KENNETH ARNOLD AND THE SIGHTING THAT STARTED IT ALL

On June 24, 1947, at 2 P.M., Kenneth Arnold took off from the Chehalis, Washington, airport in his personal plane and headed for Yakima, Washington. Arnold's trip had been delayed for an hour by a search for a large Marine Corps transport aircraft that supposedly went down near or around the southwest side of Mount Rainier. After takeoff Arnold flew directly toward Mount Rainier at an altitude of approximately 9,500 feet, which is the approximate elevation of the high plateau from which Mount Rainier rises. He made one westward sweep of this high plateau, searching ridges for the Marine ship, and flew to the west near the ridge side of the canyon, where Ashford is located. Unable to see anything that looked like the lost plane, Arnold turned above the town of Mineral, started again toward Mount Rainier, and climbed to an altitude of 9,200 feet.

Arnold subsequently reported that the air was so smooth that it was a real pleasure flying, and, as most pilots do when the air is smooth and they are at a high altitude, he trimmed out the aircraft and simply sat in his plane, observing the sky and terrain. The sky was as clear as crystal.

Arnold reported that there was a DC-4 to his left and rear at approximately 14,000 feet. He hadn't flown more than two or three minutes of his course when a bright flash reflected on his airplane. He couldn't find where the reflection came from, but to the left and north of Mount Rainier he did observe a chain of nine peculiar-looking objects flying from north to south at approximately 9,500 feet. They were approaching Mount Rainier very rapidly, and he assumed that they were jet aircraft. Every few seconds two or three of the objects would dip or change course slightly, just enough for the sun to reflect brightly off them. The objects being quite far away, he was unable to make out their shape or formation. As they approached Mount Rainier he observed their outline quite clearly. Arnold stated that he found it very peculiar that he couldn't find their tails, but nonetheless assumed they were some type of jet aircraft. The objects were observed to pass the southern edge of Mount Rainier, flying directly south to southeast down the hogback of a mountain range. The elevation of the objects was estimated to have varied approximately a thousand feet one way or another, but they remained very near the horizon, which would indicate that they were near the same elevation as the witness. Arnold stated that the objects flew like geese, in a rather diagonal chainlike line, as if they were linked together. They seemed to hold a definite direction, but swerved in and out of the high mountain peaks. The witness estimated the distance between him and the objects to be approximately 25 miles. Using a Zeus fastener, or cowling tool, he estimated the size of the objects to be approximately two thirds that of a DC-4. He observed the UFOs passing a high snow-covered ridge between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams and reported that as the first object was passing the south crest of this ridge the last one was entering the northern crest. This ridge, measured later, is approximately 5 miles, so it was estimated the chain of objects was 5 miles long. Mr. Arnold timed the objects between Mount Rainier and Mount Adams and determined that they crossed this 47-mile-stretch in 1 minute and 42 seconds. This is equivalent to 1656.71 miles per hour.

In an interview subsequent to the sighting, Arnold described the objects as appearing like saucers skipping on water. This description was shortened to "flying saucers" by newspapermen and resulted in the popular use of that term.

It was the Air Force's conclusion that the objects of this sighting were due to a mirage. Arnold's statement concerning how smooth and crystal clear the air was is an indication of very stable conditions which are associated with inversions and increase the refraction index of the atmosphere.

PENDLETON ORG JULY 12 1233A

COMMANDING GENERAL

WRIGHT FIELD DAYTON OHIO

DEAR SIR: YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO QUOTE GIVE OUT OR REPRINT MY WRITTEN ACCOUNT AND REPORT OF NINE STRANGE AIRCRAFT I OBSERVED ON JUNE 24TH IN THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. THIS REPORT WAS SENT TO YOU AT REQUEST SOME DAYS AGO. IT IS WITH CONSIDERABLE DISAPPOINTMENT YOU CANNOT GIVE THE EXPLANATION OF THESE AIRCRART AS I FELT CERTAIN THEY BELONGED TO OUR GOVERNMENT. THEY HAVE APPARENTLY MEANT NO HARM BUT USED AS AN INSTRUMENT OF DESTRUCTION IN COMBINATION WITH OUR ATOMIC BOMB THE EFFECTS COULD DESTROY LIFE ON OUR PLANET. CAPT. _________ CO–PILOT STEVENS OF UNITED AIR LINES AND MYSELF HAVE COMPARED OUR OBSERVATIONS IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE AND AGREED WE HAD OBSERVED THE SAME TYPE OF AIRCRAFT AS TO SIZE SHAPE AND FORM. WE HAVE NOT TAKEN THIS LIGHTLY. IT IS TO US VERY SERIOUS CONCERN AS WE ARE AS INTERESTED IN THE WELFARE OF OUR COUNTRY AS YOU ARE.

KENNETH ARNOLD

BOISE IDAHO PILOTS LICENSE____________ 24 333487.

Some Life Data on Kenneth Arnold

I was born March 29, 1915 in Subeka, Minnesota. I was a resident of Minnesota until I was six years old when my family moved to Scobey, Montana, where they homesteaded. My grandfather also homesteaded in Scobey, Montana, and became quite prominent in political circles along with Burton K. Wheeler, the famous Montana senator.

I went to grade school and high school at Minot, North Dakota. I entered scouting at twelve years of age and achieved the rank of Eagle scout before I was fourteen. My former scout executive was H. H. Prescott, now a regional commissioner for the Boy Scouts in Kansas City, Kansas.

As a boy, I was interested in athletics and was selected as an all- state end in 1932 and 1933 in the state of North Dakota. I entered the U. S. Olympic trials in fancy diving in 1932; I was a Red Cross Life Saving Examiner during the years of 1932, '33 and '34. I taught swimming and diving at scout camp and the municipal pool in Minot, North Dakota. I went to the University of Minnesota, where I swam and did fancy diving under Neils Thorpe, and also played football, under Bernie Bierman, but upon entering college I was unable to continue my football career because of an injured knee. My high...