Kenneth Arnold reports nine high-speed objects near Mount Rainier
Civilian pilot Kenneth Arnold reports nine crescent-shaped objects flying in formation near Mount Rainier at speeds he estimates at more than 1,200 mph. His description gives rise to the term 'flying saucer' and is widely treated as the start of the modern UFO era.
On the afternoon of 24 June 1947, Idaho businessman and private pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying a CallAir A-2 from Chehalis to Yakima, Washington, when he reported observing nine bright, crescent-shaped objects flying in formation between Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.
Arnold described the objects' motion as resembling 'a saucer if you skipped it across the water,' a phrase the press condensed into 'flying saucer.' He estimated their speed at over 1,200 miles per hour — well in excess of any known aircraft of the era.
The Army Air Forces investigated the report and ultimately attributed it to a mirage. Project Blue Book later carried it as 'unidentified.' Regardless of the underlying cause, the case is conventionally treated as the inaugural event of the modern UAP era and the moment a recognizable public vocabulary for the phenomenon entered American discourse.
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