Project 10073 Record Card and Intelligence Report IR-5-61 — Jensen, Utah, 16 October 1961

This document comprises an intelligence report (IR-5-61) and associated meteorological data regarding a UFO sighting reported by a civilian pilot on 16 October 1961. The pilot, flying a Piper Comanche from Rangley, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, reported observing three objects approximately ten miles east of Jensen, Utah. The witness described the objects as two box-shaped craft with protruding fins and one disc-shaped craft, all of a dull gray color with no reflection. According to the report, the objects initially appeared motionless at 7,500 feet, then climbed to 8,500 feet. As the pilot approached within five miles, the objects reportedly rose straight up and moved away at high speed on a south-southwest heading (210 to 220 degrees), disappearing within a minute and a half. The total duration of the sighting was approximately three minutes. Myton Range Control confirmed there was no radar contact of any aircraft in the area at the time. The investigating officer, Howard W. Lucas of the Security and Law Enforcement Division at Hill Air Force Base, interviewed the pilot and characterized him as an emotionally stable individual with significant flying experience. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the objects were likely a superior mirage of distant mountain tops, facilitated by a temperature inversion present in the Utah area at approximately 8,000 feet. The report notes that the relative geometry of the mirage would remain constant, and the pilot was likely observing different parts of the same mountain range. The document includes a series of adiabatic charts used to analyze the atmospheric conditions at the time of the incident. The report concludes that all local efforts to identify the objects through conventional means were exhausted and that no known missile firings or experimental aircraft were in the area.