Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card: Sighting Report 12 November 1957, Salina, Kansas
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1957 sighting report from Salina, Kansas, describes an oval, fluorescent object that broke into four pieces. Intelligence officers concluded the object was likely an aircraft, noting that observed contrails ruled out a meteor or fireball.
This document is a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype report detailing an aerial sighting that occurred on 11 November 1957 near Salina, Kansas. The report, filed by the 328th Fighter Group and processed by the Air Technical Intelligence Center, describes an oval-shaped object, approximately the size of a grapefruit, which exhibited a fluorescent light. The witness observed the object for 15 seconds, noting that it initially appeared as one object before breaking into four pieces. The object was reported to be on a straight 270-degree heading at an altitude of 37,000 feet. The report explicitly mentions the presence of either exhaust or a contrail. The investigating officer, Captain George N. Talios, provided a critical assessment in the comments section, stating that if contrails or exhaust were indeed observed for the duration of the sighting, the object could not have been a meteor or a fireball. Instead, the officer concluded that the object was likely an aircraft flying above the observer, with the clear atmospheric conditions at that altitude potentially causing the jet exhaust to appear as a large, fluorescent shape. The final conclusion recorded on the card is 'Prob. a/c' (probable aircraft). The document includes technical details such as the time of the sighting (0125Z), weather conditions, and the specific unit involved (326th FIS).
If contrails or exhaust were observed for 15 seconds then object was not meteor or fireball, but probably acft. flying above observer.
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Official Assessment
Prob. a/c
The object was likely an aircraft. The observer noted the object appeared as a fluorescent light, size of a grapefruit, and broke into four pieces. The intelligence officer noted that if contrails or exhaust were observed, it was not a meteor or fireball, but likely an aircraft flying above the observer, with the clear atmosphere accounting for the large fluorescent appearance.
Key Persons
- George N. TaliosIntelligence Officer