PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD — Petersburg, Indiana, 3 June 1956

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and associated teletype communications regarding a sighting in Petersburg, Indiana, on June 3, 1956. A civilian witness reported observing a 'huge object' that resembled a 'blow torch' traveling from south to north at an altitude of approximately 500 feet. The witness noted that the object made no noise. Subsequent reports received from the Indianapolis Air Route Traffic Control (ARTC) provided conflicting details, suggesting the object was initially perceived as a meteor traveling from the southeast to the northwest at an altitude between 10,000 and 12,000 feet. The witness later described the object as an aircraft on fire with pieces breaking off, noting that its speed was too fast to be a commercial aircraft. The sighting occurred at approximately 030525Z. Additionally, at 030628Z, the 58th Air Defense Command (ADC) reported that a member of the Ground Observer Corps had observed a low-flying aircraft, possibly an F-80, making low passes over an abandoned airstrip in the Evansville area. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 card states that all information points to a meteor sighting and that the aircraft reported by the Ground Observer Corps was not associated with the primary sighting.