Project 10073 Record Card — Pineville, Louisiana, 15 August 1957

On 15 August 1957, at approximately 1630Z, a civilian witness in Pineville, Louisiana, reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial object. The witness, identified as a woman, observed the object while children were playing in the area. The object was described as egg-shaped, standing on end, and approximately the size of a basketball. Its color was noted as light yellow, which flashed to white under the influence of sunlight. The object was observed for a duration of seven minutes, during which it was seen climbing toward the East. The sighting occurred under weather conditions characterized by scattered clouds and a light wind from the East. The report was processed by the 366th Fighter Bomber Wing at England Air Force Base, with Captain Richard H. Hoffman serving as the intelligence officer. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center was that the object was 'possibly a balloon.' Investigators noted that the speed, movement, and color of the object were consistent with a weather balloon. Furthermore, it was suggested that the object's movement, combined with the movement of clouds and the fact that the object was climbing, could have created an optical illusion of westward movement. The object was eventually obscured by clouds, and the report concluded that the wind direction and velocity at the time were consistent with the object's observed path. No radar contact was made, and no photographic evidence was obtained.