Chiles–Whitted encounter

Eastern Air Lines captain Clarence Chiles and co-pilot John Whitted, flying a DC-3 at about 5,000 ft, saw a glowing torpedo-shaped object rush past their right side and pull up into the clouds. Project Sign took the report so seriously it contributed to the "Estimate of the Situation", which General Vandenberg rejected.

Explanation

Project Blue Book formally attributed the sighting to a bright meteor (bolide) in 1959.

What was seen

Shape: Wingless cigar with two rows of glowing "windows"
Witnesses: 2 Eastern Air Lines pilots, 1 passenger
Duration: 10–15 seconds

Browse

• United States
• 1940s
• Explained
• Aviation encounters
• Official government documents
• Pilot and aircrew witnesses
• Lights and fireballs
• Cylinders and cigar shapes

Similar cases

• Nash–Fortenberry sighting 14 July 1952
• American Airlines Captain Peter Killian’s three lights 24 February 1959
• Kenneth Arnold — "flying saucers" over Mount Rainier 24 June 1947
• U.S. Navy R5D — object over the North Atlantic 10 February 1951