Project 10073 Record — Sighting near North Vernon & Columbus, Indiana, 17 June 1966

On June 17, 1966, a married couple traveling northwest from North Vernon, Indiana, reported a series of unidentified aerial observations. While driving on Route 7 and later U.S. 31, the witnesses observed brilliant crimson red flashes of light, followed by the appearance of six craft. The witnesses described these craft as having a solid appearance, featuring a wing with lighted windows and a high, perpendicular tail resembling a scorpion's tail. The objects were reported to fly in a precise, silent formation, eventually forming an inverted 'Z' shape. Later, the witnesses observed a seventh, different craft described as a flat triangle that hovered silently near the highway. The witnesses, who had family connections to a Lt. Col. William C. Sprinkle, reported the incident to the Air Force. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, responded to the witnesses on July 6, 1966, requesting further information via FTD Form 164, as the initial report was deemed insufficient for evaluation. The official Project 10073 record concludes that the objects were likely aircraft in a landing pattern at Columbus.