Declassified UFO / UAP Document
Project 10073 Record — UFO Observation, 21 October 1968, Richmond, Indiana
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AI-Generated Summary
This document contains a 1968 UFO sighting report from Richmond, Indiana, involving a civilian witness who observed lights moving at airplane speed. The Air Force investigated the report under Project 10073 and concluded the object was a probable aircraft.
On 21 October 1968, a civilian witness in Richmond, Indiana, reported an unidentified aerial phenomenon to the United States Air Force. The witness observed a single object consisting of two constant white lights, which appeared to be approximately one foot apart, with a blinking orange light situated between them. The observation lasted between two and three minutes. The witness described the object as moving from West to East at 'airplane speed' and noted that there was no sound associated with the phenomenon. The object was observed low on the horizon. The witness, a housewife, reported the sighting to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on the same day. Following the report, Lt. Colonel Hector Quintanilla, Jr., Chief of the Aerial Phenomena Office, sent a letter to the witness stating that the information provided was insufficient for a scientific investigation and requested that she complete an AF Form 117 to provide further details. The official Project 10073 record for this incident categorizes the phenomenon as 'Probable (AIRCRAFT)'. The witness completed the questionnaire on 23 October 1968, providing sketches and additional context, noting that the lights were as bright as the 'western star' and that the object appeared solid. Despite the witness's detailed account, the Air Force maintained the classification of a probable aircraft.
The observer sighted two white lights between which was a flickering orange light. The lights traveled East and disappeared over the horizon.
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Official Assessment
Probable (AIRCRAFT)
The observer reported two white lights with a flickering orange light between them, moving East at airplane speed with no sound. The Air Force concluded it was likely an aircraft.
Witnesses
- [illegible]Civilian
Key Persons
- Hector Quintanilla, JrChief, Aerial Phenomena Office