An artist's reconstruction of the 'bunch of balloons' object reported by Pat Spafford and Al Matisoff, which demonstrated supersonic acceleration over the Rose Bowl
THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT
In October 1972, a Pasadena Police Department helicopter crew, including pilot Pat Spafford and an observer, encountered a highly anomalous craft while on night patrol near the San Gabriel foothills. The object, described as looking like a “bunch of big balloons tied together,” exhibited supersonic acceleration from a near-hover, disappearing toward the Los Angeles skyline in seconds. This report highlights the technical challenges faced by the crew and the lack of radar corroboration from LAX.
Date: October 15, 1972
Sighting Time: Night Patrol.
Day/Night: Night
Location: Pasadena, California
Urban or Rural: Airplane
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) Point or extended luminous source observed at night.
Duration:
No. of Object(s): 1
Height & Speed: 1,000 ft. AGL; 60 mph to Supersonic.
Size of Object(s):
Distance to Object(s): Approx. 300 meters.
Shape of Object(s): round
Color of Object(s): No lights observed; rotating.
Number of Witnesses: 2 (Pilot & Observer)
Source: MUFON Submitter 15633
Full Report
10-15-1972-California-
My date and times are approximate. I was assigned as a Police Helicopter Observer with the Pasadena Police Department and flying night patrol.
The pilot was Pat Spafford. In the northeast area of Pasadena, very close to the foothills, we observed what appeared to be a Military Sikorsky helicopter hovering very low over a residential area.
The helicopter was turning its landing light off and on. As we got closer, it gained elevation and started heading westbound. Being curious we started to follow it. We were approximately 1,000 ft. AGL.
The military helicopter then appeared to lose altitude quickly as if it was going into autorotation.
Then about 300 meters past it, we saw what first appeared to be a large object looking like a bunch of big balloons tied together. The object was going at our exact airspeed, which was about 60 mph. The object was round and appeared to be rotating.
I saw no lights on it. Pat began yelling over the intercom that he was seeing a UFO. I immediately shut off our running lights so I could activate our “night star” searchlight. The running lights were shut off because there would be too many amps going through the system with all the lights on and pop a breaker.
Shutting off the running lights to power up the searchlight was S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure)
Pat questioned what I was doing, and when I told him I was going to “light it up”, he said, “No,” and turned the running lights back on. We had a short argument about doing this or not, but he got the final word because he was the pilot.
We watched the object for a few minutes and it flew abeam us going west. We then noticed that there was some fog coming in the L. A. basin, which was a signal for us to fly back to Bracket Field in Pomona, where we hangared the helicopter so as not to get caught in the fog.
As we approached the west end of the city near the Rose Bowl, this object gained speed and in just a few seconds accelerated towards the L. A. skyline and disappeared out of sight. The speed it went was faster than supersonic. We were both amazed at how fast it accelerated.
We came back to the hangar and immediately started making calls. Pat called LAX to see if they had any such object on their radar. He got a “negative” from them. I called JPL in Pasadena to see if they had any kind of experiment going on and they said no.
I was taken back by the response I got from them because the person I spoke to sounded like this was an everyday occurrence. We both wrote an incident report and turned it in. I kept this to myself until one day, about 2 weeks later, the Police Chief saw me in the hallway and yelled, “Hey Al, did you see any more giant Frisbees?”
Since that time I have told this story to people but never made a big deal about it. I also never found out if anyone forwarded that report or investigated it further. I left the PD in 1979 to join the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Dept.
Just thought I would tell this story to someone who would enjoy hearing it. Pat Spaffor passed away some time ago, but I’m sure there are plenty of people that will remember that story from the old days.
I have attached a picture of myself with Pat Spafford taken around the time this happened. This photo was out of the Pasadena Star-News on February 13, 1972.
source: MUFON
Researcher Notes: The Spafford-Pasadena Case (1972)
These notes highlight the unique professional witness perspective and the aeronautical impossibilities reported:
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Professional Witness Credibility: The primary witnesses were a Pasadena Police Department helicopter crew, providing a level of observational expertise higher than typical civilian reports.
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Aeronautical Anomaly (Acceleration): The core technical mystery is the object’s transition from a near-hover (matching the helicopter’s 60 mph) to supersonic speed in seconds. This instantaneous acceleration over a densely populated urban area like the Rose Bowl occurred without a sonic boom or visible propulsion.
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Radar Invisibility: Despite the close proximity (approx. 300 meters), LAX radar reported a total “negative” on any such object, suggesting stealth capabilities or a non-reflective surface.
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The “Frisbee” Culture: The Police Chief’s later “giant Frisbee” comment and the JPL representative’s nonchalant tone suggest that such anomalies might have been a more frequent, though unofficial, occurrence in the San Gabriel foothills at the time.
In October 1972, pilot Pat Spafford and a police observer were conducting a night patrol over Pasadena, California, when they encountered a rotating, “balloon-like” object near the San Gabriel foothills. The object, which initially appeared to be hovering low near a residential area, eventually paced the helicopter at 60 mph.
The encounter reached a climax near the Rose Bowl, where the craft demonstrated supersonic acceleration, vanishing toward the Los Angeles skyline in moments. Despite the professional testimony of the crew and a formal incident report, no radar tracks were found by LAX, leaving the case as one of California’s most compelling professional-witness “Unknowns”.
