Project 10073 Record Card — Meridian, Idaho, 23 October 1963

This document collection details the investigation of a UFO sighting that occurred in Meridian, Idaho, on October 23, 1963. The primary record is a Project 10073 Record Card, which documents a report from two youths and one adult who observed a shiny, metallic, football-shaped object for approximately six minutes. The witnesses reported that the object emitted a deep, loud, pulsating, and irritating sound. It was seen approaching from the southeast, hovering for four and a half minutes, gaining altitude, and then moving south before changing direction to the southwest and disappearing behind trees and houses. The report notes that while the description was characteristic of a helicopter, subsequent checks with the FAA and military units confirmed that no helicopter flights were operating in the Meridian area at the time of the sighting. The collection also includes extensive correspondence from 1967 regarding the declassification of this report. The Foreign Technology Division (FTD) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sought to downgrade the original classified message (DCOI 689) to unclassified status. This process involved communication between the FTD, the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, and the Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base. The correspondence highlights administrative confusion regarding the transfer of records following the deactivation of the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base and the activation of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale. Ultimately, the report was processed for declassification in accordance with Air Force regulations, including AFR 205-1 and Public Law 89-487 (Freedom of Information Act).