Report of Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) - Recovery of Astronomical Material of Unknown Substance

This document details the investigation of a reported Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sighting and the subsequent recovery of physical material in Dickson County, Tennessee, in mid-December 1958. A 74-year-old civilian and his wife reported observing an object high in the sky that appeared to be descending rapidly while burning intensely. As it descended, the object's rate of fall decreased until it appeared to be a floating object before reaching the ground. The observers recovered several pieces of the material, which they described as honeycombed, brownish-black, and odorless. The 839th Air Division at Sewart Air Force Base forwarded the report to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for evaluation in accordance with AFR 200-2. The recovered material was sent to the Wright Air Development Center (WADC) Materials Laboratory for analysis. Laboratory personnel, including Project Engineer Miss M. R. Ryan and Chief F. F. Bentley, conducted a series of tests on the substance, assigned serial number MP 5117. The analysis included solubility tests, infrared spectroscopy, and chemical testing with Fehling's solution. The laboratory concluded that the material was not an exotic or unidentified substance, but rather a partially oxidized or burned sugar, likely a mixture of mono and disaccharides. The report was reviewed and approved by Captain John A. King of the Materials Physics Branch. The document includes the original Project 10073 record card, the formal Air Intelligence Information Report, and the subsequent laboratory evaluation report, confirming the resolution of the incident as a non-anomalous event.