Project 10073 Record Card — New York City, February 1956

This document consists of a Project 10073 Record Card and an accompanying letter from a civilian witness regarding an aerial sighting in New York City in February 1956. The witness, a woman returning home from St. Vincent's Hospital at approximately 3:00 AM, reported observing a cone-shaped object of small dimensions traveling at great speed. The object appeared to pass between two apartment buildings near the intersection of Perry Street and 7th Avenue in the Greenwich Village area. According to the witness, the head of the cone emitted a brilliant blue-white light, while the tail appeared to have fins. The object produced a soft glow but no sound, and it did not reflect light onto the surrounding buildings. The witness described the object's disappearance as instantaneous, comparing it to an electric light being switched off. The witness noted that she waited two years to report the incident, fearing ridicule, but was prompted to write after seeing another, more easily explained, peculiarity in the sky. The official evaluation by the Air Technical Investigation Command (ATIC) concluded that the object was likely an astronomical meteor. The investigators noted that the object was probably at a great distance from the observer, which would account for the lack of reflection and the perceived trajectory between the buildings. The report acknowledges that the witness's description, with the exception of the reported fins, is consistent with a meteor sighting.