Project 10073 Record Card and Incident Report — Albuquerque, New Mexico, 18 April 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and a formal military report regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon sighting that occurred on 18 April 1957 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The witness, located in the 7000 block of Central Avenue NE, observed a single, circular, silver-bright object that was described as being the size of a pea with sharply outlined edges. The object was observed for approximately six minutes. According to the report, the object climbed at high speed to the south at a 45-degree angle, dove downward, and then moved north at a 5-degree angle relative to the horizon. The observer, who was driving a car at the time, used eyeglasses to assist in the observation. The report was submitted by First Lieutenant Richard Casanova of the Air Force Special Weapons Center (AFSWC) in accordance with Air Force Regulation (AFR) 200-2. The investigation concluded that the object was a weather balloon. This conclusion was based on the fact that the US Weather Bureau had released a balloon at 1430Z, and analysis of wind directions and statements from Air Weather Service (AWS) personnel indicated that the balloon would have been in the general vicinity of the sighting at the time it occurred. Consequently, the official assessment is that the balloon is the best explanation for the sighting.