Unidentified Flying Object Sighting in North Lebanon

On April 15, 1963, a group of five university professors, including Dr. Carl George, a Professor of Marine Biology at the American University of Beirut, observed an unidentified flying object while on a hiking trip in the Jebal region of North Lebanon. The witnesses, described as observant and not prone to exaggeration, reported seeing a high-flying, very bright object that generated its own light, resembling a star. The object traveled from the northeast to the southwest across a clear, dark sky. According to the report, the object made several abrupt changes in course, which the witnesses felt were too rapid to be attributed to a conventional aircraft. As the object approached the horizon in the southwest, it reversed its course and eventually disappeared after flying overhead. No sounds were heard during the ten-minute observation. The incident was initially reported by ALUSNA Beirut in report 5-857-0099-63. Upon review, the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base determined that the initial report lacked sufficient information to reach a definitive conclusion. FTD requested further details, including the names and addresses of all witnesses, the object's brightness compared to stars, its angular diameter, whether it exhibited a trail or exhaust, and whether it twinkled. They also requested a diagram of the object's flight path and the observers' personal thoughts on the event. Subsequent correspondence indicates that while the primary witness, Dr. George, provided additional information, other members of the party had left the country, though questionnaires were sent to them. The final assessment remained inconclusive, with investigators noting that while the maneuvers were confusing and the report contained some inconsistencies, the primary witness's insistence that the directional changes were too abrupt for an aircraft remained the only conflicting data point against the theory of a misidentified aircraft.