Project 10073 Record Card and Correspondence Regarding Chaff Sighting in Mayer, Arizona

This collection of documents details the administrative handling of a civilian inquiry regarding unidentified material found in Mayer, Arizona, in April 1962. A civilian witness submitted samples of 'tin foil' strips to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), requesting an explanation for their origin. The FBI subsequently referred the matter to the Department of the Air Force for evaluation. Internal Air Force correspondence, including a Project 10073 record card, confirms that the material was identified as 'chaff'—a radar-reflective material used by military aircraft during training missions to create false radar returns. The documents show a clear chain of communication between the FBI, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), and the Air Force's Office of Information. The Air Force concluded that the strips were dropped by military aircraft during routine training exercises in the area. A formal response was prepared by Lt. Colonel William J. Lookadoo of the Air Force Office of Information, explaining to the civilian that the chaff is designed to mask aircraft movements by creating radar clutter that resembles aircraft returns. The file includes internal routing slips, a copy of the original letter from the civilian, and the final determination that the sighting was not an unidentified flying object but rather a standard military training byproduct.