Project 10073 Record Card — Kansas City, Kansas, 23 November 1960

This document contains the official record and subsequent correspondence regarding a UFO sighting reported on 23 November 1960 in Kansas City, Kansas. The primary witness, a cabinet maker with no aviation experience, observed three disc-shaped objects moving from north to south. The witness estimated the objects to be 100 feet long, black in color, and accompanied by orange exhaust tails. The observation lasted approximately 20 to 25 minutes. The witness utilized a surveyor's transit to aid in his observations, estimating the altitude at 1,500 feet and the range at 6 to 7 miles. The sighting was reported to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) via the 33rd Air Division at Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base. Following the initial report, ATIC requested further clarification from the field, specifically asking how the size was determined, the nature of the black color, and the comparison between naked-eye observation and the view through the surveyor's transit. The field response confirmed that the size was estimated through the transit and that the objects were observed with orange exhaust tails. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the objects were three aircraft flying at altitude. The report suggests that the 'disc' appearance and the black color were optical illusions caused by the sun reflecting off the aircraft's contrails, which appeared as orange tails to the observer. The Air Force noted that the witness was unfamiliar with aviation and that the duration of the sighting, while slightly long, was consistent with the observation of persistent contrails from aircraft at high altitude. No military aircraft were reported in the immediate vicinity at the time of the sighting, but the explanation remained focused on the misidentification of conventional aircraft.