Project 10073 Record: UFO Observation, Westland, Michigan, 21 August 1969

On August 21, 1969, a UFO sighting was reported in Westland, Michigan, by civilians Hugh Cantrell and Albert George. The incident was documented by the City of Westland Police Department, with Chief of Police Garrison E. Clayton formally requesting information from the Commanding Officer at Selfridge Air Force Base on August 26, 1969. The police report describes a glowing, round, bluish-white object with red and green oscillating lights, observed in the northeast sky for approximately three hours. Officers on the scene used 7x50 field glasses to observe the object, noting that it performed rapid left-right and erratic up-down movements before returning to its original position. At approximately 12:00 A.M., a second, smaller tri-color object was observed approaching the first before moving out of sight. The police contacted Selfridge Air Force Base, which suggested the possibility of a meteor in the Thunder-Bay area but provided no definitive explanation. The Department of the Air Force, specifically the Foreign Technology Division's Aerial Phenomena Office, responded to the report on September 16, 1969. Lt. Colonel Hector Quintanilla, Jr. informed the complainant that the provided information was insufficient for a scientific investigation and requested the completion of an AF Form 117. The final Project 10073 record concludes that the object was a 'Probable Astro (CAPELLA).'