PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - 11 May 58

On May 11, 1958, at 1535Z, a pilot identified as 2/LT Jerry J. Trout of the 124th FIS reported an aerial sighting while flying an F-84E aircraft at an altitude of 34,000 feet. The incident occurred six miles west of Chillicothe, Missouri. The pilot, who was engaged in a practice intercept, observed a stationary, oblong, brownish object. He described the object as looking like a collapsed balloon with particles hanging from the main body. The observation lasted for approximately one minute as the pilot passed by the object. The weather conditions were reported as clear. The official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was that the object was a balloon carrying radiosonde equipment. The report includes teletype communications from the 788th ACWRON at Waverly Air Force Station, Iowa, to the Air Defense Command and the Air Technical Intelligence Center, confirming the details of the sighting and the pilot's assessment.