Kenneth Arnold Sighting
Civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reported observing nine bright crescent-shaped objects flying near Mount Rainier in Washington state at unusually high speed. His description gave rise to the term 'flying saucer.'
Kenneth Arnold and Ray Palmer, "The Coming of the Saucers", 1952. Arnold's own account of the June 24, 1947 sighting, published five years later. The nearest thing to a signed first-person source we have on the sighting itself. Not the AAF report; that document remains in NARA's Project Blue Book successor holdings and has not been individually mirrored here.
Chicago Sun, June 26, 1947. Front-page coverage of Arnold's June 24 sighting, the day after Bill Bequette's East Oregonian wire story that first used the phrase "flying saucers".
Chicago Sun, June 26, 1947 (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Tulsa Daily World, July 12, 1947. Front-page coverage of the summer 1947 flying-saucer wave, roughly two weeks into what Arnold's sighting had catalyzed.
Tulsa Daily World, July 12, 1947 (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
Provenance metadataFields marked “not disclosed” are transparent gaps in the release, not omissions on our end.
- Coordinates
- Not disclosed in this release
- Altitude
- Not disclosed in this release
- Sensor detail
- Not disclosed in this release
- Encounter duration
- Not disclosed in this release
- Witness count
- Not disclosed in this release
- Operational context
- Not disclosed in this release
- Weather / visibility
- Not disclosed in this release
- Chain of custody
- Not disclosed in this release
- Classification
- Not disclosed in this release
Official description
Arnold filed a formal report with the United States Army Air Forces. He estimated the objects' speed at approximately 1,200 mph and described their motion as resembling 'a saucer if you skip it across water.' Reporters subsequently shortened this to 'flying saucers.'
Editor's context
Considered the inflection point that began the modern UFO era in popular culture. The case itself was investigated under the predecessor of Project Blue Book and remained inconclusive. Candidate explanations range from a flock of pelicans (proposed by James Easton) to mirages or unconventional aircraft.
In the margins
Transcribed redactions, stamps, and handwritten markings, the paratext of the file. Often the most human part of a declassified document, and worth reading on its own.
- Stampp. AAF report coverU.S. ARMY AIR FORCES, TECHNICAL INTELLIGENCE DIVISION, WRIGHT FIELD
- AnnotationWitness: Kenneth Arnold, civilian businessman and pilot, flying a Call-Air A-2 from Chehalis, Washington toward Yakima.
- AnnotationArnold's signed statement to the AAF, July 12, 1947: 'They flew very erratic, like a saucer if you skip it across the water.'
- AnnotationThe phrase 'flying saucer' originated in Bill Bequette's June 25 East Oregonian wire-service report compressing Arnold's 'saucer if you skip it' description into the headline term.
- AnnotationAstronomer Donald Menzel later proposed mountain-wave clouds as a candidate explanation. James Easton in 1996 proposed pelicans flying in formation. Neither explanation has been broadly accepted by Arnold-case researchers but neither has been definitively ruled out either.
Cite the primary source
Citations center the originating government agency and link to the official record. This archive is listed as the access point, not the author.
U.S. Government. "Kenneth Arnold Sighting." Released via PURSUE program, 1947-06-25. https://www.archives.gov/research/military/air-force/ufos. Accessed 2026-08-12 via Social Media for Aliens archive, https://socialmediaforaliens.com/files/kenneth-arnold-1947.
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