PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - 15 SEP 59

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated teletype reports detailing an aerial sighting on September 16, 1959, at 0115Z. The incident occurred in the vicinity of the Azores (39-34N, 34-15W) and was observed by a pilot, identified as Captain John R. T[illegible] T[illegible] of the 1st ATS, Dover AFB, while flying a MATS aircraft. The witness reported observing a fireball with a long blue-green tail, estimated to be 1,000 to 2,000 feet in length. The object appeared as a white ball, roughly the size of a penny, and was first observed at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet. It followed a straight path at a 10-degree angle downward toward the east. The witness noted that the object's speed was much slower than a typical falling star. The observation lasted for approximately four seconds, during which the object was seen to dive toward the earth before bursting into orange-colored flames and disintegrating at an estimated altitude of 12,000 feet. The weather conditions at the time were reported as having scattered cirrus clouds with bases at 20,000 feet and broken cumulus clouds with tops at 7,000 feet, with visibility exceeding 50 miles. Another pilot aboard the same aircraft also observed the event. The pilot suggested the object might have been a rocket or missile tearing itself apart, or a falling star, though he expressed skepticism regarding the latter due to the object's slow speed. The official conclusion recorded on the project card is that the object was an astronomical meteor, specifically a bolide type, based on the observed characteristics of its flight and disintegration.