Unidentified Flying Object over Detroit: FBI Report, April 17, 1958

Source file: 65_hs1-101634279_100-de-18221_serial_844.pdf Originating agency: FBI (Record Group 65) — Flying Discs files Date range: April 17, 1958 Page count: 1 (read in full) High-significance pages: page 1

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Official Blurb (from war.gov)

An FBI memo from 1958 reporting a UFO sighting by a Detroit man who described a "circular object with a crystal-type dome," and recommending that the information be forwarded to "proper air force authorities."

Summary

This document is an internal U.S. government memorandum written on April 17, 1958 by FBI Special Agent Robert Ross Reynolds of the Detroit FBI office and addressed to the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in Detroit. It describes an eyewitness account of a round, unidentified object observed over the city of Detroit in the early morning hours, and contains a recommendation to forward the information to the appropriate U.S. Air Force authorities.

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Research Article

Introduction

At 4:08 a.m. on April 17, 1958, the telephone rang at the Detroit FBI office. The caller was David Weaver, a 23-year-old resident of 15801 DeCosta Street in Detroit, Michigan, who reported to an FBI agent what he had seen with his own eyes a few minutes earlier. His report became serial 844 in FBI case file 100-DE-18221, part of the "Flying Discs" files the Bureau maintained during the 1950s.

The document illustrates the procedure that governed the FBI at the time: when a citizen reported an unexplained sighting, the relevant agent made a detailed record of the testimony, transmitted it as a numbered internal memorandum, and recommended distribution to appropriate authorities. This document was subsequently declassified and released to the public under the FBI's Automatic Declassification Authority, approved May 24, 2007.

The Sighting: A Circular Object with a Crystal Dome

Weaver's account is precise and detailed. He described an object with several distinctive characteristics:

The shape was fully circular. Above the body of the object was a crystal-type dome that reflected lights. The object moved in a northerly direction, approaching from the southwest. Its flight path crossed the city of Detroit three blocks south of Six Mile Road at the intersection of Lamphere Street.

Weaver was on his way home from work in Detroit when he saw the object. He did not indicate whether the object made any sound, but his description of the light-reflecting dome suggests a solid body with a reflective surface. His report did not have the character of a frightened person; rather, he appeared capable of describing what he saw with a calm and clear head.

The Witness: Who Was David Weaver?

The FBI documented the witness's character and credibility thoroughly. Weaver was 23 at the time of the incident. His father was a Detroit police officer — a detail that added credibility to the son in the eyes of the reporting agent. Additionally, Weaver had prior experience with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an organization that required familiarity with aircraft and flying objects.

Weaver himself, however, was candid: he stated he was not very familiar with aircraft identification. This declaration is honest and important. A person connected with civil air patrol, who openly declares he cannot be certain what he saw was a conventional aircraft, is not someone prone to hysteria. His CAP background gave him a basic framework for aeronautical awareness, yet he could not attribute what he had seen to any known type of aircraft.

The Attempted Contact with the Air Force

Weaver's immediate response after seeing the object was telling. Before contacting the FBI, he tried to call Selfridge Field, the Air Force base located near Detroit, in order to report to the Air Force directly. All his attempts to reach the base were unproductive.

Only after this failure did Weaver turn to the FBI. This sequence reveals two things: first, Weaver understood that Selfridge Field was the relevant authority for reporting aerial objects. Second, the FBI served as an alternative reception point for reports that could not reach the Air Force. This phenomenon of "backup channels" between government agencies is important for understanding how UAP information was collected during the 1950s.

The Recommendation: Forward to Air Force Authorities

Agent Reynolds closed the memorandum with a brief, sharp recommendation:

"Advise proper air force authorities."

Those four words summarize the FBI's role in this context: the Bureau served as the initial collection body, but investigative and handling authority over unidentified flying objects resided with the Air Force. This was agreed policy, and the flying-discs files of the FBI show this same dynamic again and again: the FBI collects, the Air Force investigates.

Historical Context: The Wave of Reports in the 1950s

Case file 100-DE-18221 forms part of a broad archive of reports maintained by the Detroit FBI office during the 1950s on the subject of unidentified flying objects. The year 1958 was not the peak of the American reporting wave (1952 and 1957 were more prominent in terms of volume), but reports continued to arrive from field offices across the country.

Detroit, as a large industrial and aviation city, was located near several Air Force bases, including Selfridge Field. That proximity to the aircraft industry and military installations created a population of witnesses who were aware of aircraft but would sometimes see things they could not identify.

The document itself was written and classified on April 17, 1958. The stamp "FBI — Detroit" and the notation "APR 17 1958" confirm that the document was submitted, scanned, and filed on the same day it was created. The document received serial 844 and the classification FOIA/PA, alongside the notation "DO NOT DESTROY," indicating the Bureau retained it for future reference.

Significance of the Document for UAP Research

This single-page document is significant for several reasons.

First, it presents a credible witness with an aeronautical background who is unable to identify what he saw. Second, it records a citizen's attempt to contact the Air Force before contacting the FBI — indicating the public understood that the Air Force was responsible for the subject. Third, it demonstrates the FBI's practice of storing reports and recommending their distribution to the appropriate Air Force authorities.

The description of a "crystal dome" is one of the recurring characteristics in many reports from that era, in which witnesses describe round objects with transparent or light-reflecting domes. Examining this feature alongside parallel reports from other field offices could help build a broader statistical picture of the phenomenon during the 1950s.

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Key People

• David Weaver — The witness. Age 23; resident at 15801 DeCosta, Detroit, Michigan. Telephone: KEnwood 6-7546. Son of a Detroit police officer; prior Civil Air Patrol experience.
• Special Agent Robert Ross Reynolds (SA RRR) — Author of the memorandum; FBI special agent at the Detroit office. Initials: RRR.
• SAC Detroit — Commanding officer of the Detroit FBI office; addressee of the memorandum (name not stated in the document).
• Lt. Col. E. Prater ("Bonnie") — Air Force officer whom the Bureau confirmed had received notification of the report (handwritten notation at the bottom of the document: "Lt Col E. Prater (Bonnie) advised 4/17/58 — no letter necessary").

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Locations

• 15801 DeCosta, Detroit, Michigan — Witness's home address
• Three blocks south of Six Mile Road at Lamphere Street, Detroit — Location of the sighting
• Selfridge Field — Air Force base the witness attempted to call before contacting the FBI

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Incidents

Incident	Date	Location	Pages
Sighting of circular object with crystal dome over Detroit	April 17, 1958, 4:08 a.m.	Detroit, Michigan — Six Mile and Lamphere area	1
Attempted report to Selfridge Field — unsuccessful	April 17, 1958	By telephone	1
Report to FBI Agent Reynolds	April 17, 1958, 4:08 a.m.	FBI Detroit	1

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Notable Quotes

"DAVID WEAVER... telephonically advised this office at 4:08 A.M., today, that he had just seen an object in the sky described as a circular object with a crystal-type dome that reflected lights." — page 1

"He said this object was passing in a northern direction from southwest and crossed the City three blocks south of Six Mile at Lamphere Street." — page 1

"WEAVER advised that he attempted to call Selfridge Field to get in touch with the Air Force but his attempts were unproductive. He then called the office to furnish the above information." — page 1

"WEAVER said he was 23 years of age, was the son of a Detroit policeman, and that he had previous experience with the Civil Air Patrol (CAP); however, he was not too familiar with the identification of aircraft." — page 1

"Advise proper air force authorities." — Agent Reynolds's recommendation, page 1