Project 10073 Record Card — Massapequa Park, New York, 31 October 1957

This document is a collection of records regarding a UFO sighting reported by R. B. Mason on October 31, 1957, in Massapequa Park, New York. Mason, an ex-Naval aviator and former FBI agent, observed an extremely bright object traveling very fast in a northerly direction for approximately six to seven seconds. He noted that the object appeared to move in a flat trajectory, parallel to the horizon. Despite his own assessment that the object did not behave like a natural phenomenon, the official Air Intelligence Information Report concluded that the object was likely an astronomical meteor, citing its speed and characteristics. The file includes a Project 10073 record card, an Air Intelligence Information Report, and correspondence between Mason and the Air Technical Intelligence Center. Mason sought permission from the Air Force to include his sighting in his upcoming book, 'MAN FINDS GOD THROUGH SPACE,' which deals with unexplainable objects. The Air Force, through Major Lawrence J. Tacker, informed Mason that they had no objection to him publishing his account. The document also contains a list of other sightings from November 1957, categorized by location, observer, and evaluation, as well as a clipping from a Science News Letter regarding fall constellations, which was likely used for reference in evaluating the meteor conclusion. The file reflects the standard administrative process for handling civilian reports of unidentified aerial phenomena during this period, including the routing of reports to the Air Technical Intelligence Center and the subsequent communication with the reporting party.