What did the declassified documents reveal?

COLD OPEN. This is a declassified record titled “1958‑10‑7200980‑Grand Rapids‑Michigan,” issued by the United States Air Force Technical Intelligence Center on the seventeenth of October, nineteen‑fifty‑eight. The document records an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is notable for its detailed operational description and the inclusion of an astronomer’s assessment. PROVENANCE. The file was made publicly available through The Black Vault archive, entry number 1958‑10‑7200980‑Grand Rapids‑Michigan, accessible at documents2.theblackvault.com. The material was released under the Freedom of Information Act, reference number not listed, with the declassification authority identified as the United States Air Force. The release date is not specified in the archive entry. THE DOCUMENT. Date: seventeen October nineteen‑fifty‑eight. Time: local Greenwich Mean Time one four two five Zulu. Project: one zero zero seven three. Record Card. Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan. Type of observation: photographs. Length of observation: twenty‑five seconds. Brief summary of sighting: “Twenty‑four round, object size of dime, very high altitude. Two twelve each. Round‑V four luminous. Air visual, ground radar, alintarcapt radar.” Number of objects: nine. Course: twenty‑four amber colored, traveling at flights of south‑east. Comments: “U. Conclusions: Possibly balloon, possibly aircraft, possibly astronomical. Probable meteoric shower which occurs in October.” Form: nine nine, MV three S. [four lines redacted under exemption B1]. Unclassified. Cop ten‑zero‑eighty. Follow‑up is kept of activity as reported to this unit. Dime … none. Astronomer K‑K‑O has stipulated mass very high. Flying south‑east three over the horizon Grand Rapids, Michigan. C2CSCC twenty‑five, fifty‑two CBMA one seventy‑five. RJEDSO de RJEFBW AG R twenty‑nine. COMDR seventy‑eight, first air combat wing to command. Unclassified. Cop A five FD. Return your message of twenty‑three October five‑s. PD accompanying follow‑up information on UFO sighting over Grand Rapids on twenty‑three October. Cop ten‑zero‑eighty dated twenty October five‑s. One elevation of objects when first sighted: “CMN very high, CMN twenty‑one thousand meters directly overhead.” Last observed as four. Two more have been an amateur astronomer for twenty‑three years. Three only reported aircraft in this area would be Yule‑tide fifty‑five or Yule‑tide six (B‑A‑7‑S out of Lincoln AFB). Following is a flight plan of each of the two aircraft: Yule‑tide fifty‑five departed Lincoln AFB VOR at three zero one zero two to Goshawk, direct to traverse city, Michigan to Battle Creek, Illinois, to north‑west south of Page. Yule‑tide fifty‑two departed Lincoln AFB VOR direct to Columbus, Ohio to Lansing, Michigan to Madison, Wisconsin to Lincoln. Security classification: unclassified. Reference your telegram message cop ten‑zero‑eighty dated twenty October nineteen‑fifty‑eight, reporting a UFO sighting

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.

Declassified Case File

◆ BLUF — The short version

COLD OPEN. This is a declassified record titled “1958‑10‑7200980‑Grand Rapids‑Michigan,” issued by the United States Air Force Technical Intelligence Center on the seventeenth of October, nineteen‑fifty‑eight. The document records an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is notable for its detailed operational description and the inclusion of an astronomer’s assessment.

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 Declassified Case File about?: COLD OPEN. This is a declassified record titled “1958‑10‑7200980‑Grand Rapids‑Michigan,” issued by the United States Air Force Technical Intelligence Center on the seventeenth of October, nineteen‑fifty‑eight. The document records an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported over Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is notable for its detailed operational description and the inclusion of an astronomer’s assessment.
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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