Project 10073 Record Card — Sighting of 6 December 1960

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and associated staff messages detailing a sighting reported on December 6, 1960. At 0459 local time, Captain John F. Dupriest of the 965th AEW&C Squadron, serving as aircraft commander, observed an unidentified object while flying over the Pacific Ocean, approximately 350 miles west of Los Angeles, California. The object was described as a yellowish-white light with a short flaming tail, appearing to be the size of a large pea held at arm's length. The witness reported that the object was in level flight, moving from a 10-degree position to a 250-degree position, and that it appeared to break into approximately six large pieces during the observation, which lasted between six and eight seconds. The aircraft was flying above a 4,000-foot layer of scattered clouds under clear weather conditions. Captain Dupriest noted that the object moved more slowly than a typical shooting star. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating authorities was that the witness had observed a slow-moving meteor. The report notes that the witness likely discounted the possibility of it being a meteor due to a lack of prior experience with such phenomena. The documentation includes a CIRVIS (Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings) report, confirming that the sighting was processed through standard military intelligence channels. The observer's judgment was explicitly rated as reliable by the reporting unit, given the frequency of shooting star sightings in the area.