Project 10073 Record Card — Niagara Falls AFB, New York, 18 May 1955

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype reports detailing an aerial sighting that occurred on 18 May 1955 near Niagara Falls Air Force Base, New York. An F86D military pilot reported observing a spherical, white object, estimated to be approximately 10 feet in diameter, while flying at an altitude of 24,500 feet. The pilot described the object's appearance as resembling a blast of air being blown into a flame. The observation lasted for a duration of two to three seconds while the pilot was banking to the left. Following the initial sighting, the pilot circled the area three or four times in an attempt to re-acquire the object, but these efforts yielded negative results. The 763rd AC&W Squadron confirmed that there was no other air traffic in the vicinity at the time of the incident. Weather conditions were reported as clear with 10 miles of visibility. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the sighting was an astronomical meteor. Internal notes on the record card suggest that due to the brevity of the sighting and the object's characteristics, no further investigation was authorized, though one note mentions a potential balloon-like characteristic before settling on the meteor classification.