Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting in Craig, Colorado, 26 September 1956

On the evening of 26 September 1956, a group of witnesses in Craig, Colorado, observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The primary witness, a 28-year-old night baker and Navy veteran, first noticed a bright flash in the sky while climbing stairs to his apartment. He and three other witnesses—his wife, father, and mother—observed a formation of approximately fourteen lights arranged in a string, with three or four smaller lights positioned immediately above and ahead of the main group. The object appeared to move from the north to the southeast at an altitude of one to two thousand feet, maintaining a speed estimated between 85 and 100 miles per hour. The witnesses reported that the object emitted a flashing light, similar to a carbon arc or an airplane beacon, but notably, no sound was heard during the ten-minute observation. The witnesses were unable to discern the shape or color of the object due to the darkness, and no smoke or vapor trails were observed. The report was initially made to James M. Pughe of the Moffat Civil Defense, who confirmed with the local airport that no aircraft had taken off or landed recently. Subsequent investigation by the 4679th Ground Observer Squadron and the 4602nd Air Intelligence Service Squadron included a check with Ground Observer Corps posts in the area, which yielded negative results. Despite the lack of sound, which the investigator noted was strange given the object's proximity, the official conclusion reached by the military evaluators was that the object was likely a commercial aircraft, possibly a DC-3, although they acknowledged that the timing did not perfectly match the scheduled Frontier Air Lines flights over the area.