NULTIPLE Sl,'l:rl'ING. DATETIME CROUP 7. LENCTN 011 OBSEAYATION varied tm 2 sec to 30-35 10. BRIEII SUMMARY Of" SICHTINO PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD CONCLUSIONS Si/ of \-Tichita Falls, Texas Wos Bolloon Probobly Boli-n TYPE OF OBSERVATION Possibly Bolloon a Ground-Vlsuol 0 GrounciRador 0 Wos All c:roh Probably Aircraft 0 AI,.VIsuol 0 Alrlntercept Roclor Po ssl bl y AI rcrolt Astronomical P robobl y Astronoml col t!eteor Military and Civilian 0 Possibly Astronomical NUMBER 0' OBJECTS suffl clent Ocrto for Evoluotl on one descending 0 Unlcnown 11. COMMENTS A white light, more brilliant than u sual Description i s that of classic meteor. shoot 1ng star, falling to the SW of Wichita Meteor, probably of firebal J class , was with no noise. very startling and probably a first-time experience for the witnesses. There was some material recovered, s upposedly in conjunction vith the sighting. material has been turned over to the Sm1thsonian Institute for analys i s , as yet no ans wer. ATI C opinion i s that recovered material had no connection wit the sighting. AT1C PORW ll9 (RIW 16 SKP 5:1) 1/t,/C LAS Sl Fl 0 cL.AssoFICAT10N (SECURITY INFORMATION when filled in) SUPPLEMENT TO AF FORM 112 ORIGINATING AGENCY 1127th USAF Field Activities Gp Fort Belvoir, Virginia REPORT NO. I . Unidentified Flying Object Observed West of Wichita Falls , Texas on 28 September 1960 1. At 1024Z (0424 local}, 28 September 1960, a large white streak o f light was observed falling through the sky SW of Wichita Falls, Texas. Times of observation by a number of witnesses coincide to such a n extent that a conclusion can be made that the same object was observed by all. 2. Statements of Witnesses: a. A/2C, AF 16616628, 3763rd School Squadron, Sheppard Air Force se, Texas . Age, 20 years. 2~ years of service. RELIABILITY: Good. Seated in , Wichita Falls, Texas, Airman observed through the NW window of the restaurant at about 0400 A.M. ca a bright light falling to the ground. Object was seen through venetian blinds and maintained a fall parallel to the vertical edge of the window, indicating a perpendicular fall of the object and establishing a direction of due SW of Wichita Falls. Based upon the observer's position within the restaurant and the existence of an awning on the window, the arc of observation could not have exceeded 25 (from 30 to 5 elevation), although the Source estimated a 50 arc. Total time of sighting was estimated to be 3-4 seconds. The object was described as circular, like a ball, without tail, white light with bluish cast similar to phosphorous flar e , of an intensity in excess of a falling star and sufficient t o light up the sky. No no~e was heard. Source estimated that object fell % mile f rom his position, although buildings across the street would have obstructed his view o f the horizon. Source believes the object was a flare. b. Night Watchman, Robinson Construction Co, Age 48, RELIABILITY: Fair. While on duty a~ a constructio n site approximately 5 miles SW of the center of Wichita Falls, Mr. stepped out from his guard shack between 4:10 and 4:20A.M. local and ob a green-blue reflection of light on a chemical tank due West of his position. Thinking that it could have been caused by welders, he turned to face a large storage tank NE of his position. After gazing upon this tank for about 5 seconds and seeing nothing , he turned to the tank West of him and observed a bright green flash of light which appeared to be 30-40 feet above the ground. Total time for the observation was estimated to be 20-25 seconds. No noise was heard. Source stated that had the flash of light lasted longer it would surely have blinde d him . . Source described the color of the flash to be similar to that of a white light seen throug h blue-green glass. Source believed the object had fallen about ~-~ mile due West of his position. He was met shortly thereafter by Patrolman Miles, des~rio~d be l ow. Patrolman, Wichi t a Falls Police Department, Age 23, 18 months serv ce with WFPD. RELIABILITY: Good. At 4:24A.M. local, while cruising North at 5 MPH on Fairway Boul evard just north of the Wichita Valle y Railway track inte r section, Patrolman ....... observed through the glass of the left r ear ~rlndow of his patrol car a bright b lue-white light the size of :t voll:!y ball held a t a rms lan~th. The object ~o~as s et!n to turn yellow heco t 1lling behind the weeds u t o ng t he