Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting of 3 December 1957

This document collection details an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting reported on 3 December 1957. The primary incident involved a witness, a stereotype operator for the Albany 'Times Union,' who observed a round, fiery object while returning from work at approximately 2:20 a.m. The witness described the object as being the size of a dime, reddish-green in color, and possessing an orange tail. He reported that the object was falling straight down in a north-westerly direction and remained in his vision for only one or two seconds. The witness initially hesitated to report the sighting to his newspaper, fearing ridicule. The report was subsequently relayed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and then to the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). The Air Force investigation, documented via a Project 10073 Record Card and associated correspondence, concluded that the object was an astronomical meteor, noting that all characteristics were consistent with a fireball or bolide. The documentation includes internal military communications, including a teletype message from the 26th Air Division to the Commander of the Air Defense Command and the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The teletype confirms the sighting was made by a Strategic Air Command (SAC) pilot flying over an overcast at 40,000 feet. The file also references a separate, unrelated sighting from 13 November 1957 involving a Mrs. [illegible] near Oneida and Wampsville, New York, which was also forwarded to the Air Force for review. The final assessment by the Air Force, supported by the Inspector General's Office of Special Investigations, categorized the 3 December event as an astronomical phenomenon, specifically a meteor, and required no further investigation.