Project 10073 Record Card and Air Intelligence Information Report — 21 September 1957

This document comprises an Air Intelligence Information Report (IR-14-57) and a Project 10073 Record Card detailing a sighting by Private William T. Hannon of the 62nd Machine Record Unit in the Panama Canal Zone. On the night of 21 September 1957, at approximately 2240R, Pvt. Hannon observed a rapidly moving, cigar-shaped object while standing behind the Fort Amador Post Exchange. The object, which was described as luminescent white and similar in size to a C-54 fuselage viewed from a distance of one mile, appeared to emerge from a saddle formed by hills on Fort Kobbe. It traveled on a course of approximately 130 degrees for 5 to 10 seconds before disappearing with an erratic upward movement. The witness reported that the object made no sound and was visible below cloud cover, which was at 1600 feet. Pvt. Hannon attempted to contact a radar station during the event but was unsuccessful. A subsequent query to the 65th AAA Group at Fort Clayton confirmed that their radar station on Tobago Island was on watch but reported no contacts in the area. The reporting officer, Captain Vernon D. Adams, noted that Pvt. Hannon was an intelligent and reliable witness. The official evaluation concluded that the sighting was likely a weather-related phenomenon known as a 'fire ball' or bolide, noting that the observer had reported distant lightning in the west prior to the event. An approving officer, Lt. Col. George Welter, concurred with this assessment, highlighting the rarity of a reporting officer attempting to properly identify the phenomenon.