ro~dside. Total time oc si3hcing was tastimated at 2 seconds. window was open, but no sound ~11as heard . Two news a f rom the Wichita Falls Record News were i n the patro and also witnessed the s i ghting. After reporting the incident by radio to Police Head uarters , they proceeded to a point SW of their position and joined Mr. i n a search of the area, finding n othing to establis h that an object had nded or crashed. SUPPLEMENT TO Af FORM 112 ORIGINATING AGENCY 1127th USAF Field Activities Gp Fort Belvoir, Virginia of Seymour, Texas. REPORT NO. OF 5 , PAGES Sherman Air Force Base, telephone, Sergean falling NE to SW at Sergeant, Control Tower Operator, Clinton- Oklahoma. RELIABILITY: Unknown. Contacted by stated that a bright white light was observed A.M. local. Source observed the object for 20-25 j. Archer City, Texas. Age 56, unemployed. RELIABILITY: Unknown. Contacted by telephone, Mr. stated a round, white light, larger than the moon, fell WSW of Archer City. Source observed the object through 30 of elevation. About 1/3 of the way down, a piece of the object split off and appeared to burn out, while the main object continued its fall. Object became smaller as it fell. k. MRS. housewife, Apt C, Wichita Falls, Texas. RELIABILITY: Good. At about 0830 A.M. local, 28 Sep 60, Mrs. observed from the balcony of her apartment a large quantity of n~ng matter in long streaks flowing throug h the sky f rom SW to NE at an indetermined altitude. A smalle r piece of the material appeared t o break from the larger mass, taking the form of a ball with string-like streamers. Mrs watched while the material descended and observed a quantity o the material falling in her front and back yards as well a s on the apartment roof. She managed to catch a piece of the material about 3.\z" x 2.\z" before it bit the ground. The material had a rubber-like quality upon contact with her hand, shrank to the size of a 25 cent piece. Mrs. observed the material for approximately 45 minutes. Mrs. stated s ne was unaware of the earlier sightings of the falling li when the material was observed. earch of the area 2~ miles SW of Wichita Falls was conducted f r om 4:20 to 6:40 A.~ by Patrolman (par 2c) with negative results . helicopter from Fort Sill, Oklahoma joined in the sear nding most of the day (28 Sep) in the general area covered by Patrolman and extending progTessively more SW of the city, with negative results. On 30 September, the helicopter, with investigators, searched the area in the vicinity of Mabelle and Seymour, Texas to check out the statement of the truck driver (par 2~), without locating an object. Triangulation of the location of fall was made, using sightings from Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, the point falling in the vicinity of Seymour, Texas. 4. Comments of Investigat ors: There can be little doubt that an object was observed, based simply upon the large number of witnesses. Although individual reports appear to i>e va-r:!.::tt ions upon a theme, there i3 a9surance that the time ~vas 0423-0424 A.M. local, oa$ed upon fairly precise ti~e checks by Cl inton-Sherman .~B, and by a rding of the sighting by Patrolman , upon which the time of the report was recorded in Police Headquarters as 0424 l ocal, 28 Sep 60. Further, c ertain features appear fairly consistently through most witnesse s ' statements: white light, more brilliant than the usual shooting star, falling to the SW of Wichita Falls, with no noise. All reports r eceived place the direction at sw of wicne9ses' location, except the r~po~t f r om Var non, Texa 3 (?ar 2h) which could have been in t:rro r . The concensus is the-refo-re s~. allowi:J.g for CCLdngu lation. Most witnesses believed the object had fall~n a s hort distance f rom them, yet the observers were scattered in a triangle with approximately 30 miles to a side. The report from Iowa Park (par 2d) is especially valuable because of the witnesses experience and becaus e he was the only person not preoccupied with driving, talking to s omeone else, etc. WARNING: TltiJ documttnt ~ontln information i1ctln1J th nation/ d f ne of th" Uno ted Stltte.t within th meninl o f th SUPPLEMENT TO AF FORM 112 ORIGINATING AGENCY 1127th USAF Field Activities Gp Fort Belvoir, Virginia R~PORT NO. d. Captain, USAF, Procurement Officer, Sheppard AFB, Age 47. Eight years experience as Intelligence Officer. RELIABILITY: Very Good. While walking Sou on Farm Road 368, one mile