Military radar operators in northern Mexico recorded an unusual event on August 25, 1974, that marked the start of one of North America’s most significant UFO cases. The events near Coyame, Chihuahua, a small town close to the U.S.-Mexico border, led to a classified military operation, multiple military casualties, and a cross-border response that remains classified fifty years later.

The sequence began at 22:07 local time when radar installations detected an object moving at speeds over 2,000 miles per hour through Mexican airspace. The object approached from the southwestern United States, crossed the border into Mexico, and maintained a steady southeastern course. Its velocity registered far beyond the capabilities of known aircraft of that period, catching the attention of military monitoring stations across northern Mexico.

Within the same timeframe, civilian aviation authorities tracked a small private aircraft traveling north from Mexico City toward the Texas border. The airplane, registered for domestic flights within Mexico, carried a pilot and no passengers. Weather conditions that night were clear, with good visibility and no significant atmospheric disturbances reported.

At 22:30, military data recorded what appeared to be a mid-air collision. The radar signatures of both the unidentified object and the civilian craft disappeared simultaneously over the Chihuahuan Desert. Mexican authorities initiated immediate search operations, mobilizing military units from three nearby bases. The operation’s classified status emerged immediately, with communications restricted to secure military channels.

Recovery teams reached the first crash site at 05:45 the next morning. They discovered debris scattered across the desert floor in a pattern typical of aircraft accidents. The civilian plane’s wreckage showed clear signs of mid-air impact, with parts distributed over a mile-long stretch of desert. But this discovery marked only the beginning of an operation that would soon escalate beyond normal recovery protocols.

The second site, located two miles east of the airplane debris, presented military personnel with something unprecedented. Military communications from the scene described an object approximately 16 feet in diameter, partially buried in the desert soil. The object maintained structural integrity despite the apparent collision and crash. Most notably, the material composition appeared smooth, seamless, and metallic, displaying unusual light-reflecting properties that defied standard aircraft construction methods of the era.