UFO seen at Aviano Air Base, classified as a bolide

Summary

A military observer at Aviano Air Base in Italy reported a luminous object that split into several parts during the night of March 3, 1961. The witness described it as a round object the size of a silver dollar, which broke into five or six smaller fragments. Each piece left a faint white trail that intermittently disappeared. The event lasted between 10 and 15 seconds, and the fragments appeared to burn up immediately.

Investigators concluded that the event was likely a bolide, a type of bright meteor that fragments before disintegrating in the atmosphere. Although initially considered an unidentified object, the description and trajectory matched typical meteor characteristics. The report was temporarily classified but later declassified, and no evidence of a non-natural origin was found.