Within Flight105UFO
What Air Materiel Command Concluded About Flight 105
Details the Air Force's official assessment of the Flight 105 sighting and the suggested mundane explanations.
On this page
- Declassified case files summary
- Suggested explanations: aircraft, balloons, birds, illusion
- Impact of sunset conditions on observations
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Introduction
The official response to the E. J. Smith sighting was cautious rather than dramatic. Although the case quickly became one of the most discussed “flying saucer” reports of July 1947, the Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Wright Field did not conclude that United Air Lines Flight 105 had encountered an extraordinary craft. Instead, investigators framed the event as a sighting that could plausibly be explained by ordinary aircraft, balloons, birds, or visual illusion under difficult sunset conditions. That judgement became important because it showed the pattern that would define many later Air Force UFO investigations: credible witnesses were acknowledged, but the final interpretation leaned toward conventional explanations even when certainty was lacking. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingMay 28, 2025 — The Flight 105 UFO sighting occurred on July 4, 1947, when three crew members aboard a United Airlines flight reported see… [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line…
The surviving records also reveal something subtler. The AMC files did not dismiss Captain Smith and his crew as hoaxers or fantasists. The official summaries accepted that trained airline personnel genuinely observed something unusual. The dispute was over interpretation, not over whether the crew had seen anything at all. That distinction helps explain why the Flight 105 case remained influential in later UFO debates despite its officially non-exotic conclusion.
What the Air Materiel Command Actually Recorded
The key surviving documentation comes from declassified Army Air Forces and later Air Force intelligence files associated with the 1947 “flying disc” wave. In those summaries, the Flight 105 report appears as one of the more credible early airline sightings because the witnesses were identifiable commercial aviation personnel rather than anonymous civilians. [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line…
The official record preserved several core details:
- The sighting occurred on 4 July 1947 after departure from Boise, Idaho. [facebook.com]facebook.comon july 7 1947 the state was abuzz with speculation about flying saucers on julyMontana Historical SocietyFlight 105 UFO sighting, Boise Idaho 1947 July 4, 1947, At 9:04pm, United Airlines Flight 105, served by a Dou…
- Witnesses included Captain E. J. Smith, First Officer Ralph Stevens, and stewardess Marty Morrow.
- The objects were described as appearing in two formations.
- The crew observed them for an extended period while flying westward.
- The objects were silhouetted against the sunset sky.
One of the most frequently reproduced passages from the file described the objects as “thin and smooth on the bottom” and “rough on top”. That wording mattered because it suggested the witnesses were trying to describe texture and lighting rather than repeating sensational newspaper language about “spaceships”. [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line…
The AMC summary also noted an important limitation: there was no radar confirmation, no photographic evidence, and no independent visual confirmation from the other aircraft or ground stations contacted by radio. From an intelligence-analysis perspective, the report therefore rested entirely on eyewitness testimony, even if that testimony came from trained observers.
Why Sunset Became Central to the Official Explanation
The strongest recurring theme in the AMC assessment was the role of sunset lighting. Investigators believed the conditions present during the Flight 105 observation created a high risk of optical misinterpretation. [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line…
This focus on illumination conditions was not unique to the Smith case. During the broader 1947 flying-disc wave, military analysts repeatedly suspected that low-angle sunlight, atmospheric haze, reflections, and contrast effects could produce misleading impressions of speed, shape, and distance. [Wikipedia]WikipediaProject SignProject Sign
For Flight 105 specifically, several factors complicated perception:
- The crew viewed the objects against a bright western sky near sunset.
- Relative motion between the DC-3 and distant objects could exaggerate apparent movement.
- Lack of distance references made size estimation unreliable.
- Reflections from metallic surfaces or cloud edges could create disc-like silhouettes.
AMC investigators therefore treated the sighting less as a straightforward object-identification problem and more as a visibility-and-perception problem. The official wording is notable because it avoided certainty. The files did not say the crew definitely saw birds or balloons; rather, they stated the objects “could have been” ordinary aerial phenomena or illusion. [Wikipedia]WikipediaKenneth Arnold UFO sightingKenneth Arnold UFO sighting
That careful phrasing later became a point of criticism among UFO researchers, who argued that the Air Force had proposed possibilities without demonstrating which one actually fit the observation best.
The Conventional Explanations the AMC Considered
Aircraft
One possibility raised in official discussions was that the crew had observed conventional aircraft at unusual angles and distances. This explanation drew some support from the formation-like arrangement described by the witnesses. [Wikipedia]WikipediaGorman dogfightGorman dogfight
However, the aircraft hypothesis had weaknesses. Smith and Stevens were experienced airline personnel familiar with normal aircraft appearance, navigation lighting, and formation spacing. Critics of the official explanation later argued that trained pilots would be less likely than ordinary observers to mistake nearby aircraft for unknown objects.
Even so, investigators appear to have considered distant aircraft plausible because sunset reflections can dramatically alter apparent shape and brightness.
