Project 10073 Record Card — Papua and New Guinea, 12 June 1961

This document contains a series of communications regarding an unidentified flying object sighting in the Northern District of Papua and New Guinea on June 12, 1961. The primary report, documented on a Project 10073 record card, details an observation made by two residents of the Azerita Plantation at 4:00 a.m. The witnesses, who were considered reliable due to their background with the United Nations Organisation, observed a shining, delta-winged object shaped like the hollow of a new moon. The object was estimated to be at an altitude of 15,000 feet and remained visible for approximately 15 minutes. It exhibited movement by traveling back and forth to the North East, occasionally moving away until it appeared the size of a pin's head before returning. No noise was reported during the sighting. The report was forwarded through official channels, including the Australian Department of Defence and the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, to the United States Air Force. The official conclusion reached by the evaluating agency, FTD at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, was that the phenomenon was likely caused by atmospheric refraction of a planet or star during the pre-dawn hours. The case was ultimately marked as having insufficient data for a definitive evaluation, noting that further investigation was not feasible due to the inaccessibility of the location.