Project 10073 Record Card — Jackson, Tennessee, 7 February 1959

On February 7, 1959, at approximately 0405Z, a sighting occurred in Jackson, Tennessee, involving a 35-foot-long object. Witnesses reported that the object traveled from the southwest to the northeast at a slow speed at an altitude of approximately 500 feet. During its descent, the tail of the object appeared to catch fire and burn before it struck the ground in a railroad yard. A local resident, Mr. Wilson, recovered a piece of blue and yellow plastic from the impact site, where a small fire had reportedly started. The incident was reported to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and other military commands, including the 2047th AACSRON and the Eastern Air Defense Command. Following an investigation, the material was analyzed by ATIC and determined to be typical balloon material. The official conclusion reached by the authorities was that the incident was the work of a prankster who had inflated a balloon with explosive gas and attached a fuse to it. The burning fuse likely created the appearance of a moving light, and the subsequent explosion occurred when the fire reached the balloon. The physical specimen recovered from the site was cataloged as specimen 7-3745-434 and later identified as artifact #341-10-474, stored in the artifact room.