Project 10073 Record Card — Roswell, New Mexico, 27 March 1957

On 27 March 1957, at approximately 2035 MST, a pilot flying a C-45 aircraft near Roswell, New Mexico, reported an encounter with three unidentified objects. The pilot, identified as 1st Lt. Jimmy L. Cornwell, a Special Weapons Instructor, described the objects as circular, brilliant white lights, roughly the size of three landing lights. The objects were observed in a tight formation on a collision course with the C-45 at the same altitude. Upon realizing the objects were on a collision course, the pilot flashed his taxi lights, at which point the objects reportedly 'blacked themselves out' and disappeared. One object moved directly overhead, while the other two moved to the 1:30 position, approximately two miles away. The entire encounter lasted between five and ten seconds. The report notes that the pilot was flying within an air traffic airway (Red 71) and near a restricted area used for night bombing practice. The document includes a Project 10073 record card and a formal message report. Handwritten annotations on the document suggest that while the objects might have been aircraft, the possibility of balloons was also considered. The reliability of the witness is noted as unknown.