Project 10073 Record: UFO Observation, 17 April 1967

This document file contains the records for a UFO sighting reported by a 14-year-old youth near Salem, Virginia, on April 17, 1967. The observer reported seeing a single object described as being similar to a black watermelon, which he claimed landed and took off near his property. He reported the duration of the sighting as 14 to 17 seconds and estimated the speed at 1000 miles per hour or faster. The observer also claimed to have taken a photograph of the object. The Air Force, through the Aerial Phenomena Office (Project Blue Book), initiated an investigation into the report. Major Hector Quintanilla, Jr., the Chief of the Aerial Phenomena Office, repeatedly requested the original negatives from the observer to evaluate the sighting. The observer's parent later corresponded with the Air Force, stating that the negative had been sent to Dell Publications and had not been returned, but that they would attempt to retrieve it. The official conclusion recorded by the Air Force for this case is 'HOAX'. This conclusion was based on the fact that the two witnesses listed by the observer denied ever having seen the object, and the observer had sent photos of 'other' UFOs he had seen, while the original photo of the object in question was never submitted to the Air Force for analysis. The file includes various administrative forms, including the Sighting of Unidentified Phenomena Questionnaire (AF Form 117), photographic data sheets, and correspondence between the Air Force and the observer's family.