Project 10073 Record Card — 10 Apr 52, Ada, Minnesota

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding a sighting of an unidentified flying object on April 10, 1952, near Ada, Minnesota. The report details an observation made at 04:15 A.M. by a Minnesota Highway Patrol officer and a civilian companion. The witnesses were in a patrol car at the junction of Highways 31 and 32, approximately 11 miles east of Ada, when they observed an object in the sky. The object was described as having a yellow or golden center with a green-blue rim. Initially, the object appeared circular, but it subsequently changed to an oval shape and split into two parts. The witnesses reported that the object performed straight and level maneuvers and traveled horizontally. One witness estimated the size of the object to be as large as a fair-sized house. The observer explicitly noted that he did not believe the object was a meteor because of its horizontal flight path. The report includes a sketch of the object's appearance and its behavior during the sighting. The reporting officer, 2nd Lt. William R. Riley of the 31st Air Division, noted that the observer claimed to have seen a similar object in the same area four years prior but had not reported it due to a lack of corroborating witnesses. The official conclusion recorded on the project record card suggests the object was 'Possibly astronomical - METEOR,' though the witness's own account contradicts this classification based on the object's movement. The document includes enclosures such as letters from the witnesses and a section of a road map. It was later declassified under DOD Directive 5200.10.