Project 10073 Record — Sighting at Swanlake, New York, 27 September 1965

On 27 September 1965, at 1440Z, a civilian observer named Stuart H. Cooper reported a sighting of an unidentified flying object three miles south of Swanlake, New York, on Route 55. The observer, a student at Brooklyn College described as 'quite reliable,' reported seeing a white, disk-shaped object that appeared as a bright light to the naked eye. The object was observed for approximately one minute, during which it performed a shallow dive followed by a climbing turn, moving in a south-southwesterly direction. The observer noted that the object appeared to be the size of a 'pinhead' to the eye. The weather was clear with little wind. Mr. Cooper took four photographs of the object using an Imperial Mark XII box camera. The sighting was reported to the 4603d Air Base Group (ADC) at Stewart Air Force Base. The report was subsequently forwarded to the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of the Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) for analysis. The FTD conducted a photo analysis (Report No. 66-31) and concluded that the object was likely a balloon. Analysts noted that the reported speed was likely an illusion caused by angular movement at a close distance, and the rapid disappearance of the object was likely due to a change in the angle of reflection from the sun. The analysts further noted that the camera used was a simple box camera with no F-stops, making a precise technical analysis difficult without exact focal length and range data. The Air Force returned the negatives and prints to Mr. Cooper in September 1966, concluding the investigation.