Project 10073 Record Card and Related Correspondence — 16 April 1960

This document collection details a series of UFO sightings reported on 16 April 1960 across the New Mexico and Texas region. The reports were consolidated by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) and involve multiple witnesses, including military personnel. The primary sighting involved a round object that changed to an elongated shape, described as having a green-to-orange color and a bluish-white light with a tear-drop tail. Witnesses, including an F-100 pilot and a Captain from the 775th AC&W Squadron, reported the object descending and breaking into pieces before burning out. The reports were relayed through various military channels, including the USAF Command Post, NORAD, and the 832nd Air Division at Cannon AFB. Despite the multiple reports from ground and air observers, including a TWA Constellation pilot, the consensus among the military participants in the teleconferences was that the phenomenon was a meteor. The weather conditions at the time were described as virtually cloudless with some blowing sand. The documentation includes internal military communications, record cards, and a request for an assessment regarding whether an artificial satellite might have been responsible for the sightings. The final assessment provided by military authorities suggests that the description is typical of a fireball, noting that the conditions of a clear sky and the object's behavior support this conclusion, though one reporting officer noted he was not technically qualified to make a definitive identification.