Project 10073 Record — Albany, Oregon, 11 December 1965

On December 11, 1965, a civilian observer in Albany, Oregon, reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial object. The witness described the object as appearing like a white, pea-sized star that moved in a straight line away from another star before fading into a cloud formation. The observation lasted approximately three to four minutes. The report, processed under Project 10073, was investigated by Major Arthur F. Shiflett of the HQ Portland Air Defense Sector. The investigation determined that there was a reporting error regarding the time of the sighting, as the initial time provided (0205Z) occurred during daylight hours. Upon review of flight data, it was discovered that two Boeing 720 civilian aircraft were traveling southward on airways in the vicinity at the time of the sighting. Major Shiflett concluded that the straight-line movement and gradual disappearance of the object, combined with the coincidence of the airway traffic, strongly indicated that the object observed was one of the two Boeing 720 aircraft. The report was classified as unclassified and distributed to various Air Force commands, including the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB.