaped, having no wings, tail, or fuselage, and was elongated
vertically. It appeared to be fifteen to twenty feet tall, about the
size
of an automobile standing on its nose, and had a single white light at
its base. After the UFO left the area it was tracked on a CPN-18
surveillance
radar and it exhibited some amazing flight characteristics. The object
also came back towards Kirtland until it took up a position behind an
Air
Force C-46 that had just taken off. It stayed in position behind the
C-46
until they both moved out of radar range.
There have been several UFO incidents in and around Kirtland AFB
through
the years. A questionable one happened in 1980, but the one of November
4th,
1957, was one that has stood the test of time and has been well covered
by Hynek, McDonald, etc.
Here's the full story.
