Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — West Chester, PA, 23 September 1955

On September 23, 1955, at 12:30 EDST, a housewife named Dorthea Miller Carty, residing on Lenape Road in West Chester, Pennsylvania, reported observing an unidentified flying object. The witness, who possessed 20/15 uncorrected vision, stated that her attention was drawn to the sky by a sound resembling the sputtering of a light aircraft engine. Upon scanning the sky, she observed an oval-shaped, charcoal-gray object moving due west. Using 7x50 binoculars, she described the object as having a surface texture resembling an alligator skin purse with irregular protrusions, a small blister on its ventral center, and a separate, smaller circular object moving independently to its right. The object performed a counter-clockwise rotational movement for approximately three to five minutes. The witness noted that the object made no sound, despite the initial engine-like noise that had alerted her. An unidentified airliner was also observed flying below and to the right of the object at an estimated altitude of 1,000 feet. The sky was overcast with a 3,500-foot ceiling. The 4602d Air Intelligence Squadron (AISS) conducted an investigation, which included checking with various weather stations and air traffic control facilities in the region. No radar confirmation was obtained. The investigating officer, 2/Lt Charles L. Borrior, and the preparing officer, Captain Chester B. Hanson, concluded that the sighting was likely caused by a radiosonde weather balloon. They noted that wind data from the Greater Pittsburg Airport indicated that a balloon released at 0400 EST could have drifted into the West Chester area by the time of the sighting. The officers reasoned that the object's appearance, the lack of radar return, and the absence of sound supported the conclusion that the object was a non-metallic, friendly, and likely meteorological device rather than a self-propelled craft.