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Declassified UFO / UAP Document

Project 10073 Record — Columbus, Ohio, 22 January 1969

📅 22 January 1969 📍 Columbus, Ohio 🏛 FTD (Foreign Technology Division) 📄 Sighting of Unidentified Phenomena Questionnaire
ColumbusOhioProject 10073UAPaircraftsighting report

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AI-Generated Summary

TL;DR

A civilian reported a white, blue, and red object appearing to crash in Columbus, Ohio, on January 22, 1969. The Air Force concluded the event was likely an aircraft disappearing over the horizon.

On January 22, 1969, at approximately 1930 hours, a civilian observer in Columbus, Ohio, reported sighting an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The observer, whose identity remains redacted, described the object as having white, blue, and red lights. The sighting lasted between five and six minutes, during which the object moved in a South to South-Southwest direction. The observer reported that at the end of the sighting, the object appeared to crash. The official Air Force evaluation, conducted under Project 10073, concluded that the phenomenon was likely an aircraft. The report notes that no other reports of a crash were received in the Columbus area and suggests that the observer witnessed an airplane disappearing over the horizon, which created the visual illusion of a crash. The document includes a standard Air Force Sighting of Unidentified Phenomena Questionnaire (AFR 80-17), which contains the observer's sketch of the object's path and relative altitude.

It is possible that the observer saw an airplane disappear over the horizon thus giving the appearance that it crashed.

Official Assessment

Possible AIRCRAFT. The observer did not give his complete address. No other reports were received of anything crashing in the Columbus area. It is possible that the observer saw an airplane disappear over the horizon thus giving the appearance that it crashed.

The sighting was likely an aircraft disappearing over the horizon, creating the illusion of a crash.

Witnesses

Organizations