Air Intelligence Information Report — Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) — Southern California

This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report regarding a UFO sighting that occurred on March 10, 1959, near Oro Grande, California. The report was prepared by Captain Rudolph H. Pestalozzi of the 831st Air Division (USAF) following an investigation into a report filed by a local housewife. According to the witness, she was awake at 0915Z to administer medicine to her child when she observed a bright, colorless, shallow, bell-shaped object through her bedroom window. The object appeared to be roughly triangular, measuring approximately 5.5 to 6 inches across the base and 4 to 5 inches from apex to base at arm's length. It emitted a trail 8 to 10 times longer than the object itself, which the witness compared to the after-glow of a cigarette moved quickly through a darkened room. The object was observed for approximately three seconds as it traveled in a straight-line shallow ascent from east to west, disappearing behind the window frame. The witness, who was deemed lucid and honest by the investigating officer, was certain the object was not an aircraft, yet also believed it was too slow to be a meteorite. The investigation included a check with the George AFB Air Traffic Control Tower, located 2.5 miles north of the observer's position, which reported no unusual air traffic or radar contacts during the relevant timeframe. Furthermore, the tower personnel reported no astronomical or meteorological phenomena that could account for the sighting. Despite the witness's conviction, the official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card is that the object was probably a meteor. The report includes a sketch of the object and its trail as an attachment.