What did the declassified documents reveal?

PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. JULY THIRD, NINETEEN FIFTY‑FOUR. This record is notable because it contains a contemporaneous questionnaire and observation report concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, and illustrates the systematic data‑collection methods employed by the Air Force during the early Cold War period. The document was released to the public through The Black Vault, a repository of declassified government records. The entry appears on archive dot org under the identifier 1954‑07‑8714516‑FairchildAFB‑Washington, with the full text available at https://archive.org/download/1954-07-8714516-FairchildAFB-Washington/1954-07-8714516-FairchildAFB-Washingtondjvu.txt. No specific Freedom of Information Act case number is listed; the declassification authority is noted as the United States Air Force Historical Division, and the release date is recorded as the date of upload to the archive. The document begins with a header and brief summary: “PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD. DATE: JULY THREE, NINETEEN FIFTY‑FOUR. DATE‑TIME GROUP LOCAL – GMT: 03/21 4QZ. LOCATION: FAIRCHILD AFB, WASHINGTON. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION: ONE HOUR. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING: ...” The observation report continues: “ON DUTY IN CONTROL TOWER AT ONE SIX ONE FIVE HOURS PACIFIC. ADVISED OF OBJECT AT ONE ZERO ZERO HOURS. BEGAN TO TAKE PICTURES AT NINETEEN ZERO ZERO HOURS. OBJECT APPEARED ALMOST EVERY TEN MINUTES. AT FIRST THE OBJECT MOVED FROM NORTH TO SOUTH WHILE SURFACE WINDS WERE FROM THE SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT FIVE MILES PER HOUR. GIEGER TOWER WAS ASKED CONCERNING THE OBJECT AND ADVISED THEY HAD SEEN IT ALL DAY AFTERNOON. SPOKANE RADIO ADVISED THEIR FIRST REPORT WAS BY A CIVILIAN PILOT AT ONE FOUR C0 HUNDRED AND CLOJCT WAS OVER CUBB. GIEGER TOWER HAD TWO JET FIGHTERS REPORT CONTACT WITH THE OBJECT, FIRST JET AT FOURTY‑THREE THOUSAND FEET, SECOND JET A F‑36D AT HIGHER ALTITUDE. BOTH AIRCRAFT ADVISED THE OBJECT TO BE AT EAST SIXTY THOUSAND FEET AND APPEARED LIKE AN ENORMOUS BALLOON. GIEGER WEATHER STATION REPORTED THE FIRST FAVORABLE WIND MOVING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OBJECT TO BE AT SIXTY THOUSAND FEET. OBJECT WAS OBSERVED THROUGH SEVEN BY FIFTY BINOCULARS AND APPEARED IN THE SHAPE OF A TEARDROP, TRANSLUCENT, AS IF ONE COULD SEE THROUGH IT, AND APPEARED TO HAVE AN OBJECT ATTACHED SIMILAR TO A WEATHER BALLOON. SKY CONDITIONS WERE VERY CLEAR WITH NO CLOUDS. VISIBILITY WAS UNLIMITED. SEVERAL OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE TAKEN WITH

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Project One Zero Zero Seventy‑three Record Card.

◆ BLUF — The short version

PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. JULY THIRD, NINETEEN FIFTY‑FOUR. This record is notable because it contains a contemporaneous questionnaire and observation report concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, and illustrates the systematic data‑collection methods employed by the Air Force during the early Cold War period.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Project One Zero Zero Seventy‑three Record Card. about?: PROJECT ONE ZERO ZERO SEVENTY‑THREE RECORD CARD. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. JULY THIRD, NINETEEN FIFTY‑FOUR. This record is notable because it contains a contemporaneous questionnaire and observation report concerning an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, and illustrates the systematic data‑collection methods employed by the Air Force during the early Cold War period.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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