Within Emmett Sighting
Why Did Experienced Airline Crew Take This Seriously?
The Emmett case became influential largely because trained airline crew members gave a cautious but persistent account of multiple objects.
On this page
- Captain Emil Smith and First Officer Ralph Stevens
- Marty Morrow as a confirming witness
- How aviation training shaped the report
Page outline Jump by section
Introduction
The sighting reported by the crew of United Airlines Flight 105, over Emmett, Idaho on 4 July 1947, is often cited in UFO histories as unusually compelling because trained aviation professionals observed the objects from their cockpit and sought corroboration from a third crew member. This sub‑topic examines precisely why the testimony of Captain Emil J. Smith, First Officer Ralph Stevens, and stewardess Marty Morrow is regarded as comparatively credible in UFO research, and what limits remain in interpreting their account. The episode sits near the start of the modern UFO era and, despite concluding military evaluations attributing it to mundane explanations, the pilots’ cautious yet persistent reportage still draws attention within Idaho’s aerial sighting history. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Who the Crew Were and What They Reported
Captain Emil J. Smith and First Officer Ralph Stevens were professional aviators operating a DC‑3 airliner outbound from Boise, Idaho, to Seattle, Washington when the sighting occurred shortly after take‑off. About eight minutes into the flight, while climbing out over the Emmett area, Stevens first saw what he thought might be another aircraft and blinked the airliner’s landing lights towards it. When neither pilot observed conventional wings or tails, they both began tracking the objects. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Smith later described to news services that while the exact shape and dimensions could not be fixed, the objects were seen as “thin and smooth on the bottom and rough appearing on top” and were “bigger than aircraft”, albeit with some caution in the wording. They watched two groups of objects — first five, then a second group of four — for about 10–15 minutes over roughly 45 miles of flight path before the objects sped off or vanished. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
To strengthen the observational basis, Stewardess Marty Morrow was summoned to the cockpit and she corroborated what the pilots saw, providing an independent third witness from within the same aircraft. None of the eight passengers were reported to have seen the phenomena, which Smith later attributed to the positions of the objects relative to their sightlines. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Aviation Training and Witness Reliability
One central reason this case is often treated as notable — including in scholastic reviews like Dr. James E. McDonald’s 1968 congressional statement — is because airline pilots are trained observers. As professionals responsible for the safety of large aircraft, they are practised at scanning the sky for traffic, recognising conventional aircraft configurations, and distinguishing weather phenomena, reflections, or instrument illusions. McDonald emphasised that Smith and Stevens were familiar with airborne devices and insisted that what they saw did not match smoke, known aircraft, or optical artefacts. [Project 1947]project1947.comProject 1947PROJECT 1947: UAL Flight 105, July 4, 1947 - Capt E. J. Smith…
That training extended to behaviour during the sighting itself. Stevens initially reacted as if the objects were aircraft, blinking lights appropriately; only after observing that there were no wings or tails did they reconsider. Their continued attention for an extended duration — across changing light conditions as the aircraft climbed — also suggests they were not simply reacting to a fleeting glint of light or misinterpreting mundane cues. [Project 1947]project1947.comProject 1947PROJECT 1947: UAL Flight 105, July 4, 1947 - Capt E. J. Smith…
The inclusion of Morrow as a confirming witness further reduces (though does not eliminate) the chance that the pilots’ perceptions were anomalous or individual misjudgements. As a flight attendant, she was neither privy to the cockpit instruments nor influenced directly by instrument readings, yet she independently reported seeing the same objects. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Limits on the Testimony and Official Interpretation
Despite the apparent care and clarity of the pilots’ accounts, their testimony cannot alone determine what the objects were. A significant limitation is that no independent sensor data exists from that flight — there were no radar contacts, no photographic record from the plane, and no ground‑based confirmation from air traffic control that matched the timing and location of the sighting. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Official investigation by the U.S. military later placed this report within the context of the broader 1947 “flying saucer” wave, concluding that during sunset conditions, visual illusions were more likely and that many observations at that time could be consistent with conventional explanations such as aircraft, balloons, birds, or optical effects. This interpretation does not deny that the crew reported seeing something; it suggests alternative explanations are plausible given the environmental conditions and lack of corroborating data. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Nevertheless, the case was entered into project records as an unidentified sighting with multiple credible observers — unusual for the period — and has been catalogued in summaries of unidentified cases precisely because trained pilots made the report and did not retract or sensationalise it. [UFO Casebook]ufocasebook.comUFO Casebook List of Unknowns from Project Bluebook, Page 1UFO Casebook List of Unknowns from Project Bluebook, Page 1
How the Crew’s Account Has Been Viewed Since
In the years after the event, aviation historians and UFO researchers have pointed to this incident not as proof of exotic craft but as one of the early examples where experienced pilots reported something they could not readily explain. Contemporary news reports highlighted that “no report shook the incredulous so much” as accounts from Smith and his crew, emphasising their professionalism and initial scepticism before the sighting. [Wikipedia]WikipediaFlight 105 UFO sightingFlight 105 UFO sighting
Researchers such as McDonald and later catalogues of Project Blue Book unidentified reports have treated the testimony as significant within the historical record because it was a multi‑witness sighting from observers familiar with flight conditions, occured in clear weather at twilight, and persisted long enough to rule out a fleeting misperception. Yet modern sceptical analyses of UFO histories also note that credible observers can still misinterpret unfamiliar but natural phenomena, and without hard measurements or independent confirmation, such reports remain unresolved rather than conclusively anomalous. [Project 1947]project1947.comProject 1947PROJECT 1947: UAL Flight 105, July 4, 1947 - Capt E. J. Smith…
Amazon book picks
Further Reading
Books and field guides related to Why Did Experienced Airline Crew Take This Seriously?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.
