Project 10073 Record Card and CIRVIS Report — 20 July 1961

On July 20, 1961, at 0930Z, the crew of an aircraft identified as Ethan-26 observed an unidentified object while flying at 7,000 feet. The object was traveling on a heading of 090 degrees at an altitude slightly below the observers. The aircraft commander, Captain Lowell Call, and the pilot, Clyde T. Dennis, reported that the object approached them from the front at a closure speed they described as faster than a piston-engine aircraft but consistent with a jet. Due to darkness, the crew could not determine the object's specific outline, though they initially assumed it was a jet aircraft. The object subsequently exploded at a distance of three to five miles off the left wing of the Ethan-26 aircraft. The explosion was described as a white flash with a reddish-white center. The object was not tracked by the radar operator on board. Following the incident, a CIRVIS (Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings) report was submitted. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 record card suggests that the object was likely a bolide, or meteor, and that the observers had underestimated its speed due to the heading. The report notes that all other characteristics were consistent with this assessment, and it was officially categorized as a bolide sighting.