FBIUnresolvedAmbiguous
Flying wing object heading NW toward Nome — Bethel, Alaska, August 1947
~Aug 1947Bethel, Alaska1,000 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
Pilots PECK and DALY, flying a DC-3 near Bethel, Alaska, observed a flying wing-shaped object comparable in size to a C-54 fuselage at approximately 1,000 ft altitude in August 1947. The object was traveling northwest toward Nome at an estimated 300 mph and had no propeller, no exhaust, and no distinguishing structural features, though it had a definite dark shape. The observation was reported to the FBI.
As reported — verbatim from the document
“Pilots PECK and DALY in DC-3 saw 'flying wing-shaped object, C-54 fuselage-less size, at 1,000 ft, estimated 300 mph, traveling NW toward Nome; no propeller, no exhaust, dark but definite shape.'”
Analyst notes — caveats & confidence
Two pilots (credible military/commercial witnesses). Flying wing shape predates operational flying wing aircraft (Northrop YB-49 first flew November 1947, was classified). Speed of 300 mph is within conventional aircraft range. Confidence moderate.
Provenance
Source document65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_1.pdf
Document typecase file compilation
Reporting agencyFBI
Source pages185
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.