Project 10073 Record: Sighting at Kodiak and Yakutat, Alaska, October 1966

This document compiles reports and observations regarding an unidentified aerial object sighted in Alaska on October 9 and 10, 1966. The object was first tracked by ANR radar on October 9, moving southeast at 45 knots, which prompted the scrambling of two F-102 aircraft from Galena AFS; however, the pilots were unable to visually confirm the objects due to poor weather. On October 10, personnel at the Kodiak Naval Air Station observed a diamond-shaped, silver, translucent object that appeared to be a large balloon. Multiple witnesses, including Coast Guard pilots and air traffic controllers, provided sketches and descriptions of the object, noting it looked like a plastic dry cleaning bag with a solid center and rigid streamers. A pilot from a Northwest Airlines flight also reported sighting a similar object south of Yakutat on October 10. Official investigations concluded that the object was likely a balloon, possibly of Japanese transonic design, and that prevailing high-altitude winds were consistent with the object's movement from the Cape Romanzof area toward Kodiak and Yakutat. The file includes detailed witness statements, sketches, and internal correspondence from the Alaskan Air Command.