Off Martinique, October 24, 1952
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTINGS REPORT
1952: Off Martinique
The Pan American Crew and the Falling Green Light
On the evening of October 24, 1952, the crew of a Pan American World Airways flight cruising at 21,500 feet about ten miles west of Fort-de-France, Martinique, saw a bright, luminous green object about 20 degrees above their line of sight, due west, falling straight down.
It fell rapidly for about three seconds and entered a cumulus cloud at an estimated 3,000 feet, which it lit up. The pilot’s sighting was verified by his co-pilot, and the report went to the Caribbean Sea Frontier and on to the Air Force.
Date: October 24, 1952
Sighting Time: About 7:55 p.m. AST (message time about 2355Z)
Day/Night: Night
Location: About ten miles west of Fort-de-France, Martinique, Caribbean Sea
Urban or Rural: Over water
No. of Entity(‘s): None reported
Entity Type: Not applicable
Entity Description: Not applicable
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light)
Duration: About 3 seconds
No. of Object(s): 1
Shape of Object(s): Luminous object; shape not recorded
Size of Object(s): Not recorded
Color of Object(s): Bright luminous green
Distance to Object(s): Undetermined
Height & Speed: Seen about 20 degrees above the aircraft’s sight level, falling straight down; fell rapidly to about 3,000 feet
Number of Witnesses: 2 (pilot and co-pilot)
Special Features/Characteristics: It illuminated the cumulus cloud it entered; weather 2/8 cumulus, bases about 2,000 feet, tops about 5,000 feet
Case Status: Unexplained in the file; the card lists no firm evaluation
Source: Blue Book file (Caribbean Sea Frontier message to HQ USAF and ATIC)
Summary/Description: A Pan American crew near Martinique saw a bright green object fall straight down into a cumulus cloud, lighting it up, on October 24, 1952.
Related Cases: Other late-October reports on the October 22nd–31st page
DETAILED REPORT
The Caribbean Sea Frontier message, relayed from a CIRVIS report at St. Thomas, says a Pan American World Airways flight sighted a luminous green object while cruising at 21,500 feet on a heading of about 190 degrees, ten miles due west of Port de France (Fort-de-France). The object was due west at an elevation of about 20 degrees above the aircraft’s sight level and was falling straight down.
It was of bright intensity and seemed to fall rapidly toward the sea until entering a cumulus cloud at an estimated 3,000 feet, when it illuminated the cloud. Three seconds passed between the first sighting and the object entering the cloud. Weather at the time was 2/8 cumulus with bases at about 2,000 feet and tops at about 5,000 feet. The pilot’s sighting was verified by the co-pilot.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
Fort-de-France 1952: A Short, Credible Sighting
- Trained observers: Both witnesses were airline pilots, and the report was handled through the Navy’s CIRVIS system.
- A meteor look: A bright green object falling straight down for three seconds is consistent with a fireball, and no card evaluation is legible to confirm either way.
- Time: The message time is about 2355Z on October 24, or about 7:55 p.m. local; the scan is partly garbled.
- Location: The file is filed under Port de France, now Fort-de-France.
The Pan American report is brief but well formed: two airline pilots, an approximate position, a clear sequence and a cloud that lit up.
