Spokane, WashingtonJuly 1949

Insufficient Data

Summary

On the evening of July 26, 1949, a commercial pilot in Spokane, Washington reported seeing eight disc-shaped objects in the sky. The man was at home when he heard a sound like a formation of jet aircraft. He went outside and spotted a B-29 bomber flying from east to west. Above it, he said, were eight objects that were each larger than the B-29, traveling in the same direction, and moving much faster.

The witness said the objects were at an estimated altitude of about 14,500 feet, roughly 1,000 feet above the B-29. He described them as disc-shaped and noted they made a sound similar to jet aircraft. He stated he had not been drinking and had good vision.

The B-29 pilot, however, told investigators he was flying at 13,500 feet at the time and had seen nothing unusual. In its analysis, the Air Force concluded the sighting was likely a group of birds flying at a much lower altitude. The file notes that birds seen at high speed and altitude could appear to be large objects, and suggested this explained why the B-29 pilot observed nothing out of the ordinary.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 6 pages.

Reported location

Spokane, Washington

Date of incident

July 1949

State / country

WA / US

Page count

6 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unknown

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 6

Original case file scans

Original case file · scanned by NARAPage 1 of 6

View transcribed text

: /
SEA PROJECT 10073 RECORD
“le DATE - TiieE GRO, TION pe
Bla : Yi3
P26 Jul 49 27/0220% Spokane, Washington
3 3% SOURCE 10. CONCLUSION |
BR _C:ivilian Other (BIRDS)
de WUIADER OF GUJECTS
f Zigas
SEE LEiGTH GF OSSERVATION |11. BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS
® . Not Reported bserver was attracted by a sound similar to a formation of
Revs B room NORE gp rp po aircraft. The only aircraft he saw was a B-29 heading from
| |& TYPE OF OGSERVATION ot to West. t an estimated 1000 ft above the B-29,
BR al : traveling in tfe same direction and at much greater speed he
7. counse ghted 8 disc-shaped objects.
B
BT a. gooup of wirds flying at a much lower altitude than
1 (G. PHOTOS stimated could have the appearance of large objects traveling
i t high speeds and high altitude, "It is of my opinion that |
3 QO Yes is was the case since the pilot of the B-29 had observed
J Ne othing unusual.
©; PHYSICAL EVIDENCE !
1 : a Yes 3
jl} oc ve
FOnM i
E FTD scr 83 0-322 (TDS) Previous editions of thie form may be used. Sa

/ 6

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Source: National Archives Catalog · NAID 28936078