PROJECT 10073 RECORD - Sighting Report 12 August 1965

On August 12, 1965, at approximately 11:15 A.M., Major Jack D. Bond of the Directorate of Advanced Recon Planning was aboard a T-29B aircraft conducting a local transition flight out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. During the flight, while the aircraft was beginning a GCA approach and descending from 4,000 to 3,000 feet, Major Bond observed an unidentified object through the cockpit window at the 3 o'clock position. The object was described as being slightly higher than the aircraft and approximately 5 to 7 miles away. The weather conditions were noted as having very dense haze. Major Bond reported that the object moved in a 'sin curve' pattern, appearing as a bright, sunlight-reflecting object during its ascents and as a gray object partially hidden by haze during its descents. He noted that the object's speed was highly erratic. During its third descent, the object appeared to level off and accelerate away into the haze at a speed of at least 600 knots. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 form attributes the sighting to a mirage of the sun, caused by the motion of the observer's aircraft and the atmospheric conditions (haze) present at the time. A diagram included in the report illustrates the relative positions and headings of the aircraft and the object.