Declassified UFO / UAP Document
PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD - UFO Sighting (70 miles West of Jacksonville, Florida)
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AI-Generated Summary
A witness reported a yellow-orange light in the Florida sky in January 1964. The Air Force Foreign Technology Division concluded that an aircraft was the most likely explanation for the sighting.
On January 26, 1964, a witness from the University of Florida reported observing a yellow-orange light in the sky while located 70 miles west of Jacksonville, Florida. The witness described the object as traveling on a southwesterly path for approximately ten minutes between 11:25 p.m. and 11:35 p.m. The witness noted that the sky was overcast and that the object and the moon were the only visible items. The witness believed the object was too high to be a conventional aircraft and suggested it might be a space vehicle, satellite, or rocket. The Foreign Technology Division of the Air Force Systems Command reviewed the report. They concluded that while the object's southwesterly trajectory ruled out known satellites, the duration of the sighting was not inconsistent with a high-altitude aircraft. Although they noted there were no regular high-altitude air routes over Gainesville heading southwest, they maintained that an aircraft remained the most likely explanation for the sighting. Major Maston M. Jacks of the Air Force Public Information Division communicated this conclusion to the witness in a letter dated February 20, 1964, and enclosed a brochure regarding the Air Force's program on Unidentified Flying Objects.
If the object were an aircraft it would not be on a regular schedule. However, this does not rule out aircraft as the most likely cause of his sighting.
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Official Assessment
The object reported had a southwesterly component, it could not have been a known satellite. Although there are no high altitude air routes over Gainesville heading southwest, the duration of your sighting (ten minutes) is not excessive for an aircraft at high altitude, particularly since you indicate that it crossed the zenith. If the object was an aircraft, it was not on a regular schedule. However, this does not rule out aircraft as the most likely cause of your sighting.
The sighting was likely an aircraft, despite the lack of regular air routes in that area.
Witnesses
- [redacted]University of Florida
Key Persons
- Mrs GaiserRecipient of FTD memo
- Mr. WeissRecipient of response letter