Project 10073 Record Card — Ohio-Indiana Area Sighting, 3 Jan 62

This document compiles reports and analysis regarding a widespread sighting of unidentified aerial phenomena across the Ohio-Indiana area on the night of January 3, 1962. Numerous civilian and military witnesses, including Major G.I. Pinjuv and S/Sgt L.W. Hoard, reported seeing bright green objects with long tails moving swiftly across the sky, generally from East to West. The sightings occurred between 1825 and 2000 local time. The objects were described as having a nucleus and a tail, with sizes ranging from a pea to a dime at arm's length. The duration of the sightings was brief, typically lasting between 1 and 6 seconds. The Air Force conducted an investigation, which included checking weather conditions at Lockbourne AFB and consulting with the University of Ohio and the Ohio Moon Watchers Society. The official conclusion reached by the Aerospace Technical Intelligence Center was that the objects were meteors associated with the Quadrantids meteor shower, which was active at the time, along with other bright fireballs not part of the shower. The report notes that there was no physical evidence, no radar contact, and no unaccounted air traffic. The document includes various technical information sheets filled out by witnesses, a memo routing slip, and a staff message from HQ 801 ADIV Lockbourne AFB to WPAFB, as well as correspondence from a local fruit farm owner and a letter to the editor by a retired aircraft specialist, Dick Kopsky, who disagreed with the meteor explanation.