Project Blue Book Sighting Report — Westhampton Beach, New York, 25 August 1966

This document contains a series of records regarding a UFO sighting reported on 25 August 1966 in Westhampton Beach, New York. The witness, a photographer for the Riverhead News Review, observed a single, stationary, football-shaped object that appeared bright orange and resembled fire. The observation lasted between five and seven minutes during the early morning hours. The report was processed through military channels, including the 52nd Fighter Wing at Suffolk County Air Force Base. Official Air Force records indicate that there was no radar contact and no interception of the object. Grumman aircraft reported no activity in the vicinity, and no aircraft from Suffolk County AFB were in the air at the time. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of Project Blue Book, sent a letter to the witness stating that the initial information provided was insufficient for a formal evaluation and requested that the witness complete FTD Form 164. Ultimately, the Assistant Intelligence Officer, Lt. W. D. Campbell, concluded that the sighting was likely a civilian aircraft operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) from one of the many small airfields on Long Island.