Project 10073 Record Card — Riverside, California, 15 February 1956

On 15 February 1956, at 2040Z, a US Navy pilot reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial object near Riverside, California. The witness, described as a reliable LTJG, observed a single, brown, cigar-shaped object for a duration of eight minutes. The object was noted to have no apparent surface details. According to the report, the object maintained a straight and level flight path before moving through a 30-degree arc in a fraction of a second and subsequently disappearing abruptly. The pilot initially suspected that the sighting was an optical illusion resulting from the presence of odd-shaped contrails in the sky. The investigation conducted by ATIC headquarters noted that there were five known aircraft operating in the area at the time, all of which were leaving contrails. Based on the object's straight and level flight path and the presence of these aircraft, the official conclusion reached by the headquarters was that the sighting was likely an optical illusion caused by the contrails. The report confirms that no radar contact was made and no photographs were taken of the object.