Project 10073 Record Card and Incident Report — Atlanta, Georgia, 3 April 1954

On 3 April 1954, at approximately 1345Z, two witnesses in the northeast section of Atlanta, Georgia, observed two unidentified objects. The witnesses, identified as a chemist named William Lord and a woman, described the objects as elongated, orange-white, and moving at a high rate of speed. The objects appeared in the west and traveled in an easterly direction, performing erratic maneuvers including zig-zags and spasmodic flashes. The first object was observed for approximately 60 seconds, and the second for approximately 90 seconds. The objects were reported to be silent. The incident was investigated by the 35th Air Division (DEF) under the requirements of AFR 200-2. An astronomer from Agnes Scott College was consulted but could not provide an astronomical explanation for the phenomenon. Major Ben Baines, the Director of Intelligence, noted that while there was some local flying reported in the area, there was no record of any aircraft in the immediate vicinity at the time of the sighting. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card suggests the objects were a possible reflection on atmospheric layers from searchlights or ordinary ground lights.