Project 10073 Record — Near Defuniak Springs, Florida, 20 October 1969

This document is a Project 10073 record and subsequent UFO report supplement detailing a sighting that occurred on October 20, 1969, near Defuniak Springs, Florida. The primary witness, a television technician, was walking north on a dirt road with his family when his wife called his attention to a round object. The witness reported that the object appeared out of the northwest, moved in a circular curve toward the northeast, performed a half-turn to the east, and then disappeared instantly. The entire observation lasted approximately three to four seconds. The witness noted that the object appeared to be beneath the clouds. Following the report, the investigating officer, Ben Z. M. Gershter of HQ ADTC at Eglin AFB, noted that there were three satellite decays occurring at the approximate time of the sighting. Meteorological conditions at the time were described as dark with a high overcast. The official conclusion reached by the investigating agency was that the sighting was likely a satellite decay, specifically suggesting that the object was either space hardware junk in a decaying orbit or a meteorite, both of which would have been destroyed by incandescence in the lower atmosphere. The report includes detailed meteorological data from Detachment 10 of the 8th Weather Wing at Eglin AFB, confirming the cloud cover and wind conditions at various altitudes. The investigator remarked that the observer sounded sincere during the reporting process.