N of Highway 287 in Iowa Park, Texas, Captain observed at about 4:30 A.M. local, a large light 30 above the horizon at an azimuth of 225. He watched while the object within 3-5 seconds fell to an elevation of 10-20 and an azimuth of 240 at which point the light appeared to burn out. Source was certain the light did not go beyond the horizon. Size of the light was estimated to be equivalent to a thumbnail held at arms length. Color was that of a magnesium flare, with a yellowish tint. The intensity was sufficient to light the ground weakly. No noise was heard. Object appeared to possess a conical tail of a length approximately that of the object. e. Wichita Fall s , Texas. Age 50 years, Independent Truck Driver. RELIABILITY: Fair. While hauling a load of pipe traveling Won US Routes 82/277, 3 f a mile W of Mabelle, Texa s , between 4:15 and 4:30A.M. local, Mr. observed through the driver's open window a bright light falling to the ground. Source estimated the object fell for 10-15 seconds, hit the ground about 1/2 -3/4 mile SW of his position, burned like a glowing coal on the ground for 20 seconds before going out. During flight, object was of such brilliance to light up the fence wires along the road. No sound was heard. Source believes object fell near the road, since he was traveling at about 40 MPH and had to look progressively more behind him to see the glowing object on the ground. A companion, , viewed the object in flight but saw not on the , Age 22, Patrolman, Wichita Falls Police Department, 1~ years experience. RELIABILITY: Good. parked his patrol car in a parking lot on the SE corner of 15th and Lamar Streets, facing south and in such a manner as to e with Patrolma came al side in his car facing north eft. The object was brought attention by bserved a bright white light through his front window behind a ooe story building on the SW corner of 15th and Lamar. ~stated he did not see the object in the sky, but only observed the glow behind the building. Source stated the light was "bright as the sun," but white. The g l ow was observed for about 5 seconds and was of intensity sufficient t o read a newspaper by. Source observed the glow to fade at the end of the s i ghting period. No noise was heard. g Age 24, Patrolman, Wichita Falls Police 1~ years experience. RELIABLITY: Good. was conversing with through respective open wi ndows of their patrol cars. ~ viewed the o b ject t n the ~ky over the roof o f ...... ' car. Ob jact was dascrtbed as a hice ball, to t he SW o toNO, falling at a con3tant rate and anglad ( 7 ) to the West i n its fall, about the size of two finger tips hela at arms length, without tail or smoke. Source first observed the object at 60 elevation, watched until it fell behind the building across the street after 6- 8 seconds. was observed around the building , lasting another 6- 8 seconds. Source a t f irst thought his car trembled when the object came down, but at the time of intr:!rvie~.,, he 'tJRS uncertain about this po i.nt. h . rnon, Texas, operator o ru~niture store. RELiABILITY: Unknown. Contacted by phone, Mr. tated that the object fell perpendicularly due South of Vernon, Texas as viewed it through a window of his home. Object was the color of the moon, much larger than a star and fell behind some trees after 3 seconds of observation. Source did not see the ground lit up. Source believes the object fell in the area LifJCkASS IF//). eu.s s ol'oCATIOH (SECURITY INFORM .A TI01V when filld In) SUPP!.EMENT TO AF FORM 112 ORIGINATING AGENCY 1127th USAF Field Activities Gp Fort Belvoir, Virginia REPORT NO. T he was walking and was able to devote full attention to the s i ghting , viewing it in r elatively open country, lends support to the hypothesis that the object did not land, but burned up in the atmosphere, as he reported. Further, the absence of noise, reported by all observed, suggests that distance to impact, if in fact an impact occurred, was considerably in excess of estimates. The customary tendency of some observer s to overestimate duration of sightings was also noted. 5 . Evaluation: a. It is the preparing officer's opinion that, based upon analysis of the witnesses' reports , the object seen was probably a meteorite of unusual brilliance which probably burned up completely io the atmosphere, but possibly could have landed considerably to the SW of Wichita Falls, perhaps in the vicinity of the Texas/New Mexico border. b. The ~erial recove red by the Wichita Falls housewife and attached to this report can only be given a tentative evaluation: Possibly floating spider web material. It is felt that the material recovered bears no connection to the meteorite sighted earlier in the morning. GREGORY XANDER Captain, USAF u. s. J.:at w~ZihinW.,on 2S~ D. c. 1. .