Project 10073 Record — Sighting near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 27 September 1954

This document consists of a series of military teletype communications and a Project 10073 record regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on September 27, 1954. The primary witness was Captain P. Swift, who was piloting a Martin 474 aircraft (NC number 486-A) en route from Washington, D.C., to Newark, New Jersey. At approximately 2122E, while flying at an altitude of 11,000 feet on a track of 062 degrees, Captain Swift observed a bright, circular object. The object was reported to be moving southwest at a high rate of speed at an estimated altitude between 15,000 and 20,000 feet. The observation lasted for four minutes. The report was received via the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTC) and subsequently processed through military channels, including the Olmsted Flight Service Center and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 form states that while the sighting was possibly an aircraft, there was insufficient data presented to form a firm analysis. Subsequent communications indicate that no additional information was available regarding the object sighted south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.