Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting Report, Paris, Illinois, 9 March 1955

This document details a sighting report filed by a civilian in Paris, Illinois, regarding an incident on March 9, 1955. The witness claimed to have observed a 'flying saucer' kidnapping a jet plane. According to the witness, the object was a large, ball-shaped, bright silver craft that appeared from the southwest, swallowed a jet plane, hovered, pulsated, whirled, and emitted vapor from portholes before disappearing to the northeast. The witness asserted that the craft had an opening through which the plane was taken. The report includes a series of questionnaires and sketches provided by the witness, who also claimed to have seen similar craft on other occasions. The Air Force investigation, conducted by the 4602d Air Intelligence Service Squadron (AISS), concluded that the source was 'completely unreliable.' Internal correspondence between the Air Technical Intelligence Center and the 4602d AISS highlights concerns that the witness was suffering from psychological issues, noting that the witness continued to report seeing the objects a year after the initial incident. The Air Force also noted that the sighting had been publicized by private UFO research groups, specifically the Telonic Research Center, which had published the witness's story. The Air Force investigation explicitly attributed the sighting to 'hallucination or other psychological cause.' The file includes various administrative documents, including routing and coordination sheets, confirming the request for investigation and the subsequent dismissal of the report as unreliable.