The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects
Explains how investigators judged pilot testimony.
eBay marketplace picks
Marketplace Samples
Example marketplace items related to this page. Use the search link to explore similar finds on eBay.
Endnotes
-
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Flight 105 UFO sighting
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_105_UFO_sighting -
Source: project1947.com
Link: https://www.project1947.com/fig/ual105.htmSource snippet
Project 1947PROJECT 1947: UAL Flight 105, July 4, 1947 - Capt E. J. Smith...
Published: July 4, 1947
-
Source: project1947.com
Link: https://www.project1947.com/articles/flying750.htmSource snippet
July, 1950The light from the object was so brilliant, indeed, that it caused “lightning blindness” to both pilots. They had to turn up th...
-
Source: project1947.com
Link: https://project1947.com/fig/1950a.htmSource snippet
He did not, however, see any form of a ship. The light from the object was so brilliant, indeed, that it caused "lightning blindnes...
-
Source: ufocasebook.com
Title: UFO Casebook List of Unknowns from Project Bluebook, Page 1
Link: https://www.ufocasebook.com/bluebook1.html -
Source: nicap.org
Title: Appropriate additions to these and other
Link: https://www.nicap.org/1947.htmSource snippet
UFO Casebook 1947UFO CASEBOOK: 1947 This selection of "UFO CASEBOOK" contains the Blue Book "Unknowns" and will soon provide the best lin...
-
Source: ufo-folkore.fandom.com
Title: E.J. Smith
Link: https://ufo-folkore.fandom.com/wiki/E.J._SmithSource snippet
Smith | UFO Folkore Wiki | FandomE.J. SMITH Sign in to edit * History * Purge * Talk (0) * United Airlines Capt. E. J. Smith had aerial s...
-
Source: cufos.org
Title: Project Blue Book
Link: https://cufos.org/resources/project-blue-book/Source snippet
14, as edited by Leon Davidson, July 1966The United States Air Force managed three UFO projects, from 1948 to 1969. The first w...
Additional References
-
Source: newsweek.com
Link: https://www.newsweek.com/ufo-sightings-encounters-credibility-video-1371313Source snippet
NewsweekApril 17, 2019 — THE MOST CREDIBLE UFO SIGHTINGS AND ENCOUNTERS IN MODERN HISTORY, ACCORDING TO RESEARCH * * * Published Apr 17...
Published: April 17, 2019
-
Source: ufodossier.com
Title: Captain Smith and Co-Pilot Stevens United Airlines observation — UFO Dossier
Link: https://www.ufodossier.com/incident/1947-gov-captain-smith-and-co-pilot-f47fSource snippet
July 4, 1947 — CAPTAIN SMITH AND CO-PILOT STEVENS UNITED AIRLINES OBSERVATION 1947-07-04·Boise to Seattle route, Washington·FBI·unresolve...
Published: July 4, 1947
-
Source: ufoinsight.com
Title: Hawkins, witnessed two “circular objects” skimming the surface over th
Link: https://www.ufoinsight.com/ufos/sightings/1947-snake-river-canyon-ufoSource snippet
The 1947 Snake River Canyon UFO Incident - UFO InsightApril 15, 2019 — “…THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR!” Earlier the same morning, at arou...
Published: April 15, 2019
-
Source: thinkaboutitdocs.com
Title: 1947 united airlines flight 105 pilots witness disc shaped objects
Link: https://www.thinkaboutitdocs.com/1947-united-airlines-flight-105-pilots-witness-disc-shaped-objects/Source snippet
1947: United Airlines Flight 105 pilots witness disc-shaped objects – Think AboutIts1947: UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 105 PILOTS WITNESS DISC...
-
Source: wired.com
Title: 0624first flying saucer sighting
Link: https://www.wired.com/2011/06/0624first-flying-saucer-sighting/Source snippet
Outer Space? | WIREDJune 24, 2011 — Tony Long Jun 24, 2011 7:00 AM JUNE 24, 1947: THEY CAME FROM... OUTER SPACE? Pilot [Kenneth Arnold]({{ 'kenneth-arnold/' | relative_url }}) si...
Published: June 24, 2011
-
Source: nicap.org
Title: The Project Bluebook “Unknowns”
Link: https://www.nicap.org/bluebook/unknowns.htmSource snippet
Some cases - frequently those which were well publicized at the time of the event - contain considerable information, while others are va...
-
Source: youtube.com
Title: Kenneth Arnold UFO Sighting The First UFOs
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLuHgsXGpqcSource snippet
24th June 1947: The first widely-reported UFO sighting was made by private pilot Kenneth Arnold...
Published: June 1947
-
Source: douglasdc3.com
Title: dc3ufo* * * AIRLINE CREW REPORTS WINGLESS DISCS Boise, Idaho
Link: https://www.douglasdc3.com/dc3ufo/dc3ufo.htmSource snippet
Rainier sighting by private pilot Kenneth Arnold, a United Air Lines DC-3 crew sighted t...
-
Source: ufosightingsdaily.com
Title: Rainier sighting by pr
Link: https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/p/pilot-sightings-49.htmlSource snippet
UFO Sightings Daily: Pilot Sightings (49)United Airlines Flight 105 pilots witness formation of disc-shaped objects Date: July 4, 1947 Lo...
Published: July 4, 1947
-
Source: ufology.patrickgross.org
Link: https://ufology.patrickgross.org/books/mcdonaldhcsa68pilots.htmSource snippet
McDonald statement at the HCSA 1968July 29, 1968 — 1. CASE 1. BOISE, IDAHO, JULY 4, 1947: Only about a week after the now-famous Mt. Rain...
Published: July 29, 1968
Topic Tree