Project Blue Book Case File
Spokane, WashingtonSeptember 1950
Summary
On September 3 and 8, 1950, military personnel at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington observed unusual objects in the sky. The Air Force investigated all three sightings and concluded that none of them could be identified.
On the evening of September 3, Mrs. Lon C. Fortney saw a bluish-white light approaching her car as she and her husband drove west on Highway 2 toward the base. The light was moving at high speed and came directly at the car, frightening Mrs. Fortney. It passed overhead and flew over the runway and hangar area, where it grew brighter and larger, trailing sparks in various colors. Then it suddenly went dark. The entire event lasted about five minutes. Mrs. Fortney heard no sound, and no aircraft were nearby.
Five days later, on September 8, a pilot named Clifford L. Ponsness saw a similar bluish-white light while walking in the base housing area. This light also approached from the north, enlarged over the western edge of the field, emitted sparks, and then vanished. Based on how fast it seemed to move, Ponsness estimated its speed at roughly 150 miles per hour.
Earlier on September 3, in the afternoon, Major Russell J. Gardinier was relaxing in his backyard in Spokane when he noticed three strange objects appearing from the northwest. At first they looked like large pieces of cardboard or wrapping paper tumbling in a dust devil about 2,000 feet up. But as Gardinier watched, their behavior suggested they had their own power. They moved independently and erratically, with one climbing while another descended and a third drifting sideways. Using a 6X23 monocular (a small hand-held telescope), Gardinier described them as flat and pancake-shaped, roughly 20 to 30 feet across and 2 to 6 feet deep. They appeared khaki-tan to the naked eye but metallic bronze through the lens. The objects constantly shivered and wobbled but could also hang motionless. They had no visible trails, smoke, flames, or debris. After orbiting near Spokane for about five minutes, they moved southwest toward the base at high speed. Gardinier's wife and a neighbor, Mrs. Lowell Allen, also witnessed the third object as it climbed toward the airfield.
Fairchild Air Force Base headquarters ruled out aircraft, landing lights, jet trails, and meteorites as explanations. The Air Force's formal evaluation listed the case as unidentified. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 10 scanned pages.
Reported location
Spokane, Washington
Date of incident
September 1950
State / country
WA / US
Page count
10 scanned pages
USAF evaluation
unidentified
Microfilm
T1206, Roll 7