What was the Kenneth Arnold sighting?
On June 24, 1947, Kenneth Arnold, an American businessman and private pilot, reported that while flying near Mount Rainier in Washington State, he saw nine shining objects flying at tremendous speed in formation. It is considered the starting point of the modern UFO boom.
The birth of the “flying saucer”
Arnold told reporters the objects moved “like a saucer if you skip it across the water.” Newspapers ran headlines with the phrase “flying saucer,” and the term spread around the world. The shape Arnold actually described is said to have been more like a crescent or a wing.
The aftermath
Right after the reports, sightings of saucers poured in from across the United States, and the Roswell incident happened the same year. The U.S. Air Force would later launch UFO investigation projects. Explanations for what Arnold saw include flocks of birds, mirages and meteors, but nothing is certain.
