1947.10.08 or 09
On October 8 or 9, 1947 in Las Vegas, Nevada, an ex-Air Force pilot and others reported observing a trail appearing high in the sky at an estimated speed of 400 – 1,000 mph. The object producing the trail was not visible. The trail was as white as a cloud and dissipated in fifteen to twenty minutes. The object proceeded in a straight line and then made an approximate 180° turn of radius five to fifteen miles and proceeded away towards the direction of the first appearance. The weather was “almost cloudless.”
My evaluation statement reads:
“In everything except the course flown, the description given answers to that of a fireball. The course indicated, however, appears fatal to this hypothesis. No fireball on record, to this investigator’s knowledge, has ever been known to turn back on itself.”