Seattle, Wash., August 1949 - Incident Number: 439August 1949

Insufficient Data

Summary

In mid-August 1949, multiple observers in and around Seattle reported seeing unidentified objects in the sky. The first sighting came at 1:20 p.m. on August 22 when witnesses reported a large circular object with a shiny aluminum appearance. The object was estimated to be 75 to 100 feet in diameter, traveling at 500 to 600 miles per hour from north to south at an altitude of around 10,000 feet. It produced a sound similar to a jet aircraft but left no exhaust trail.

One witness called the National Guard's Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron to report the sighting. After receiving the call, a second witness stepped outside and saw what appeared to be the same object. A third witness, stationed at home in the south end of Seattle, also saw it and reported it to the CAA Control Tower at Boeing Field. All three observers stated that the object bore no resemblance to any aircraft they had ever seen before.

Later that same day, around 3:23 p.m., an air traffic controller at Seattle-Tacoma Airport noticed what he believed to be a jet aircraft in the direction of the Olympic Mountains, roughly 20 to 30 miles away. He alerted his supervisor, who had no knowledge of any jet units stationed in the area. They contacted McCord Flight Service Center, which checked all nearby military bases. All bases reported no jet or fighter aircraft flying locally at that time. The controllers stated they were confident the object displayed visual characteristics of a jet fighter, though its speed made them believe it was a jet aircraft.

The full 14-page case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Seattle, Wash., August 1949 - Incident Number: 439

Date of incident

August 1949

State / country

? / XX

Page count

14 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 6

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