Project 10073 Record Card — Plattsburgh AFB, New York, 4 August 1960

On August 4, 1960, at 1442Z, an observer at Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York, reported a sighting of an unidentified object. The witness, while stopped at an intersection in their car, observed a bright white smoke trail appear suddenly in the sky. The trail moved in a straight path for approximately five seconds before stopping and dissipating over the next fifteen seconds. The witness, who had experience with aerial rockets, initially believed the object to be a rocket in flight. No sound was heard, and no aircraft were visible. The witness reported the event to the Plattsburgh AFB tower, which confirmed there were no scheduled rocket firings. Subsequently, the witness was contacted by 'Blue Bottle' control and requested to submit a formal report. The witness described the object as having a white smoke trail, roughly the size of an ordinary pencil held at arm's length, and noted a slight spiraling motion in a horizontal plane. The investigation into the incident revealed that the Base Ground Training Section was conducting an aquatic survival demonstration at the time. During this demonstration, a white parachute flare was fired over Lake Champlain. The investigation concluded that the reported sighting was, in fact, this parachute flare. The perceived spiraling motion and the appearance of the smoke trail were attributed to the angle of the observer and the drift of the parachute as it descended from an altitude of approximately 1200 to 1500 feet. The report was processed as part of Project 10073 and distributed to the Air Tactical Intelligence Center and the 26th Air Division (Defense) at Syracuse, New York.