The Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter (1948)
On July 24, 1948, around 2:45 a.m., pilots Clarence Chiles and John Whitted, flying an Eastern Airlines DC-3 from Houston to Atlanta, watched a burning cylindrical object streak past their cockpit before abruptly climbing into the clouds in a burst of flame. The incident, one of the very first to describe a structured, mechanical craft, would deeply shape the early days of the US military's UFO investigation.
Witnesses
2 airline pilots
Why it endures
Two seasoned commercial pilots, an account that directly convinced Project Sign investigators the UFO phenomenon deserved to be taken seriously.
Official version (contested)
Project Blue Book concluded in 1959 that it was a meteor, likely a bolide. The explanation is disputed given the duration and trajectory the pilots described.