Balloons
Weather balloons and balloon clusters became a standard explanation in numerous 1947 cases. The Air Force often regarded balloons as attractive explanations because they could appear reflective, move unpredictably relative to wind layers, and seem stationary or oddly paced from an aircraft cockpit. [kirkmcd.princeton.edu]kirkmcd.princeton.eduReport on the UFO Wave of 1947by T Bloecher · 1967 · Cited by 45 — The Air Force explanation for this sighting is "balloon cluster." Case… [2dokumen.pub]dokumen.pubreport on the ufo wave of 1947Project Sign. The official explanation for the three sightings, however, is "balloons" – in spite of the fact that in each sighting the…
In the Flight 105 case, though, the balloon explanation remained speculative. No surviving AMC record identifies a specific launch or tracked balloon matching the crew’s route and timing. The official conclusion therefore relied on general plausibility rather than direct evidence.
That gap later allowed UFO researchers to argue that “balloons” functioned as a fallback category for unresolved sightings.
Birds
Birds were another explanation listed in the declassified summaries. Under sunset lighting, flocks can produce flashes and irregular shapes that appear metallic or disc-like at distance. [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line…
Yet this explanation also had problems. The crew reported sustained observation over a considerable distance, and the objects were interpreted as moving in organised groups rather than as erratic biological motion. Skeptics nonetheless argued that perception from a moving cockpit can transform ordinary aerial activity into apparently structured formations.
Pure illusion
The most controversial part of the AMC conclusion was the suggestion of “pure illusion”. In modern language, this referred to perceptual error rather than deliberate fabrication. [Wikipedia]Wikipedia1947 flying disc crazeMay 9, 2026 — Young who speculated that his hobby of releasing silvery balloons with his name attached may have been responsible for the…
The Army Air Forces had already become concerned in mid-1947 that publicity surrounding Kenneth Arnold’s sighting was shaping how people interpreted ambiguous visual stimuli. The Flight 105 sighting occurred in the middle of an intense national reporting wave, when newspapers were saturated with flying-disc stories. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingMay 28, 2025 — The Flight 105 UFO sighting occurred on July 4, 1947, when three crew members aboard a United Airlines flight reported see…
Investigators therefore considered the possibility that expectation and attention influenced what experienced observers believed they were seeing. This did not necessarily mean the crew hallucinated the objects. Rather, the AMC position implied that ordinary stimuli might have been unconsciously interpreted through the new “flying saucer” framework spreading across the country.
How the Flight 105 Case Fit Into Early UFO Intelligence Work
The Smith sighting arrived before the formal creation of Project Sign, but it became part of the body of reports that pushed the military toward a structured UFO investigation programme. [Wikipedia]WikipediaProject SignProject Sign
During July 1947, Army Air Forces intelligence officers were trying to determine whether the “flying discs” represented:
- Secret American technology,
- Soviet technology,
- Misidentifications,
- Psychological contagion,
- Or some combination of those factors.
The Flight 105 report mattered because it involved professional aviators. Military analysts consistently ranked pilot observations above ordinary civilian reports. Even when conventional explanations were proposed, the case was retained in intelligence summaries because it could not be dismissed as obvious fraud or newspaper invention. [Wikipedia]WikipediaKenneth Arnold UFO sightingKenneth Arnold UFO sighting
This explains why later UFO literature repeatedly returned to the Smith case. It occupied an awkward middle category: credible witnesses paired with inconclusive evidence.
Why Critics Found the AMC Conclusions Unsatisfying
Later UFO researchers argued that the official conclusions relied too heavily on generic explanatory categories without reconstructing the event in detail. NICAP and later writers especially criticised the “birds, balloons, aircraft, or illusion” wording as overly broad. [CIA]cia.govCIATHE NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE ON…… flying near the by Capt. E. J. Smith, United Airlines, July 4, 1947. Flying a DC-3 Han…
Several objections appeared repeatedly in later commentary:
- The witnesses were trained observers familiar with ordinary aircraft.
- Multiple crew members independently described similar objects.
- The observation lasted longer than many fleeting UFO reports.
- The official file did not identify a specific aircraft or balloon source.
- The sunset-illusion argument explained perception difficulties but not the reported formation behaviour.
Supporters of the Air Force view answered that eyewitness reliability alone cannot establish the extraordinary nature of an observation. From the official perspective, the absence of corroborating physical evidence remained decisive.
The disagreement therefore became less about the raw sighting and more about standards of proof. UFO proponents saw unresolved aerial behaviour observed by credible professionals. AMC investigators saw an ambiguous visual event with insufficient evidence to justify an extraordinary conclusion.
What the Declassified Records Ultimately Show
The surviving Air Materiel Command material does not reveal a hidden endorsement of extraterrestrial craft, nor does it show a clean debunking. Instead, the records illustrate the uncertainty and institutional caution of the first major American UFO wave. [U.S. Department of War]war.gov65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line… [Wikipedia]WikipediaGorman dogfightGorman dogfight
Three points stand out from the official documentation:
- The military treated the Flight 105 report seriously enough to preserve and analyse it.
- Investigators accepted that the witnesses sincerely observed something unusual.
- The final explanation remained probabilistic rather than definitive.
