Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record Card — Erie, Pennsylvania, 11 August 1958
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AI-Generated Summary
A U.S. Coast Guard observer reported four unidentified objects in Erie, PA, on 11 August 1958. Intelligence officers concluded the sighting was likely a misidentification of SAC aircraft refueling operations.
This document is a Project 10073 record card and accompanying teletype report regarding an unidentified aerial sighting reported by a U.S. Coast Guard observer in Erie, Pennsylvania, on 11 August 1958. The observer reported seeing four round, white objects, each approximately the size of a 12-inch dinner plate. The objects appeared to be stationary but were observed to change position over a 15-minute duration before fading to the East. The report notes that Strategic Air Command (SAC) aircraft were conducting refueling operations in the area at the time. The weather conditions were described as having unlimited visibility with high scattered clouds. The official conclusion reached by the intelligence officer, 1st Lt. Howard H. Kelly, was that the sighting was likely a misidentification of the refueling operations. The report suggests that the perceived movement of the objects was an optical effect caused by viewing the aircraft through binoculars and cloud cover, potentially compounded by the appearance of stars during twilight.
It is a well known that when objects are observed through clouds, especially through binoculars, will appear to move. The observer probably saw the first few stars appear at evening twilight.
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Official Assessment
More likely observation of refueling operation at high alt.
The observation was likely a misidentification of SAC aircraft refueling operations occurring in the area during twilight hours. The observer noted four objects that appeared stationary but changed position, which was attributed to the effect of observing through binoculars and cloud cover.
Key Persons
- HOWARD H. KELLYINTELLIGENCE OFFICER