\ttached is ~ copy of the Air Force report of lnva~t.igati.Jn of an ur.idantitlod fl;rir~ object sighting which occurred i n the vicini~ of h~hita Falla, To~ on 23 Septecb~r 1760. Accom::>a.J"\Tins the report is a 3tpla ot r:ta te:-itU. which was recovered !rOll +:.he area. 2 . ':h.la report is baing ton~arded to your agency tar a!lal.ysis in accordance with a t81aphone request ll'ade ~/ on 26 October 1960. ). I t is r~quested that ATIC be proTid.ed with a copy of the :-esults ot your analysis and that the sample be returnad unless a.-uU;rsis requiros its dertruction. 4. Ae 1aqueet.ed by f.'.UC Vill noti.t;r your a gency of all future aightings which glvo tion of being !'ltataoritic, and tele- phone contact. vi.ll be aoc<apllshed in thoae inetancae where the objeet t a reported to have struck the er~Wld. P. rP G. &VAliS~// /~c) Deput.7 !or Science and Components COO.'ID I~lA 'i'I ON: 1~ 0ct. 6o, w/l Atch Something was reported as having hit the g r ound <A-Shep?ard A'3. Was seen all over that area. Rcportc coming to ATIC with grea~ frequency. the ll27th Group from Ft. Belvois hgs been sent to scene. First report to ATIC said it was seen in the early morning of 28 September and that a search would be atarted by Sheppard at daybreak. In addition to personnel at Sheppard investigating, press is on scene, also radio and TV. Nothing on the space trac6. ATIC bas no positive information, but d oes not believe it t o be a moon dust item (this is their vernacular f or the refuse of any earth launched satellite, what have yot.~). People at o:>hepp;3rd clai::~ thoy kn0'.-1 th3t it fell in a n~arby area. ATIC believes thut io meteoric. Msjor Cooper moy be contacted 0 RJWFSA 49A THE HORIZON TO WEST, APPEARED TO HIT T}i GROUND, BRIGHT FLAP.2 OF LIGHT AND MADE THE GROUND TREMdL. <6> ONE MINUTE. C. ~ANNER OF OBSERVATION: C1l GROUND VISUAL. <2> NONE. C3l N/A. D. TIME AND DATE OF SIGHTING: C1> 28/10~22 C2> NIGHT. E. LOCATION 0 7 OBSERVERS: EAST AND WEST SIDE WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS; VERNI N, TEXAS; ARCHER CITY, TEXAS; PAMPA, TEXAS; LAWTON, OKLAHOMA; CLINTON- HERMAN AF a, OKLAHOt1A. F. IDENTIFYING INFORt1ATION ON Oi3SERVERS: <1> FOUR WICHITA fALLS POLICE OFFICERS, RELIABILITY: GOOD. MR. FALLS , TEXAS. RELIABILITY: GOOD. MR. RELIABILITY: GOOD. C2> A2C 7 MANCHESTER ROAD, WICHITA VERNON, TEXAS. 3 763RD SCHOOL SQUADRON SHEPPARD AFB, TEXAS, USAF. RELIABILITY: UNKNOWN. TOWER OPERATORS, CLINTON -SHERI-1AN AF 8 OKLAHOMA. RELIABILITY: GOOD. G. WEATHER AND WINDS-ALOFT CONDITIONS : Cll CLEAR. C2l SURFACE 3 KNOTS, $~0~-5 KNOTS, -18 KNOTS, 69000- 6 KNOTS. (J) CEILING UNLIMITED. (4) 15 MILES PLUS. <5 > NONE. ( 6 ) NONE. ( 7) 63 DEGREES F. H. NONE. I. NONE. J . NONE. K. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS INDICATES OBJECT SIGHTED TO a EITHER A METEORITE OR METEOR, WITH A POSSI BILITY OF I T BEING A REENTERING SATELLITE. SIGIITINGS WERE i1ADE OVER A VAST AREA OF PAGE THREE RJ~FSA 49A TEA AS AND CK~.inJI1A. L . 23/2319~ SEP RJ~FSA . JNCZCSQa057ZCWYB693 PP RJEDSQ ..------ DE: R Jt~F SA 49 A FM SHEPPARD AF~ TEX TO RJWFAL/ADC ENT AFB COLO RJWFNK/ 33AIRDIV OKLA CITY AF STN OKLA RJEDSQ/AIR TECH INTEL CEN wPAFd OHIO-- RJEZHQ/HQ USAF WASH DC RJEZHQ/SEC AF WASH DC UNCLAS FRot1 AG 26841. UFO. FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS SUoMITTED ~DER PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH 15, AFR 202- 2 : A. DESCRIPTION OF OBJECT: <1> ROUND. C2> GRAPEFRUIT/BASKET BALL. C3> BLUISH, aLUE WHITE, TURNING ORANGE. (4) ONE. <5 > N/ A. (6) NONZJM KUL NONE. (8) NONE. (9) ALL OBSERVERS STATED THAT THE 03JECT GAVE OFF A BRIGHT LIGHT. a . DESCRIPTION OF COURSE OF OBJECT: Cl) A 3RILLIANT LIGHT. C2> 03SERVERS STATED FIRST SEEN APPROXIMATELY 6~ DEGREES ABOVE HORIZON TO THE WEST. (j) ZERO DEGREES TO THE WEST. (4) APPEARED TO GO INTO THE GROUND TRAVELING :::c\ST TO .IZ31. <5> THE OdJZC1 DISA??ZARZD I~ST,l\JIAN:::OUSL'f .:>::::Lo~ ZCZCS~P~04CZCS~B97~ZCWYA898 DE RJWSA l~A F~ DET 5 8 WEA GP SHEPPARD AFB TEX TO RJtz~Q/HQ USAf CINIBI RJEDS~/ATIC AFCIN 4A taJRIGHT PATTERSO~ RJEXDH/ SPACE TRACK HANSCOM FLD MASS INFO RJ~DAA/HQ AWS AWSSS SCOTT AFB ILL