Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence — Tinley Park, Illinois, August 1958

This document contains a Project 10073 record card and supporting correspondence regarding a UFO sighting reported on August 26, 1958, in Tinley Park, Illinois. The witness, an engineer at the Chicago Midway Laboratories of the University of Chicago, reported observing a strange light in the sky between 9:58 PM and 10:05 PM. The witness stated that he and his wife observed the object, which appeared cigar-shaped with a rear section resembling a jet stream. The object was described as having red, white, and orange colors and was estimated to be approximately half as bright as the moon. The witness noted that the object made no sound and disappeared to the East after a total travel time of approximately three minutes. The witness provided a diagram (Figure 1) comparing the object's size to the moon. The report was forwarded by Captain Robert F. Dietz of the 56th Fighter Group at O'Hare Air Force Base to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Handwritten annotations on the witness's letter suggest that the observer likely witnessed a jet aircraft with its afterburners engaged, noting that there were several reports in the locality from both military and civilian sources. The official conclusion recorded on the project card is that an aircraft sighting was possible.