Project 10073 Record: Sighting Incident Report - New Castle, Maine, April 1966

This document is a collection of reports and correspondence related to a series of unidentified aerial phenomena sightings in New Castle, Maine, and surrounding areas in Massachusetts during April 1966. The primary incident involves a civilian observer in New Castle who reported seeing up to 15 objects in the sky over a two-hour period between April 17 and 19, 1966. The observer described the objects as turning, spinning, and revolving in circular patterns, darting freely, and emitting red flashes. The observer claimed the objects were arranged in patterns and appeared to be solid, though they were also described as having metallic bodies with flashing lights. The U.S. Air Force, through Project Blue Book, investigated the report. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, initially deemed the information insufficient for evaluation and requested further details via FTD Form 164. The subsequent investigation by Captain Donald C. Westlake of the 36th Air Division concluded that the sightings were likely an optical illusion. Westlake noted that the observer's location was surrounded by trees, and he posited that the observer was viewing bright stars through dense, bare branches, which created the appearance of movement as the observer shifted their position. The document also contains supplemental information regarding other sightings in Massachusetts, including reports from Peabody, Beverly, and Stoughton, which were investigated by the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). These reports describe various oval and cigar-shaped objects with flashing lights. Some of these reports mention radar contact and unusual sounds, such as high-pitched humming. The document includes newspaper clippings and summaries of these additional sightings, noting that many witnesses were reluctant to report to the Air Force due to fear of ridicule. The overall collection serves as a record of the Air Force's attempt to categorize these civilian reports, often dismissing them as astronomical phenomena or misidentifications, while contrasting them with the more detailed, though often unverified, accounts collected by civilian research groups like NICAP.