An FAA air traffic controller tracked an unidentified non-transponding target about five miles to the 11 o'clock position from Braniff Airline Flight 42 headed east at 33,000 feet. The Braniff crew saw high above as a white-blue object giving off brilliant flaming light of alternating white-green-red colors. Radar showed the object veering to 8-10 miles away at the ten o'clock position, then coming at the Braniff airliner to three miles distance, then making a 180° left turn to the northwest, again within a diameter of five miles (equivalent to maneuvering at 1,000 mph at 5 g's). The Braniff crew confirmed this, with the object descending.

One blue-green light was observed in thunder by over three witnesses and radar in a city for five minutes.

Condon Report: 76-B. Near Charleston, W. Va., 4 May 1966, 0340 LST. Weather: Severe thunderstorms in area. Pilot of a Braniff Airlines Boeing 707 flying at 33,000 ft. observed on his left side what appeared to be a fast-flying aircraft with landing lights. Braniff's airborne radar recorded this unknown. Pilot requested the radar operator at Charleston sector of Indianapolis ARTC to look for traffic at his 8:30 or 9:00 position, and the radar picked up a track in this position. Return made a sweeping turn and disappeared off scope to the southwest.

An American Airlines pilot flying 20 mi. behind the Braniff plane saw the object. It appeared to him to be a normal aircraft with landing lights. This pilot stated he had often seen such aircraft with lights during AF refueling missions.

Estimated speed of the unknown was 750-800 mph. No unusual maneuvers were performed or any that were beyond known military aircraft capabilities at the time. AF explanation is that the unknown was an aircraft with landing lights on. This is consistent with the reported facts.

Hynek: The air traffic controller later responded to Hynek:

I have pondered on whether to make a reply to your letter. . . . However, the more I thought about the explanation the Air Force gave for the incident, the more disturbed I have become. ... 1 have been an air traffic controller for 13 years, three actual years of control in the U.S. Air Force and ten with the FAA. What happened on May 4, 1966, is as follows: I was assigned the Charleston, West Virginia, high altitude radar sector on the midnight shift. ... At approximately 04:30 a Braniff Airlines Flight 42 called me on a VHF frequency of 134.75 and asked if I had any traffic for his flight. I had been momentarily distracted by a land-line contact, and when 1 finished (10 to 15 seconds), I looked at the radarscope and observed a target to the left of Braniff 42, who was heading eastbound on jet airway 6, about 5 miles off to his 11 o'clock position.

I advised Braniff 42 that I had no known traffic in his vicinity but was painting a raw target off to his 10 o'clock position; however, it was not painting a transponder and was probably at the low altitude sector (24,000 feet and below). Braniff 42 advised that the object could not be at a low altitude because it was above him and descending through his altitude, which was 33,000 feet. ... I was completely at a loss for explanation for i advised him at the time there were only two aircraft under my control -- his flight and an American Airlines flight about 20 miles behind him.

I asked Braniff 42 if he could give me a description of the object, thinking it might be an air force research aircraft or possibly a U-2 type vehicle. Braniff 42 advised that whatever it was, it was not an aircraft, that the object was giving off brilliant flaming light consisting of alternating white, green, and red colors and was at this time turning away from him. At the same time the American flight behind the Braniff, who had been monitoring the same frequency, asked the Braniff if he had his landing lights on. Braniff advised the American negative. Even if Braniff 42 had had his landing lights on, American wouldn't have seen more than a dull glow, for they were 20 miles apart and going in the same direction! Which means to me that the American saw the same brilliant object.

When I asked the American if he could give me any further details, he politely clammed up. Most pilots know that if there is an official UFO sighting, they must (or are supposed to) file a complete report when getting on the ground. This report, I understand, is quite lengthy.

I contacted Braniff 42 and said I saw this target come at him from about eight to ten miles at his ten o'clock position and at a distance of about three miles, make a left turn, and proceed northwest bound from the direction it had come from. Braniff 42 confirmed this and added that it was in a descending configuration at about 20 degrees off the horizon.

As 1 have stated, I think my previous experience speaks for itself, and I know what I saw; and I'm sure the pilot of Braniff 42 was not having hallucinations. The target I observed was doing approximately 1,000 miles an hour and made a complete 180-degree turn in the space of five miles, which no aircraft I have ever followed on radar could possibly do, and I have followed B-58s declaring they are going supersonic, all types of civilian aircraft going full out (in the jet stream), and even SR-71 aircraft, which normally operate at speeds in excess of 1,500 miles per hour.

Doctor, that concludes my statement. I am forwarding a dia¬gram showing the geographic location of the jets and the object.

I did not place any significance to the incident, and to me it only appeared to be an airplane at some distance, say six or eight miles, who turned on his landing lights and kept them on for three or four minutes, then turned them off.

I asked the radar operator if he had a target at my nine or ten o'clock position, and he replied that he did not have, and I said, "Well there's one there all right." I had no idea he was going to turn in a UFO report -- I thought nothing further of it. I presume it was the air force refueling. I still think it was just an airplane with its landing lights on.

Google map of this location.