---------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================ PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD -- TRANSCRIPTION File: 1967-04-7456038-Westmont-Illinois.pdf Transcribed by Claude Sonnet 4.6 for GlitchyMatrix.com/bluebook/ ================================================================ ** DB CLASSIFICATION ALERT ** The database classifies this case as UNRELIABLE. The record card, observer questionnaire, wind data check, and Air Force reply letter all support a conclusion of BALLOON (Hot Air). No UNRELIABLE designation appears anywhere in the file. This case appears to be a DB index misclassification, parallel to the known Portland Mills and Sidney Ohio import errors. See POST-FILE FLAGS. FIELD 1 -- DATE: 22 April 1967 FIELD 2 -- LOCATION: Westmont, Illinois FIELD 3 -- DATE-TIME GROUP: 22 Apr 67 / 23/0430Z (April 22 at approx. 10:30 PM local CST) FIELD 4 -- TYPE OF OBSERVATION: Ground-Visual [X] Ground-Radar [ ] Air-Visual [ ] Air-Intercept Radar [ ] FIELD 5 -- PHOTOS: No FIELD 6 -- SOURCE: Civilian FIELD 7 -- LENGTH OF OBS: 10 minutes FIELD 8 -- NUMBER OF OBJECTS: 1 FIELD 9 -- COURSE: Eastward FIELD 10 -- CONCLUSION: BALLOON (Hot Air) A check of surface winds revealed they were from approximately 225-245 degrees. The description is consistent with that of a hot air balloon. FIELD 11 -- BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS: Observers watch a reddish orange fuzzy object travel toward the east. Object slowly faded from view. No sound was noted at any time during the sighting. Object was compared to a dim fire traveling through the sky. A check of surface winds revealed they were from approximately 225-245 degrees. The description is consistent with that of a hot air balloon. FIELD 12 -- CONCLUSIONS: NOTE: Form used is FTD SEP 63 0-329 (TDE), which does not use the Field 12 checkbox format. Conclusion is carried in Field 10 as text. Official conclusion: BALLOON (Hot Air). Form: FTD SEP 63 0-329 (TDE) ================================================================ SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS ================================================================ FTD OCT 62 164 QUESTIONNAIRE (U.S. Air Force Technical Information), completed April 25, 1967: Q1-2: April 22, 1967; 10:30 PM. Q3: Central Standard Time. Q4: [REDACTED], Westmont, Illinois. Q5: Duration 10 minutes. Estimated by watch. Not very sure (c). Object in sight continuously. Q6: Night. Sky: Bright. Q8.1: Stars: Many. Q8.2: Moon: Bright moonlight. Q9: Object appeared as a light. Q10-11: About the same brightness as the brightest stars. Brightness comparison: "Comparable to a dim fire." Q12: Edges: Fuzzy or blurred. Q13: Object stood still: Yes. Sped up: Yes (as it faded). No smoke, no breakup. Changed brightness. Q14: "Yes, it slowly faded. It looked as though it sped up while gaining altitude." Q15: Did not move behind anything. Q16: Moved in front of something: Yes. "We could see it in front of the stars and the moon." Q17: Sound: "Did not hear any sound." Color: "It was redish-orange." Q18: Angular size: "About 3/4's of the object would be covered [by a match head]." Q19 (SKETCH): Oval/circular shape labeled "Looked fuzzy to the eye." Direction arrow pointing East. Q20: Cannot estimate speed. Q21: Cannot estimate distance. Q22: In a car. Q23: Residential section of a city. Q24: Moving in automobile, direction East, 30-40 mph. Stopped while watching. Q25: No optical aids. Q26: "A redish-orange ball of yarn." Q27: Object first seen approximately 30 degrees elevation, last seen approximately 60 degrees. Q28: Motion path moves from south toward east, labeled "Faded out" at endpoint. Q29: Only one object. Q31: Was anyone else with you: Yes. They saw the object too. Q31.2: Companion names/addresses: [REDACTED], Westmont, Ill. Q32: Name [REDACTED]. Address: [REDACTED], Hinsdale, Illinois (Zip 20521). Phone [REDACTED]. Age: 17. Sex: Male. Additional background: [blank]. Q33: Reported April 22, 1967 to [REDACTED], Hinsdale, Illinois. Q34: Questionnaire completed April 25, 1967. Q35: Additional narrative: [blank]. REPLY LETTER FROM AIR FORCE (SAF-OICC, 5 June 1967): Reference: SAF-OICC/cassel/bev/79083/5Jun67. Notes at top: "Clarence [?] from Hinsdale" and "Attach with Case." Addressed to: Mr. [REDACTED], Hinsdale, Illinois 20521. Signed by: BARNETT B. YOUNG, Lt Colonel, USAF, Civil Branch, Community Relations Division, Office of Information. Content: "Although a positive identification has not been made, investigation revealed that you probably observed a hot air balloon. The description you submitted is consistent with such an evaluation. Since the first of the year, hot air balloons have accounted for twenty-seven sightings reported to the Air Force. At the time of your sighting, the wind was from approximately 220 degrees, which would have caused the object to drift toward the northeast. Hot air balloons have been constructed from plastic dry cleaning bags with a platform of straws or such to support the heat source. Quite often, candles have been used as the heat source. This would account for the dim firey look." Distribution: Copies to SAF-OIC (multiple). ================================================================ SEARCH INDEX TERMS ================================================================ Westmont Illinois DuPage-County Hinsdale 1967 April civilian balloon hot-air-balloon candle plastic-bag reddish-orange fuzzy dim-fire eastward 10-minutes multiple-witnesses 17-year-old automobile wind-225-degrees 27-sightings Barnett-Young SAF-OICC community-relations DB-misclassification BALLOON classification-error FTD-0329-TDE ================================================================ CASE ANALYSIS -- Claude Sonnet 4.6 ================================================================ THE OFFICIAL CONCLUSION ----------------------- BALLOON (Hot Air). The investigation was substantive: surface wind data confirmed winds from approximately 220-225 degrees, consistent with the object's observed eastward drift. The Air Force explicitly identified the likely object as a homemade hot air balloon constructed from plastic dry-cleaning bags with a candle heat source, explaining both the reddish-orange appearance and the fuzzy "dim fire" quality. A formal reply letter was sent to the observer. The case was investigated, evaluated, and closed with a documented explanation. WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS ----------------------- The sighting is consistent with the balloon evaluation on every available dimension. The object was reddish- orange, fuzzy-edged, silent, and moved eastward on a night when surface winds blew from the southwest at approximately 220-225 degrees -- exactly the direction needed to push an object toward the east. The object gained altitude as it faded, consistent with a buoyant object rising while drifting. The observer's own comparison -- "a redish-orange ball of yarn" -- and the brightness rating (comparable to a dim fire) align well with a candle-lit plastic bag seen at distance on a clear, moonlit night. Two observers were present, both in a car that they stopped to watch the object. The Air Force noted that homemade hot air balloons of this type had already accounted for 27 sightings in 1967 alone by the time this case was evaluated. This was an identified, recurring phenomenon in the system. POINTS OF INTEREST / WHAT GIVES ME PAUSE ----------------------------------------- Nothing in the sighting or the evaluation gives pause. The conclusion is sound, the wind data supports it, the observer description matches, and the reply letter is informative rather than dismissive. What does give pause is the database classification. The DB lists this case as UNRELIABLE. There is no basis for that classification anywhere in the file. No investigator noted the observer as unreliable. No character assessment was made. No fraud or inconsistency was found. The record card is explicit: BALLOON (Hot Air). The observer was 17 but no age- based reliability discount appears in the file, and a companion was present who corroborated the account. This appears to be a DB import error, consistent with the known Portland Mills and Sidney Ohio misclassifi- cations. In those cases, cases with one conclusion on the record card were imported under a different evaluation from the annual index. Possible mechanisms include an index-to-DB mapping error, a column misalignment on import, or an annual index itself containing an erroneous entry for this case number. BOTTOM LINE ----------- This case should not be in the UNRELIABLE corpus. The sighting was of a homemade hot air balloon, the evaluation is well-supported, and the conclusion is documented on the record card and in the reply letter. The UNRELIABLE classification is a DB artifact. The correct classification is BALLOON (Hot Air). The one productive outcome of this misclassification is that it demonstrates the index collapse problem described in prior capstone analysis: when annual index codes are imported without cross-referencing the actual record card, cases can land in the wrong category entirely. A pre-deployment audit comparing DB evaluation fields against the actual record card conclusions would have caught this. POST-FILE FLAGS: - Observer name, companion name, address, and phone are redacted throughout, consistent with standard practice. Observer age (17) and sex (Male) present. - Lt. Col. Barnett B. Young (Civil Branch, Community Relations Division, Office of Information) named in official capacity as signatory of reply letter. Standard institutional disclosure. - ** DB MISCLASSIFICATION: Database classification UNRELIABLE does not match the record card conclusion of BALLOON (Hot Air). This case should be moved to the BALLOON category in the database. Recommend correction alongside Portland Mills and Sidney Ohio corrections already queued. - Companion observer's names are partially visible as "[REDACTED], Westmont, Ill." -- full name redacted. ================================================================ https://glitchymatrix.com/bluebook/ GlitchyMatrix Project Blue Book Archive All 10,808 declassified USAF UFO case files, 1945-1969 ================================================================ ----------------------------------------------------------------