Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting at George AFB, California, March 1958

On March 6, 1958, at 0324Z, two witnesses at George Air Force Base, California, observed an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The witnesses, T/Sgt James L. Duncanaf and A72 Edward T. Nikolewski, both of the AACS Detachment, were in the control tower looking for an aircraft in the landing pattern when they spotted the object. They described the object as a very bright, white ball of fire, approximately the size of a dime, with a tail estimated to be 50 times longer than the object itself. The object maintained a straight and level flight path before disappearing instantaneously to the west. The observation lasted between 5 and 10 seconds. Weather conditions at the time were clear with no cloud cover and 6 miles visibility with some haze. 1/LT Edward L. Ruegg of the 831st Air Division conducted a preliminary analysis of the report. He concluded that the sighting was likely a meteor, noting that the description provided by the two observers confirmed this estimate. Although the possibility that the object could have been an earth satellite was considered, the report states there was no means of determining this. The document includes a Project 10073 record card and a teletype message summarizing the event.