Project Blue Book case file: Levelland, November 2-3, 1957 (81 pages)

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

1. LEVELLAND INCIDENT 2 November 1957 (UNCLASSIFIED)

a. A mysterious object, whose shape was described variously as ranging from round to oval, and predominantly bluish-white in color was observed separately by six persons near the town of Levalland, Texas. Times of observations ranged from 2300 hours to after 0130 hours, night of 2-3 November 1957. Size of the object was estimated from that of a basketball to that of an object 200 feet in length.

b. The unusual aspect of this incident was the statement by a number of observers that their car's ignition stopped completely during the occurrence.

c. In a matter of hours this incident was given nation-wide publicity by the nation's press, radio and TV networks. For the next 72 hours ATTC and Headquarters USAF were deluged with a flood of UFO reports, the majority of observers claiming to have encountered a somewhat similar phenomenon: a dazzling bluish-white object, generally oval in shape, swooping down or floating nearby - that stopped their car's ignition. The reports were from persons of some standing in their communities casually reporting seeing the objects to those insisting that the "blue lights" stopped their cars in heavy traffic in the middle of large cities during broad daylight.

d. Intensive investigations produced information not generally given by newspapers and other media previously. For example: it was pitch dark, rain and mist was falling, a very low ceiling existed, there were lightning discharges, and the sightings took place near an area where excess gases from oil operations were being burned. In some instances, faulty ignition systems and near freezing temperatures were found during the investigations.

e. A number of the observers interviewed admitted the presence of lightning or flashes of light. The prime source could not be located for interview and interrogations by USAF investigators.

f. After extensive studies and analyses by the Air Force, and in full collaboration with outside scientists and experts, it was concluded that the sighting was due to a very rare lightning phenomenon - ball lightning. No definite conclusion has been reached regarding the possible effects of ball lightning on ignition systems. (All agreed that the combination of conditions existing in the area at the time were definitively conducive to the phenomenon. A study of the very few existing photographs of actual ball lightning further confirmed the conclusion.)