September 1966: the Federal Building sighting and the Blue Book file

3 and 8 September 1966

The report: One Fort Wayne case survives as a complete Project Blue Book file, and it is the most fully documented case in this record. At 1450 Zulu (10:50 a.m. local) on 8 September 1966, two deputy clerks of the U.S. District Court, watching from the second floor of the Federal Building in Fort Wayne, observed a single circular object — "overall shape resembled two soup bowls, the upper bowl inverted and the rim of the bowls mated" — slightly larger than a grapefruit at arm's length, silvery white, very bright and of constant intensity. The Air Force staff message (AF IN 14477, 10 September 1966, filed from the 305th Bombardment Wing, Bunker Hill Air Force Base, under Air Force Regulation 200-2) records the course: first seen at 40 degrees elevation in the northeast quadrant, traveling northeast to southwest in a descending attitude; the object turned due west, held that heading momentarily, altered course to the northeast, ascending, and faded from view as range increased. The observation lasted 45 seconds. The weather was clear with excellent visibility and bright sunlight. The reporting officer's comments state that the observers' description of the sighting was considered valid, but that neither observer was qualified or technically knowledgeable in observation reporting, and neither could estimate altitude, speed, rate of descent or range.

The conclusion: This section's preliminary analysis is quoted here as it stands: it "does not indicate any cause of the sighting; however, an aircraft beyond the range of hearing, reflecting the bright sunlight, operating under instrument flight conditions and performing a radio range problem could account for the flight path and apparent shape." The Project 10073 record card carries the case's conclusion as "Aircraft (possible)." The same file preserves the routine machinery around such reports: Major Hector Quintanilla Jr., chief of Project Blue Book, wrote on 16 December 1966 to the Fort Wayne observers of both 8 September and a second, separate observation of 3 September 1966, stating in each letter that the information received was not sufficient for evaluation and asking the observer to complete and return an FTD Form 164 questionnaire. The 3 September case rests in the file at that letter; no description of what was seen on 3 September survives in the documents reached. The file also notes, as a matter of local routine, that an Indiana Air National Guard unit was based at Baer Field, Fort Wayne, "thus the common ground-to-air sightings of aircraft, with related sounds, are normal for the Fort Wayne area."

The retelling problem: This case also circulates in damaged form. The Fort Wayne newspaper glance of 1986 lists it as "Sept. 8, 1956: A Fort Wayne resident reported seeing a 'circular object slightly larger than a grapefruit' overhead for 45 minutes, described as 'silvery white and was very bright'" — this section's own words for the object, with the year moved a decade and 45 seconds stretched to 45 minutes. Dennett's 2024 compilation gives the same description under September 1955, again with 45 minutes. The Blue Book file — a dated staff message, a record card and the project chief's dated letters — fixes the case at 8 September 1966 and 45 seconds, and this section follows the file.

Sources:

1. Project Blue Book case file, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 8 September 1966 — Project 10073 record card (conclusion: "Aircraft (possible)"); Air Force staff message AF IN 14477 (10 September 1966); letters of Maj. Hector Quintanilla Jr., 16 December 1966, re the observations of 8 September and 3 September 1966 (file via the UAP archives' copy of the Blue Book microfilm).
2. "Close Encounters: A Glance at What's Been Spotted in the Sky Around Fort Wayne," reprinted in UFO Newsclipping Service, no. 198 (January 1986) — the case misdated to 1956 with the duration as 45 minutes; the conflict is stated in the entry.
3. Preston Dennett, "UFOs in Your Hometown," episode four (2024) — the case misdated to 1955; the conflict is stated in the entry.