January 1, 1949 — Jackson, MS
5:00 p.m. Pilot Thomas A. Rush and his wife are in a private plane with two passengers flying east of Jackson, Mississippi, into North Jackson Airpark. They see a cigar-shaped object, 60 feet long and 10 feet wide, cross their path at an altitude of 1,500–1,600 feet.
It is only about 500 feet distant and seems to be either dark blue or black in color. It is shaped like a megaphone, tapering from a diameter of roughly 10 feet at the front end to four feet at the trailing end. Its speed is approximately 200 mph, and it accelerates to 400–500 mph. The object makes a 50° turn and is visible for 10–12 seconds. [Eberhart]
Record Card:
Incident 233 Checklist/Summary:
Witness Letter:
Report of Investigation:
Weather Detachment Report:
Sources:
Brad Sparks, Blue Books Unknowns Catalogue, Case 831, p. 46;
Loren E. Gross, UFOs, a History: 1949, January–June, The Author, 1988, pp. 1–2;
NICAP, “Cigar-Shaped Object Encountered by Bush Pilot”;
“Jackson, Miss, January 1949 - Incident Number: 233,” National Archives;
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28932802
Jazz Shaw, “From the Project Blue Book Archives: A Few Lesser-Known UFO Cases from Yesteryear,” The Debrief, March 7, 2023;
