Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — Elko, Nevada, 17 October 1952

On 17 October 1952, at approximately 0200 hours PST, Major Robert L. Howard of the Air Force ROTC Detachment at Utah State Agricultural College, along with four civilian observers, witnessed an unidentified flying object near Elko, Nevada. The group was located on the ground along U.S. Highway 40, roughly two miles west of the Elko Municipal Airport. The object was described as a yellowish-white disk, approximately three times the size of the planet Venus. It exhibited a 'fractional section blinking' and moved in a southwesterly direction with a 'bouncing motion' similar to that of a kite, while ascending at an estimated rate of 500 to 1500 feet per minute. The observers noted no exhaust, trail, or propulsion means. The weather at the time was clear with no moon and no surface winds. The observation lasted for approximately five minutes, after which the object disappeared. Major Howard, a USAF pilot with ten years of commissioned service, was considered an extremely reliable witness. The report was formally transmitted by Lt. Colonel Robert J. Hill on 22 October 1952 to the Director of Intelligence at Headquarters, United States Air Force, in accordance with Air Force letter 200-5. The subsequent Project 10073 record card and associated worksheets indicate that the official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center was that the object was 'Probably Balloon'. The documentation includes weather data sheets and meteorological notes regarding temperature inversions at the time of the sighting, which were used to evaluate the report.