PROJECT 10073 RECORD - 8 Aug 66

On August 8, 1966, at 1402Z, a pilot and Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) flying a US Navy F4H aircraft from the USS Saratoga observed an unidentified aerial object. The aircraft was flying at an altitude of 20,000 feet on the 245-degree radial, approximately 61 miles from the Caivano TACAN. The object was initially sighted west of Caivano at an estimated altitude of 100,000 feet. The witnesses described the object as a red fireball with a blue-green tail. It appeared initially as a pin-point of light and grew to approximately half the size of the moon. The object was observed for 2 to 3 seconds, during which it descended at a 45-degree dive angle at an estimated speed of 5,000 mph. The object appeared to burn out at an altitude of 10,000 feet and reportedly impacted the water to the west of the land mass outside Rome, approximately 30-50 miles south of Rome. The incident was documented in a naval message and subsequently recorded under Project 10073, where it was officially concluded to be an 'Astro (meteor)'.