Kenneth Arnold's Nine Objects
Private pilot and businessman Kenneth Arnold was flying his small plane near Mount Rainier when he saw nine bright objects flying in a chain at what he calculated was more than 1,200 miles per hour. He told reporters they moved the way a saucer would if you skipped it across water. Headline writers turned that into 'flying saucers,' and within weeks hundreds of similar reports came in from across the country.
The ledger
What the record shows, what people say, and the best explanation available so far.
What's documented
- Arnold gave detailed statements to the press and the Army Air Forces.
- The case is in the Project Blue Book files.
What's claimed
- Nine alien craft in formation.
Best explanation so far
Blue Book eventually listed it as a mirage. Others have proposed a flock of pelicans, meteor fragments or distant aircraft. Arnold's speed estimate depends on a distance he could not measure.
Check the sources
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