Project 10073 Record: Sighting Report 20 August 1965

This document contains records regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon sighting reported on August 20, 1965, by pilots of two commercial jet airliners. The pilots, flying from San Francisco to Chicago at 35,000 feet, observed a brilliant white object with a bluish edge, described as resembling an arc-welder's torch. The object was sighted for approximately 10 to 15 seconds, moving in a horizontal flight path from East to Southeast. The witnesses reported that the object appeared to be moving much faster than their aircraft and eventually disappeared as if a light bulb had been turned off. The report includes completed U.S. Air Force technical information questionnaires, correspondence from Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr. of Project Blue Book requesting further details, and internal Air Force staff messages. The official conclusion reached by the Air Force was that the object was an 'Astro (METEOR)', noting that the description and flight path were in accord with a meteor report. The investigation was hampered by the inability to conduct direct interviews with the observers.