Project 10073 Record Card — Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 6 August 1962

On August 6, 1962, at 2025 hours local time, a witness in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, observed a brilliant object falling or flying through the sky. The witness, an employee of Petroleum Helicopters de Bolivia, reported that the object appeared at a 45-degree angle from the horizon and descended in a nearly vertical path toward the western horizon. The object was described as having a brilliance slightly less than the sun at midday, though it was much smaller. As it descended, it left a trail of glowing particles or illuminations at regular intervals, with each particle extinguishing itself as a new one separated from the main body. The witness estimated there were seven or eight such particles forming a straight line behind the original object. The sighting lasted approximately five seconds, with the object disappearing in an almost instantaneous increase in brilliance followed by a sudden extinction. The weather was clear with some smoke and haze, and a light wind from the northwest. The report was forwarded by the Air Attaché in Bolivia, Lt Col Edward J. Fox, who noted that the witness is considered a sharp and reliable individual who has reported similar sightings in the past. The official conclusion reached by the project evaluation was that the object was a bolide, or meteor.