Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record — Westmont, Illinois, 22 April 1967
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AI-Generated Summary
A 1967 sighting of a reddish-orange object in Westmont, Illinois, was investigated by the U.S. Air Force. The event was officially concluded to be a homemade hot air balloon.
On April 22, 1967, at approximately 0430Z, a witness in Westmont, Illinois, observed a single, reddish-orange, fuzzy object traveling eastward. The sighting lasted for ten minutes. The witness reported that the object appeared to speed up while gaining altitude before slowly fading from view. No sound was heard during the observation. The witness, a 17-year-old male, completed a U.S. Air Force technical information questionnaire regarding the event. In a follow-up letter dated June 5, 1967, Lt. Colonel Barnett B. Young of the U.S. Air Force Office of Information informed the witness that while a positive identification had not been made, the investigation concluded the object was likely a hot air balloon. The Air Force noted that surface winds at the time were from 220-225 degrees, which would have caused the object to drift toward the northeast. The report further explained that homemade hot air balloons, often constructed from plastic dry cleaning bags with a platform of straws and candles for heat, had accounted for twenty-seven sightings reported to the Air Force since the beginning of the year, and that this construction would account for the 'dim fuzzy look' described by the witness.
Although a positive identification has not been made, investigation revealed that you probably observed a hot air balloon. The description you submitted is consistent with such an evaluation.
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Official Assessment
The description is consistent with that of a hot air balloon.
The object was identified as a hot air balloon. Surface winds at the time were from 220-225 degrees, which would have caused the object to drift toward the northeast. The dim, fuzzy appearance was attributed to the heat source, often candles, used in homemade hot air balloons constructed from plastic dry cleaning bags.
Witnesses
Key Persons
- Barnett B. YoungLt Colonel, USAF, Civil Branch, Community Relations Division, Office of Information