Disputed
The Chiles-Whitted encounter
Two airline pilots reported a glowing object passing their plane near Montgomery, Alabama, at about 2:45 am on 24 July 1948.
Clarence S. Chiles and John B. Whitted were commercial pilots flying near Montgomery, Alabama. Wikipedia records that they claimed to see a glowing object go past their plane at about 2:45 am on 24 July 1948. It seemed to climb into a cloud and disappear.
History.com says the event prompted a top-secret government investigation, and that the results were destroyed. The Black Vault says Project Blue Book, the Air Force's official UFO investigation, studied it at length and labelled the incident unexplained. The Black Vault ranks the case among the most significant and contested UFO sightings.
"The Chiles-Whitted UFO encounter occurred at approximately 2:45 am on July 24, 1948, in the skies near Montgomery, Alabama, United States.[1] Two commercial pilots, Clarence S. Chiles and John B. Whitted, claimed to have observed a "glowing object" pass by their plane before it appeared to pull up into a cloud and travel out of sight.[2]"
- The UFO Encounter That Stumped the Air Force, History.com (2018)
- Project Blue Book: The Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter, July 24, 1948, The Black Vault (2023)