Project 10073 Record Card — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2 December 1956

This document details an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting reported on 2 December 1956 in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The report was processed by the 54th Fighter Group (Air Defense) at Greater Pittsburgh Airport and forwarded to the Air Defense Command at Ent Air Force Base, Colorado. The witness, a 27-year-old chemistry instructor at the University of Pittsburgh, described observing a pale gold line or light, oriented perpendicularly to the earth, which appeared and disappeared over a duration of 12 to 15 minutes. The witness noted that clouds hindered his observation. The reporting officer, Captain McLoyd M. Hollowell, noted that the witness was a qualified technical observer. Following the report, local Ground Controlled Intercept (GCI) stations and airport control towers were contacted, but no radar contacts were made, and no other reports were received from the heavily populated area. While the observer initially considered the possibility of a searchlight, he discounted this because no beams were visible on the lower cloud layer. The official conclusion remains that the exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown, though the possibility of a distant searchlight was suggested as a potential explanation. The document includes standard Air Intelligence Information Report forms and internal military correspondence regarding the routing of the report.