ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. (AP)?A University of New Mexico meteorities expert says the strange craft of Socorro policeman saw April 23 probably was a vertical short-takeoff and landing aircraft operated by the Air Force.
Officer Lonnie Zamora touched off a flurry of unidentified flying object reports after describing a silvery, egg-shaped object he said he saw on the desert southwest of Socorro.
Dr. Lincoln Lapaz said the Air Force experimented with the vertical takeoff planes several years ago and what Zamora saw probable was a new secret model.
At White Sands Missile Range, meanwhile, Gene Kanoff, chief of administration for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at White Sands, said the lunar excursion module designed for the Apollo moon flight might fit Zamora's description but wont be built until later this year. He said it was unlikely that the module would be tested at White Sands. The northern tip of the missile range is only a few miles from the point of Zamora's sighting.
Kirtland Air Force Base authorities, in reply to Lapaz's theory, said they knew of no such planes in the state.