Fairbanks, AlaskaDecember 1956

Insufficient Data

Summary

On December 29, 1956, three observers near Fairbanks, Alaska, reported a single object. The witnesses included a control tower operator and two airline pilots. The case was logged under Project 10073, the Air Force's official record for unidentified flying object reports. The object was circular, about the size of a pea, and colored red, bluish white, and green with a tail.

The object moved in an arc to the right and downward, dropping from about 20 degrees elevation to about 10 degrees before it went behind a hill or hit the ground. It lasted two to five seconds. No sound was heard, and no jets were known to be in the area. The sky had scattered clouds and the air was calm.

The tower operator, who watched it longest, was sure it was a flare, since she had seen similar sightings in the same area before. Local police confirmed that residents in the ridge west of the airport sometimes fire flares. The Air Force concluded the object was a flare fired by persons unknown.

Reported location

Fairbanks, Alaska

Date of incident

December 1956

State / country

AK / US

Page count

5 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 27

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 5

View transcribed text

; PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD
AR SE EE ERT To A TA UT BE a ry
1. DATE 2. LOCATION 12. CONCLUSIONS
3 Vas Balloon

29 December 1956 | Fairbanks. Alaska .._____|¢© Rrababty baticon
3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION RQ roselvly Balioon |

6 Ga | IEPs SoMa ac EE LEA I BB Bround- Visual 0) Ground- Radar 8 Leal |

Wi GMT _.30/06567 {tiny __BAirVi sual 0 Air-Intercept Radar DO Possibly Aircraft
5.- PHOTOS 6. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomical
Q Yes Tower Operator O Probably Astronomical
EEA 4 0 Possibly Astronomical
Ee aN a ho lvCavi lian two pidetes
7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 8. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE 0X Othesr___Flaxre |
i | arc to ri ght d URak cient Dota for Evaluation
2-5 seconds y ATV) o |= ANNA and downward

10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS

On2 object, circular, size of pea, This sighting was determined

Color red, bluish-white, green w/ to be a flare fired by persons

tail, unknown; by the territorial °

police and by others,

ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) ; ;

/ 5

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28968720