Project 10073 Record — 16 December 1965

On 16 December 1965, at 1409 Z, a Northwest Airlines flight crew reported a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon while in flight over the Pacific at coordinates 45 15N, 172 00E. The crew, operating a Boeing 320C (Northwest Airlines Flight 268) at an altitude between 33,000 and 37,000 feet, observed a round, bright object that was changing colors. The object was reported to have broken into seven or eight smaller objects flying in formation, leaving contrails that extended for approximately one mile. The objects were observed heading southeast at a high rate of speed before fading one by one, with the lowest object fading last. The total duration of the observation was approximately three minutes. The incident was reported under Project 10073 and referenced in accordance with AFR 200-2. Official analysis concluded that while there were no specific reports of satellite decay for that date, the characteristics described by the crew were consistent with satellite decay, suggesting that a component not previously tracked may have re-entered the atmosphere during that period. The message was processed by the Department of the Air Force Staff Message Branch and forwarded to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).