February 24, 1959 — Williamsport, PA
8:20 p.m. Capt. Peter W. Killian is flying an American Airlines flight from Newark to Detroit when he encounters three bright lights flying in a precise line. The initial detection takes place when the aircraft is flying at 8,500 feet and 50 mph about 13 miles west of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
At first Killian thinks he is seeing Orion’s sword, but he can see those stars elsewhere. One of the objects abruptly leaves formation and approaches the plane, slows down before Killian takes evasive action, then rejoins the other two.
Killian alerts copilot James John Dee and then announces on the intercom for the passengers to take a look. He also puts out a call to nearby aircraft, and five other commercial airline pilots indicate that they can see the objects. The lights remain at about the 9 o’clock position for 40 minutes, providing an opportunity for many of the 35 passengers to observe them.
They are also seen by the crews of two other planes flying much farther to the south, as well as by the tower operators in Pittsburgh. The Air Force quickly identifies the objects as the three Orion stars, changes that to an aerial refueling operation, then accuses Killian of being drunk. But an independent sighting of the UFOs by an Air Force transport plane 150 miles further south confirms Killian’s observation, and no refueling routes exist in central Pennsylvania. Brad Sparks uncovers new evidence in 2016 that supports the witnesses’ story. [Eberhart]
Record Card:
Killian’s Statement:
Sources:
“Pilot Reports Saucers: Says Airliner Passengers and Crew Saw Lights,” New York Times, February 26, 1959, p. 2;
“Mystery Escort Greets Flagship over Philipsburg,” Flagship News (American Airlines), March 9, 1959, p. 1;
“Flying Saucers Escort Airliner for 45 Minutes,” Flying Saucer Review 5, no. 3 (May/June 1959): 2, 4;
“The Truth About the “Orion Belt” Sightings,” Flying Saucers, July 1959, pp. 14-19;
Fred A. Kirsch, “Air Force Right on Killian “Saucer”?,” Flying Saucers, August 1960, pp. 17-20;
Unidentified Flying Objects Research Committee of Akron, Report on Unidentified Flying Objects Observed Feb. 24, 1959 by American/United Airline Pilots (1960), 22pp;
Donald Menzel and Lyle C. Boyd, The World of Flying Saucers, Doubleday, 1963, pp. 52-56;
Richard Hall, The UFO Evidence, pp. 42-43, 116–117;
Willy Smith, On Pilots and UFOs, 1997, pp. 85-96; [Basically the IUR article]
Willy Smith, “Over Pennsylvania,” IUR 23, no. 1 (Spring 1998): 13–14, 29–30;
Loren E. Gross, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse: UFOs, a History: 1959 January–March, The Author, 1999, pp. 58–60, 63;
Michael Swords and Robert Powell, UFOs and Government, p. 285;
Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed., pp. 385–387;
Jerome Clark, The UFO Encyclopedia, 4th Ed., pp. 431–433;
Brad Sparks, Blue Books Unknowns Catalogue, Case 1363, p. 270;
Michael Swords Files, 160D;
NICAP, “The Killian Case”;
[Blue book file has some of these sources in poor quality, but also has a FATE article by Fuller]
Patrick Gross, “The Killian–Orion Belt Sightings, 1958”;
[“The Truth About the “Orion Belt” Sightings” from the July 1959 issue of Ray Palmer’s “Flying Saucers” magazine.]
“American Airline Case of 2-23-1959 – Capt. Peter Killian,” Ufology: A Primer in Audio, 1938–1959, November 21, 2013;