That combination explains the case’s long survival in UFO history. The AMC files neither solved the mystery nor fully dismissed it. They preserved a classic early Cold War ambiguity: an event credible enough to investigate, but too weakly evidenced to resolve with confidence.
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Endnotes
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Flight 105 UFO sighting
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_105_UFO_sightingSource snippet
May 28, 2025 — The Flight 105 UFO sighting occurred on July 4, 1947, when three crew members aboard a United Airlines flight reported see...
Published: May 28, 2025
-
Source: war.gov
Title: 65 hs1 834228961 62 hq 83894 section 3
Link: https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/65_hs1-834228961_62-hq-83894_section_3.pdfSource snippet
Department of War65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_3flying discs or similar objects on July 4, last while on a routine United Air line...
-
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Project Sign
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Sign -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold_UFO_sighting -
Source: kirkmcd.princeton.edu
Link: https://kirkmcd.princeton.edu/JEMcDonald/bloecher_67.pdfSource snippet
Report on the UFO Wave of 1947by T Bloecher · 1967 · Cited by 45 — The Air Force explanation for this sighting is "balloon cluster." Case...
-
Source: dokumen.pub
Title: report on the ufo wave of 1947
Link: https://dokumen.pub/report-on-the-ufo-wave-of-1947.htmlSource snippet
Project Sign. The official explanation for the three sightings, however, is "balloons" -- in spite of the fact that in each sighting the...
-
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Gorman dogfight
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorman_dogfight -
Source: Wikipedia
Title: 1947 flying disc craze
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_flying_disc_crazeSource snippet
May 9, 2026 — Young who speculated that his hobby of releasing silvery balloons with his name attached may have been responsible for the...
Published: May 9, 2026
-
Source: cia.gov
Link: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp81r00560r000100010001-0Source snippet
CIATHE NATIONAL INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE ON...... flying near the by Capt. E. J. Smith, United Airlines, July 4, 1947. Flying a DC-3 Han...
Published: July 4, 1947
Additional References
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Kennywood/posts/1503196736437197/Source snippet
US Air Force's Project Blue Book UFO studyAs a result of these investigations, studies, and experience gained from investigating UFO repo...
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Source: scribd.com
Link: https://www.scribd.com/doc/275519727/Alfred-Loedding-The-Great-Flying-Saucer-Wave-of-1947-Michael-D-Connors-Wendy-A-Hall-pdfSource snippet
Alfred Loedding and the 1947 UFO Wave | PDFWhen UFOs first appeared in numbers during the great flying saucer wave of 1947, few people ma...
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Source: facebook.com
Title: on july 7 1947 the state was abuzz with speculation about flying saucers on july
Link: https://www.facebook.com/MontanaHistoricalSociety/posts/on-july-7-1947-the-state-was-abuzz-with-speculation-about-flying-saucers-on-july/895125292653932/Source snippet
Montana Historical SocietyFlight 105 UFO sighting, Boise Idaho 1947 July 4, 1947, At 9:04pm, United Airlines Flight 105, served by a Dou...
Published: July 4, 1947
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Source: facebook.com
Title: on this day in 1947 what many consider to be the first modern ufo sighting took
Link: https://www.facebook.com/libraryofcongress/posts/on-this-day-in-1947-what-many-consider-to-be-the-first-modern-ufo-sighting-took-/1150298620475987/Source snippet
The Library of CongressAir Force Gen. Nathan Twining, head of the Air Technical Service Command, established Project SIGN in 1948 (initia...
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Source: archive.org
Link: https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-uHw9zGct4dsyqXcU/Unidentified%20Flying%20Objects%20Briefing%20Document%20%5BThe%20Best%20Available%20Evidence%5D_djvu.txtSource snippet
ents the best available evidence for the existence of UFOs.Read more...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/bakersfieldnow/posts/a-newly-declassified-batch-of-pentagon-and-us-air-force-records-released-friday-/1441029091400635/Source snippet
riday includes a report detailing an alleged unidentified flying...
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Source: si.edu
Title: NASM NASM.XXXX.0461 Deciphering USAF IARC
Link: https://www.si.edu/media/NASM/NASM-NASM.XXXX.0461-Deciphering_USAF_IARC.pdfSource snippet
Deciphering USAF Individual Aircraft Record CardsThe hand-written line documents the reassignment on 15 May 1947 of the aircraft from Air...
Published: May 1947
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Source: transportation.gov
Link: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/resources/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/282471/unitedredactedapril2017.pdfSource snippet
United Airlines Flight Number: 105 Date & Time of Incident26 Apr 2017 — Cause of Incident: Pet owner refused medical exam to determine ac...
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Source: facebook.com
Link: https://www.facebook.com/RobertKiyosaki/posts/162-ufo-cases-declassified-released-to-the-publicevery-single-one-marked-the-sam/1514990036659205/Source snippet
s of ghostly green triangles recorded in two...Read more...
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Source: docs.house.gov
Title: HHRG 118 GO12 Wstate ShellenbergerM 20241113
Link: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO12/20241113/117721/HHRG-118-GO12-Wstate-ShellenbergerM-20241113.pdfSource snippet
Technical Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, it was never included in...Read more...
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