Project 10073 Record Card — 26 February 1954, Columbus, Ohio

On the night of February 26, 1954, a civilian source and his wife observed an unidentified flying object near Columbus, Ohio. The sighting began when the wife noticed an unusual star-like object while looking out of their living room window. Upon closer inspection, the source initially suspected it was a weather balloon being released from Port Columbus, but this was ruled out after they went outside for a better view. The object was described as appearing circular at first, then becoming more cylindrical, resembling the fuselage of a C-54 or KC-97 aircraft. It was surrounded by a light green halo and featured two red lights underneath that formed a 'V' shape, along with white-orange lights interpreted as interior lighting. The object was initially estimated to be at an altitude of 1,500 to 3,000 feet. It remained nearly stationary before ascending vertically at a slow rate. Subsequently, it accelerated in level flight toward the south-west at an extremely high speed, eventually disappearing at an altitude of approximately 500 feet. The entire observation lasted between five and seven minutes. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the object was an aircraft. Investigators noted that aircraft approaching head-on often appear stationary to observers, and that vertical movement and acceleration can be optical illusions caused by the observer's perspective and the aircraft's subsequent turns.