Project 10073 Record Cards and Related Correspondence — Cincinnati, Ohio, March 1961

This document collection details a series of reports concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed on the evening of March 2, 1961, in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio. Multiple witnesses, including an employee of General Electric and a resident of Richmond, Indiana, reported seeing a bright, streak-like object traveling due north at a high altitude. The object was described as having a white or light-green color, with a trailing smoke-like effect, and was visible for approximately 5 to 20 seconds. Witnesses noted that the object did not make any sound and eventually faded from view. The reports were forwarded to the Wright Air Development Division and subsequently evaluated by the Foreign Technology Division (FTD). The FTD analysis determined that the object was a fireball, a type of meteor. This conclusion was supported by the fact that the object was observed from several widely separated locations, including Springfield, Dayton, and Cincinnati, which indicated a high-altitude trajectory consistent with a meteor rather than a localized aircraft or atmospheric phenomenon. Although one report suggested the possibility of exhaust from plant furnaces at a Union Carbide chemical plant, the official military assessment remained that the object was a meteor. The documentation includes several 'Project 10073' record cards, technical information sheets completed by the witnesses, and internal correspondence between military offices confirming the nature of the sighting. The consensus among the investigators was that the witnesses had observed a very bright meteor, and that the initial misidentification was common for individuals without experience in observing such astronomical events.