UFO Observation, 1 July 1968 — New Philadelphia, Ohio

This document contains the official Air Force investigation into a UFO sighting reported on 1 July 1968, near New Philadelphia, Ohio. The primary witness, a driver education teacher, reported observing a white, shiny, cigar-shaped object while driving on Interstate 77. The object was described as having an erratic flight path and constantly gaining altitude before disappearing after several minutes. The Air Force's Aerial Phenomena Office, led by Lt. Col. Hector Quintanilla, Jr., conducted an investigation, which included contacting local police departments in New Philadelphia and Dover to see if other reports had been filed. Both departments reported no such incidents. The investigation also involved gathering meteorological data for the area. Internal Air Force correspondence from Lt. Col. Boyce M. Smith highlighted significant inconsistencies in the witness reports, noting that observers disagreed on the object's shape and movement, and that weather reports varied between 'clear' and 'partly cloudy.' Smith suggested that the sighting could have been caused by sunlight reflecting off an underpass or by a piece of paper carried by the wind. He also expressed skepticism regarding the witnesses, referring to some as 'UFO fans' and noting that a 'strong imagination' would be required to interpret the event as a UFO. Despite the official conclusion that the object was likely a piece of paper, the file includes multiple completed sighting questionnaires and personal letters from the witnesses, who maintained that the object was not a plane or a bird and that they were not joking. The document also includes newspaper clippings from the Harrisburg Patriot and Evening News regarding a separate, unrelated fireball sighting in Pennsylvania, which appears to have been included in the file for context or comparison.