Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting, Mount Rainier, Washington (June 23, 1947 (Doc 214/P14))
A first saucer wave case from Mount Rainier, Washington. While flying near Mount Rainier, a private pilot observed nine large, circular objects flying in formation.
Background
On June 23, 1947, in Mount Rainier, Washington, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) recorded the unidentified-phenomenon case described below. The case is preserved in AARO’s 2024-2025 publications and consolidated annual reports to Congress, declassified or released in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Defense reporting cycles.
One of the first wave of “flying saucer” reports that swept the united states after the kenneth arnold sighting of june 1947 and the roswell incident of july 1947.
The case appears in materials produced or curated by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office.
What the document records
While flying near Mount Rainier, a private pilot observed nine large, circular objects flying in formation. The objects were described as periodically flipping and traveling at an estimated 1,700 miles per hour. The pilot likened their flight characteristics to the ‘tail of a Chinese kite’ and described their shape as ‘saucer-like’.
Verbatim from the file
“nine, large circular objects”. “tail of a Chinese kite”. “saucer-like aircraft”
Type of case
The case is a pilot or aircrew sighting, observed from the cockpit during flight.
Status
AARO designates unresolved cases as those for which the agency has not concluded the events were anomalous, has not concluded that they were conventional, and has not ruled out either possibility. Conventional candidates for sightings of recent periods include commercial drones, classified test platforms, satellite re-entry, balloon traffic, atmospheric optical phenomena, and astronomical objects.