Project 10073 Record Card: Shelby, Iowa Sighting

This document collection details an investigation into a reported UFO sighting near Shelby, Iowa, in April 1958. The incident involved a witness report of a 'bursting flash' in the sky. Following this event, metal filings and strips were discovered on a local farm. These materials were subsequently tested at the Janney General Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where they were found to be slightly radioactive. The report was initially handled by the Ground Observer Corps and later escalated to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) under the reference SAC-158-1066. The military investigation, conducted under the auspices of Project 10073, concluded that the recovered metal strips were not extraterrestrial in origin but were instead chaff used by the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during electronic countermeasures (ECM) training exercises. The flash reported by the witness was determined to be a separate event, likely a meteor. The final assessment from ATIC, dated May 1958, confirmed the material as chaff and stated that no further action would be taken regarding the report.