UFO Observation, 8 Jun 66, Minnesota

On June 8, 1966, an unidentified aerial phenomenon was observed by a civilian at the Duluth International Airport in Minnesota. The witness, who was returning from 'Midnight Chow' at approximately 2315 hours, observed a bright object in the sky while climbing an outside staircase. Initially, the witness suspected the object was a satellite, but quickly noted its erratic movement, which included traveling left, right, and backwards. The object moved parallel to a line between the stars Deneb and Vega, eventually hovering in the vicinity of the constellation Corona Borealis for approximately four minutes. The witness reported that the object appeared to gain altitude before heading southeast and disappearing between the constellations Hercules and Serpens. The total duration of the sighting was approximately ten minutes. The witness explicitly stated that the object's velocity and movement were inconsistent with a satellite. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr. of the USAF Aerial Phenomena division subsequently forwarded the report to Dr. J. Allen Hynek at Northwestern University for evaluation. The official conclusion recorded on the Project 10073 form identified the object as the Echo 1 satellite, noting its position at 94 degrees longitude and 45 degrees latitude at the time of the observation.