Project 10073 Record Card — Avon Park, Florida, 18 October 1957

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an accompanying Air Intelligence Information Report regarding an Unidentified Flying Object sighting on 18 October 1957 at the Avon Park Bombing and Gunnery Range in Florida. At approximately 1950 hours, two Airman First Class (A/1C) personnel, Henry C. Zuniga and William E. Barnett, observed a stationary object with a reddish glow and a white center. The object was described as having a tail train similar to a jet on takeoff and was estimated to be at an altitude of approximately 1500 feet. After a few seconds, the object moved out of sight very rapidly. The report notes that there were no thunderstorms in the area at the time of the observation. Both witnesses were identified as competent and reliable aircraft controllers. The primary discrepancy noted by the reporting officer was that A/1C Barnett believed the light simply went out, whereas the other observer's account suggested it moved away. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the event was a probable meteor sighting. The report was processed by the 650th ACWRON Operations Section and distributed to the Air Defense Command.