65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_002

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airplanes flying so close to the m9untain tops , flying directly south to
southeast down the hog ' s back of a mountain r ange .
I would estimate their
elevation could have varied a thousand feet one way or another up or down ,
but they were pretty much on the horizon to me which would indicate they
were near the same el evation as I was .
They f l ew like many times I have observed geese to f l y in a r ather
diagonal ohain-like l ine as if they were linked together. They seemed to
hol d a definite direction but rather swerved in and out of the high mountain
peaks.
Their speed at the time did not impress me particularly, because I
knew that our army and air forces had pl anes t hat went very fast.
What kept bot her ing me as I wo.tohed them flip and flash in the sun
right al ong tpeir path was the fa ot that I oouldn ' t make out any tail on
them, and I am sure that any pi l ot woul d justify more than a second look at
such a plane.
I obser ved them quite plainly, and I estimate my distance f r om them,
which was al most at right angles, to be between twenty to twenty-five mil es .
t knew they must be very large to observe their shape at that distance , even
on as clear a day as it was that Tuesday.
In fact I compared a zeus fastener
or cowling tool I had in my pocket with - holding it up on t hem and
holding it up on the DC- 4 - that I could observe at quite a distance to my
left, and they seemed smaller than the DC- 4; but. I should judge their span
woule have been as wide as the furtherest engines on each side of the
fuselage of the DC- 4.
The more I observed these objects, the More upset I became, as I am
accustomed and familiar with most all objects flying whether I am cl ose t o
the ground or at higher altitudes .
I observed the chain of these objects
passing another high sno,.,- covered ridge in between :.:t . Rainier and :.!t . Adams•
and as the first one was passing the south crest of this ridge the last
object was entering the northern crest of the ridge .
As I was flying in the direction of this particular ridge, I measured
it and found it to be approximately five miles so I could safely assune that
the chain of these saucer like objects were at least five miles lone .
I
could quite accurate1:, determine their pathwny due to the faot that there
wore several high peaks that were a little this side of them as well as
hibher peaks on the other side of their pathway.
As the lest unit of this formation passed the southern most hig~ snow­
covered or e st of I.'t . Adams • I looked at my sweep second hand and it showed
that thoy had t r avolled the distance in one minute and for ty-two seconds .
Even at the tiree this timing did not upset me as I felt confident after I
would l and there would be 3ome explanation of what I saw.
A number of news men and experts suggested that I might have been
seeing r efl ections or even a mir age .
This I know to be absolutely false ,
as I observed these objects not only through the glass of my airpl ane but
turned my airplane sideways wher e I coul d open my window and observe the
with a completely unobstructed view. (iithout sun gl asses)
Even though two minutes seems like a very short time
gr ound, in the air in two minutes time a pilot oan observe
things ~nd anything within his sight of vision pr obably as
sixty ti11es.
I ~ontinued my sear ch for the marine plane for another
twenty minutes and whil e sear ching for this marine plane, w
observed kept eoing through my mind.
I became more distur,
taking L last look at Tieton Reservoir I headed for Yak
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