Project Blue Book Case #10888. On August 23, 1966, an unidentified object was observed over Columbus, Ohio — the second Blue Book unknown from Ohio's capital (following Case #980 from October 1951) and another sighting in the shadow of Wright-Patterson AFB, where Blue Book was headquartered just 70 miles to the southwest.
By August 1966, Blue Book was under intense pressure from all sides. The spring wave had generated unprecedented public and Congressional interest, the Condon Committee was being established at the University of Colorado, and the "swamp gas" debacle had eroded public confidence in the program's investigative rigor. Cases from Ohio — Blue Book's home state — carried additional scrutiny.
Columbus's contribution of a second unknown reinforced the uncomfortable reality that the phenomenon was occurring in the program's own geographic backyard. The city's busy airspace, served by Port Columbus International Airport and nearby Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, was well-monitored.
The 1966 wave continued through the summer, and the Columbus sighting was part of the sustained elevated activity that characterized the entire year. The object's characteristics could not be matched to any conventional aircraft or phenomenon.
The case was classified "Unknown."