Project 10073 Record Card and Operational Immediate Report — 15 September 1961

This document contains records related to unidentified aerial phenomena reported in September 1961. The primary report concerns a sighting on September 15, 1961, at 1720Z, involving a Pan American Airlines flight crew over the Pacific Ocean at coordinates 20.50N 176.00E. The pilot, identified as Wolv, reported observing a streak that changed from hot blue to dull red, moving through 25 degrees of arc in 5-10 seconds at an elevation of 10 degrees. The object was described as four times as bright as Venus and was observed at an altitude of 28,000 feet. The object appeared to explode at the end of the sighting. Major Beebe conducted an interview with the pilot and navigator, and the official conclusion reached by the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) was that the description was consistent with a meteor. The document also includes a separate, unrelated information-only note regarding a sighting on September 3, 1961, in San Francisco, where a Mrs. Mae Harold reported a cylinder-shaped object hovering over the western edge of the city for thirty minutes. Additionally, the file contains a summary table of sightings from September 16-30, 1961, which categorizes various reports by date, location, observer, and evaluation, listing explanations such as aircraft, balloons, meteors, and satellites, with some cases marked as having insufficient data or being unidentified.