{"type":"events","slug":"1948-chiles-whitted-ufo-encounter","title":"Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter","url":"https://disclosdex.com/events/1948-chiles-whitted-ufo-encounter","description":"Airline pilots reported a glowing torpedo-shaped craft near Montgomery, prompting Project Sign analysis","date":"1948-07-24T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["Sighting"],"updated":"2025-06-26T19:10:12.000Z","disclosureRating":3,"status":"resolved","lat":32.3792,"lng":-86.3077,"connectionCount":1,"content":{"markdown":"In the early morning of July 24, 1948, two Eastern Air Lines pilots, Capt. Clarence Chiles and First Officer John Whitted, reported a close encounter with a wingless, torpedo-shaped object over Alabama. The craft, which glowed with an intense light from within, passed their DC-3 at high speed before vanishing into the clouds.[^1] The sighting was one of the seminal cases for the U.S. Air Force's early UFO investigations and briefly led some officials to consider an extraterrestrial explanation.[^2]\n\n## The Encounter\n\nAt approximately 2:45 AM, while flying at 5,000 feet near Montgomery, the pilots observed a dull red glow approaching them head-on.[^3] As it drew closer, they saw it was a massive, cigar-shaped vehicle with two rows of square windows emitting a brilliant light. The object passed them on the right, less than half a mile away, revealing a blue glow on its underside and a 50-foot orange-red flame trailing from its rear.[^4] One of the plane's 20 passengers also reported seeing a bright streak of light pass his window.[^1]\n\n## Investigation and Aftermath\n\nThe pilots' detailed report was taken seriously by [Project Sign](/programs/project-sign), the Air Force's ongoing UFO study. The initial intelligence analysis, including a corroborating report from a ground observer at Robins Air Force Base, concluded the object was an unknown craft, with some analysts favoring an extraterrestrial origin.[^2] However, this \"Estimate of the Situation\" was famously rejected by Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg.[^5] The official explanation was later revised to a meteor, a conclusion that both Chiles and Whitted strongly disputed.[^4]\n\n[^1]: [Project Blue Book Chiles-Whitted case file, July 1948 (The Black Vault document mirror)](https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/projectbluebook/projectbluebook-chileswhitted.pdf)\n[^2]: [Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects: Chiles-Whitted and the Estimate of the Situation](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17346/pg17346.txt)\n[^3]: [Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects: Chiles-Whitted timing and approach details](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17346/pg17346.txt)\n[^4]: [History: \"Two Pilots Saw a UFO. Why Did the Air Force Destroy the Report?\"](https://www.history.com/news/ufo-chiles-whitted-soviet-spycraft-air-force-coverup)\n[^5]: [Project 1947 mirror of the Condon Report: Estimate of the Situation and Vandenberg rejection](https://www.project1947.com/shg/condon/s5chap02.html)","readingTime":"2 min read"},"relatedRecords":[{"ref":{"type":"programs","slug":"project-sign","title":"Project Sign","url":"https://disclosdex.com/programs/project-sign"},"direction":"outbound","weight":1}],"citation":{"canonicalUrl":"https://disclosdex.com/events/1948-chiles-whitted-ufo-encounter","title":"Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter","publisher":"Disclosdex","retrievedFrom":"https://disclosdex.com/api/v1/events/1948-chiles-whitted-ufo-encounter","license":"CC-BY-4.0"},"witnesses":["Capt. Clarence S. Chiles","First Officer John B. Whitted"],"evidence":["Eyewitness testimony","Passenger corroboration"]}