Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record — Scranton, Pennsylvania, 20 August 1965
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1965 sighting report from Scranton, PA, involving multiple lighted objects, was officially identified by the Air Force as an aircraft towing an advertising banner.
On August 20, 1965, a 17-year-old civilian in Scranton, Pennsylvania, reported observing multiple unidentified flying objects over a two-hour period. The witness, who was in their backyard looking for meteoroids from the Perseids shower, described the objects as having multi-colored lights and moving in slow, level flight with no audible sound. The witness noted that the objects were too fast for balloons and that there were no local facilities for launching large weather balloons. The witness provided drawings and an altitude estimate of 17,000 to 20,000 feet. The report was forwarded to the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Following an evaluation, the Air Force concluded that the objects were aircraft towing advertising banners with lighted displays. A formal response was sent to the witness by Lt. Colonel John P. Spaulding of the Office of Information, stating that the report had been categorized as an aircraft with advertising lights.
Your report is similar to many other reports of aircraft using electric lights either on the aircraft itself or on a towed target for advertising purposes.
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Official Assessment
A/C (ADVERTISING LIGHTS)
The sighting was evaluated as an aircraft towing an advertising banner with a lighted display.
Witnesses
- [illegible]Civilian
Key Persons
- Eric T de JonckheereColonel, USAF, Deputy for Technology and Subsystems