Project 10073 Record Card and Associated Reports — 26 June 1954

This document collection details a series of reports concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on June 26, 1954, in the vicinity of Columbus and Zanesville, Ohio. The primary record, a Project 10073 card, summarizes the event as a sighting of a round, silvery object. Six separate reports were received by the Cincinnati Air Route Traffic Control (ARTC) center, which were subsequently forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. One notable report involved a transcontinental airliner; the crew, acting on radio instructions, circled the object at approximately 20,000 feet to allow passengers to view it. Col. Fred Mowery, an Army doctor aboard the flight, described the object as a 'metallic blob' that was 'sort of pear-shaped' and reflected the sun. Other reports came from ground observers, including Zanesville Radio, Dayton Tower, Lockbourne AFB, and Columbus Tower. Radar tracking was also reported, with the document noting that pictures were taken of the radar scope. Despite the multiple reports and radar confirmation, the official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 card is that the object was a 'probable balloon,' possibly the same one sighted the previous night in Danville, Illinois. The collection includes teletype messages (TWX) documenting the rapid dissemination of these reports between military and civilian aviation authorities, as well as a press clipping from the Washington Citizen regarding the airliner sighting.