Flight 105 UFO sighting

The Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting occurred on June 24, 1947, when private pilot Kenneth Arnold claimed that he saw a string of nine, shiny unidentified flying objects flying past Mount Rainier at speeds that Arnold estimated at a minimum of 1,200 miles an hour (1,932 km/hr). This was the first post-World War II sighting in the United States that garnered nationwide news coverage and is credited with being the first of the modern era of UFO sightings, including numerous reported sightings over the next two to three weeks. Arnold's description of the objects also led to the press quickly coining the terms flying saucer and flying disc as popular descriptive terms for UFOs.

Between June 24 and July 4, "flying discs" were reported across the country.

8:04PM Boise

Pendleton

Locations of Flight 105
Flight 105 departed Boise bound for Pendleton.

At 8:04 PM (PST), United Airlines Flight 105 took off in a DC-3 from Boise, Idaho bound for Pendleton, Oregon.[3] In a sign of the times, on departure Boise tower jokingly suggested the crew "be on the lookout for 'flying saucers'".[4]

During the flight, co-pilot Ralph Stephens reported sighting an approaching light and turned on the DC-3's landing lights to alert on-coming aircraft.[4] Stephens and Captain Emil J. Smith then reportedly observed what Smith termed "four or five 'somethings'".[4] Smith described the objects as "smooth on the bottom and rough appearing on top", but they could not say whether they were "oval or saucer-like".[4] One object was reportedly larger than the rest. [4] Crew later witnessed what they interpreted as four additional objects.[5]

While airborne, Flight 105 radioed a report of the sighting to the tower in Ontario, Oregon.[4]

The crew reportedly witnessed the objects for "45 miles" (or about 12 minutes) before they disappeared "in a burst of speed", though the crew could not say whether they vanished by outspeeding the DC-3 or by disintegrating.[4][6] Outside the cockpit, stewardess Marty Morrow reported seeing the objects. According to Smith's account, the eight passengers on board had no view to witness objects which were mostly dead-ahead of the plane.[4]

On July 5, 1947, Capt. E.J. Smith's first-hand account of the sighting was published by various outlets, including United Press. [4] [5]

By July 8, Kenneth Arnold was photographed "comparing notes" with Smith and his co-pilot.[7] Also on July 8, journalist Dave Johnson of the Idaho Statesman published an account of recreating Flight 105's journey from Boise to Pendleton in a press plane, accompanied by original 'flying disc' witness Kenneth Arnold. [3] Arnold reported being "vindicated" by Flight 105, telling press "Everybody can't be seeing things... I might doubt myself, but can't doubt such observers as Capt. E. J. Smith".[8] On July 12, Smith and Arnold were interviewed by agents of the FBI. [9]

On July 29, 1947, an entirely different crew, also piloting United Airlines Flight 105, reported witnessing UFOs.[10]

By August 3, 1947, Smith was being discussed in connection with the Maury Island incident, where he and Arnold traveled to Seattle to investigate an alleged recovery of metal dropped by a flying disc. Smith and Arnold turned the material over to investigators from Army Intelligence, who took off in a B-25 to return to their base in California. The plane crashed enroute, killing both investigators.[11]

The Flight 105 sighting was incorporated into UFO folkore and conspiracy theories.[12][2][13][14] The sighting was discussed by UFO researchers such as Donald Keyhoe,[15] Frank Scully,[16] Ted Bloecher,[17] and James E. McDonald.[18] In 2016, the sighting was featured in the fictional work The Secret History of Twin Peaks: A Novel by Twin Peaks co-creator Mark Frost.[19]