From The Vintage News
The year 1947 is often marked as the beginning of our fascination with flying saucers and unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings. That is mostly because of two specific events, one seen from the air and the other on the ground.On June 24th of that year, Kenneth Arnold was flying his small plane across Washington State. It was a bright, clear day as Arnold described it. He was on his way to an air show in Oregon, but decided to do some exploring around Mount Rainier. The mountain was near a recent military plane disappearance, presumed crashed. A reward was being offered to anyone able to find the site of the crash.
In the cockpit, Arnold saw a DC-4 aircraft flying about 15 miles away. Then he noticed something else. According to Arnold, a bright flash reflected light into his airplane. Looking around for the source of the reflection, Arnold spotted a group of nine objects flying close to Mount Rainier. They were all flying in the same formation, similar to a flock of geese, as Arnold described it.
Arnold also described the objects as large in size, no tail, and traveling very fast at speeds estimated up to 1,700 mph. They were also round in shape, something Arnold had never seen before as an experienced pilot. Flying perilously close to the mountain range, they were “saucer-like disks,” he said.
At first, he guessed that what he might be seeing were advanced military aircraft being tested. However, Arnold commented at the time, “The more I observed these objects, the more upset I became, as I am accustomed and familiar with most all objects flying whether I am close to the ground or at higher altitudes.”
After a few minutes of observation, the objects disappeared from Arnold’s view. After landing his plane, Arnold recounted what he saw, and the news spread quickly. The era of the alien flying saucer was born.
But what did Arnold actually see that clear day? A brief U.S. air force investigation concluded that the pilot had seen some sort of mirage, perhaps involving unusual looking clouds. Some people just thought Arnold was crazy. Almost immediately after the incident, people started reporting their own “saucer” sightings.
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