Project 10073 Record Card — 1 Aug 61 Sighting, Quebec, Canada

This document consists of a Project 10073 record card and an associated Department of the Air Force staff message regarding an aerial sighting reported on August 1, 1961. A witness, identified as an employee of Fecteau Airways at Lake Cache, Quebec, reported observing an explosion in the air at approximately 40,000 feet, located 40 miles northwest of Chibougamou. The witness described the event as lasting about three seconds, after which an object shot out from the flash, leaving a smoke trail that persisted for approximately 15 seconds. The observation occurred at 0202Z under clear weather conditions. The report notes that a similar explosion had been reported in the same vicinity at 1300Z on August 1, 1961, which was suspected of causing a forest fire in that area. The witness is assessed as reliable. The official conclusion recorded on the project card is that the event was likely a bolide sighting, though the investigators noted that the available data was very limited.