FBIUnknownAnomalous kinematics

Grand Canyon, Arizona — F-80 pilot observes round objects at inconceivable speed — June 1947

Jun 30, 1947Grand Canyon, Arizona25,000 ft

⟳ Deeper read pending. This record is from the FBI 62-HQ-83894 flying-disc file, whose cursive, clippings and faint scans are under-read by automated OCR. It is flagged for a vision-transcription pass and likely undercounts what the source contains — see the documents collection note.

Analysis — our summary

Lt. William G. Matthews, USAF, stationed at Williams Field, Chandler, Arizona, reported to the Flying Division intelligence office that on June 30, 1947 at approximately 0910 while flying an F-80 at 25,000 feet over the Grand Canyon, Arizona, he observed round objects passing at what he described as 'inconceivable speed.' The objects were flying south, appearing at approximately 10,000 feet altitude, one article following the other seconds apart. The objects were circular and possibly 10 feet in diameter. Matthews' reaction was to turn away from them. A second officer, Captain Malcolm Armstrong, also reported through intelligence channels that his brother, Lt. S. B. Armstrong stationed at Elgin 10th Army Air Forces, had seen a formation of unexplainable objects in the vicinity of Lake Mead, heading south at approximately 10,000 feet. These reports were compiled by the Air Defense Command intelligence office at Chandler, Arizona.

As reported — verbatim from the document

“"he saw two round objects going at inconceivable speeds... round, and that they were possibly light colored in color... possibly ten feet in diameter... his reaction was to turn away from the objects"”

Analyst notes — caveats & confidence

Source is Air Defense Command intelligence memorandum. Military pilot witness with relevant aviation expertise. Speed described as 'inconceivable' at 1947 state of art. Two objects seen from military aircraft at 25,000 feet. OCR quality is moderate; some portions of the text are fragmentary.

Provenance

Source document65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Serial_130.pdf

Document typeintelligence report collection

Reporting agencyFBI

Source pages126

DeclassifiedFirst public at this release (2026)

Held classified~79 years (≥, to this release)

Extraction confidence ModerateHow cleanly this record could be parsed from the source — driven by legibility & redaction. It is not a measure of how credible or anomalous the sighting is.