Project 10073 Record Card and Technical Information Sheets — Indian Lake, Ohio, 25 June 1954

This document contains the records for a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon on June 25, 1954, near Indian Lake, Ohio. The primary witness, a pilot named John Mark, was flying a Navion aircraft from Flint, Michigan, to Dayton, Ohio, at an altitude of 6,200 feet. While scanning the sky, he observed a motionless, metallic, shiny object approximately three miles away. He described the object as round, about 40 feet in diameter, with an inverted cone on top, and noted it had no visible windows or protuberances. The object hovered, then moved horizontally, stopped, and performed a steep, high-speed ascent, disappearing into the overcast at approximately 30,000 feet. The witness estimated the object's speed at 2,000 mph and noted it made no sound. Radar controllers at Patterson Approach Control confirmed the sighting, reporting a target 40 to 45 miles northeast of Dayton on a heading of 170 degrees, moving at a calculated speed of 1,980 mph. The report includes a summary by Major Paul Merriod, who interviewed the witness. Merriod noted that the witness was experienced, having flown 5,000-6,000 hours, and was adamant about his account. However, Merriod expressed concern that the standard questionnaire format caused the witness to feel affronted and potentially alter his story. Merriod recommended that future witnesses be allowed to provide their narrative account before being subjected to the structured questionnaire. The document includes the official Project 10073 record card, which classifies the object as 'Unidentified,' and various technical information sheets filled out by the witness and the investigating officer.