The Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting
A pilot flying near Mount Rainier reported a chain of nine shiny objects moving at extraordinary speed, a sighting that popularised the term 'flying saucer'.
- Region
- Washington
- Country
- USA
- Category
- UFO
- Date
- 24 June 1947
- Continent
- North America
The report
On 24 June 1947, shortly before 3 p.m., the private pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying from Chehalis towards Yakima, Washington, when he reported seeing nine bright, flat objects in a long chain, flashing in the sunlight as they weaved past Mount Rainier. He estimated their speed at well over 1,000 miles per hour. Press coverage of the account helped popularise the phrase 'flying saucer'. The Army Air Force concluded the objects were due to a mirage, while later commentators suggested meteors, jets or pelicans; the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum notes that what Arnold saw remains unexplained.
Sources and further reading
Location
46.7348, -122.1823