Project 10073 Record Card — San Bernardino, California, 18 March 1963

This document comprises a Project 10073 record card and an associated military report regarding a UFO sighting reported by a civilian in San Bernardino, California, on 18 March 1963. The witness claimed to have observed a flat or cigar-shaped object, approximately 100 to 150 feet in length, flying at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,200 feet at speeds estimated between 1,400 and 2,000 knots. The witness reported that the object displayed nine white, non-blinking lights and made no sound as it traveled from East to West. The sighting lasted approximately four to five seconds. Following the report, an investigation was conducted by Lt. Colonel Thomas H. Gerzel of the 28th Air Base Wing at Norton AFB. The investigation included checks with the Norton Control Tower, FAA/RAPCON at March AFB, and the Mt. Wilson Observatory, all of which yielded negative results for any corresponding radar or astronomical activity. During a personal interview conducted on 19 March 1963, Lt. Colonel Gerzel determined that the witness was highly unreliable. The witness appeared to be intoxicated, smelled strongly of alcohol, and provided inconsistent accounts of the event, including varying the number of lights observed and the object's dimensions. The witness also made erratic claims about jet aircraft stripping paint from automobiles and suggested the object might have been a missile. Consequently, the investigating officer recommended that the report be discounted in its entirety, noting that the sighting was likely a misinterpretation of an aircraft or a meteor, if it occurred at all.