Project 10073 Record — Philomath, Oregon, 17 April 1966

On April 17, 1966, a sighting of an unidentified aerial phenomenon was reported near Philomath, Oregon, by two witnesses, including Alvin Hockema, a grader operator. The witnesses observed a single, long, narrow, pencil-shaped object that appeared as a 'florescent yellow blimp.' The observer, who was in an automobile traveling southwest at approximately 15 MPH, described the object as appearing like an 'electric arc weld' at take-off and noted that it was yellow at slow speeds. The observation lasted for approximately five minutes. The witness stated that he could not provide an accurate description of the object's shape, speed, or distance. The report was initially processed by the 26th Air Division at Adair Air Force Station, Oregon, and forwarded to the Air Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Major A. F. Shiflett of the 26th Air Division noted that no preliminary analysis was offered regarding the cause of the sighting. Subsequently, Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, sent correspondence to the witness stating that the initial information provided was insufficient for evaluation and requested the completion of an FTD Form 164. The final conclusion recorded in the Project 10073 record identifies the object as the planet Venus, noting that Venus rose at 1115Z and was low in the east at the time of the sighting, occupying approximately the same position as the reported object.