PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - Biggs AFB, El Paso, Texas - 9 Jan 58

This document comprises a Project 10073 record card and associated military communications regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on January 9, 1958, at Biggs Air Force Base in El Paso, Texas. At 0137Z, radar operators at the base's RAPCON station detected between eight and eleven objects moving in an irregular formation generally toward the south. The objects, which exhibited speeds between zero and 50 knots, were tracked on a Ground Electronic CTN/18 type radar. Despite the radar detection, visual confirmation of the objects was attempted but proved unsuccessful. The objects eventually disappeared from the radar scope one at a time while in the vicinity of the only lake in the local area. The report notes that no radar scope photography was taken during the event. In the official assessment, the preparing officer concluded that the evidence suggested a high probability that the radar returns were caused by a small flock of large birds, specifically mentioning ducks as a possibility. While the officer also considered the potential for a flight of helicopters, the lack of clearance for such a flight by the local Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) facility made this less likely. Although the possibility of unusual atmospheric conditions was raised as a logical explanation for the radar returns, the report explicitly states that such conditions did not appear to have existed at the time of the sighting. The documentation includes a detailed breakdown of the radar data, weather conditions, and the personnel involved, ultimately concluding that the available information provided no basis for a more definitive explanation beyond the bird flock hypothesis.