UFO Sightings in America
A UFO is generally considered to include “any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained.”
Here is a list of alleged notable sightings of UFOs and related claims of close encounters with aliens, that have been specifically reported in the United States of America, dating back as far as the 1600s and as recently as December 2023.
Brookline, Massachusetts
Way back in 1639, a man named James Everell, claimed to have witnessed a light in the sky darting back and forth before finally fading away.
Other than that, there is very little information about this incident given the time period it dates back to.
Cadotte Pass, Montana
In September of 1865, a trapper named James Lumley apparently saw a “craft” in the sky and then a subsequent crash. He described a sulfur smell and seeing hieroglyphics in the area.
Multiple Locations
Between 1896 and 1897, there were various reports about multiple sightings of a “airship-like vehicles” flying low in the sky all across the United States.
Aurora, Texas
In April of 1897, local residents alleged that an airship crashed in Aurora, and the unalive alien pilot was buried in the local cemetery.
Los Angeles, California
In February of 1942, a very strange event occurred. It’s been dubbed as “The Battle of Los Angeles” or “The Great Los Angeles Air Raid.”
It was an alleged enemy attack that resulted in American troops unleashing anti-aircraft fire into the skies over the city.
The Battle of Los Angeles
Later, government officials blamed the attack on Japan, and then they called it a “false alarm”, and then it was blamed on a lost weather balloon.
Maury Island, Washington
In June of 1947, “The Maury Incident” involved claims of falling debris and threats by “men in black” following sightings of unidentified flying objects in the sky over Maury Island in Puget Sound.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Picryl
Maury Island, Washington: Again
In the same month, an American aviator named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine unusual objects flying in a chain formation while he was out searching for a missing military aircraft.
His description was very specific.
Maury Island, Washington: Description
He described the objects as almost blindingly bright when they reflected the sun's rays; their flight as "erratic" ("like the tail of a Chinese kite") and flying at "tremendous speed."
Roswell, New Mexico
You may have heard of the “Roswell UFO incident”, which occurred a month after the last two sightings in Washington.
Locals watched a “flying disc” in the sky crash over a remote ranch in Roswell.
The Roswell Incident: Debris
Numerous pieces of debris were found, but the government obviously covered it up by saying it was a weather balloon.
Years later, their story changed again.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Photograph Collection, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Roswell Incident: Explanation
The government later changed their story, claiming it was now a spy balloon.
In addition to the wreckage, another crash site was found 40 miles away, where apparent alien bodies were recovered.
The Roswell Incident: Aliens
A firefighter who was first on scene was pressured by the military to keep quiet about what he saw.
There were others who claimed to have seen the bodies “under the tarps” as well, and who were also pressured to keep quiet.
Maysville, Kentucky
A year later, in 1948, the “Mantell UFO incident” occurred. This one involved a crash that ended in the demise of a 25-year-old Kentucky Air National Guard pilot, Captain Thomas F. Mantell.
He was apparently in pursuit of a UFO.
Kentucky National Guard, Wikimedia Commons
Montgomery, Alabama
A few months later, two American commercial pilots claim to have nearly collided with a strange torpedo-shaped object in the sky.
The Montgomery Incident: Description
They claim the object was “glowing” as it passed by their plane before it appeared to “pull up into a cloud” and disappear.
The Air Force had a plan.
The Montgomery Incident
The US Airforce claimed to have no idea what it was, and the incident was investigated but the findings were not made public.
Imperial War Museum, UK, Picryl
Fargo, North Dakota
Again, in the same year (1948), only a couple months later, another US Air Force pilot apparently saw a UFO while in the sky and pursued it for a total of 27 minutes in a “dogfight”, but the aircraft was too fast.
After several near-collisions at extremely high speeds and vertical climbs, until it soared upward until out of sight.
The U.S. National Archives, Picryl
The North Dakota Dogfight
The pilot describes the aircraft as a “ball of light”. Several others in the control tower watched with binoculars.
The government claimed it was another weather balloon.
The U.S. National Archives, Picryl
McMinnville, Oregon
Two years later, in 1950, the “Mariana UFO Incident” occurred.
Two people saw, and video recorded, “two bright silvery objects, rotating while flying over Great Falls at a speed estimated to be 200-240 miles per hour.”
The Mariana UFO Incident
The man believed that they were roughly 50 feet wide and 150 feet apart.
Later, government officials blamed it on “reflections from F-94 jet fighters”, and suddenly frames from the video recordings went missing.
Lubbock, Texas
A year later, in 1951, an unusual formation of lights was seen over the city of Lubbock by multiple local residents.
The Air Force had an interesting explanation this time.
The Lubbock Lights
The Air Force originally tried to blame it on birds, but they were met with lots of frustrated witnesses. Ultimately, this incident has no explanation.
Washington, D.C.
In 1952, a series of unidentified flying object sightings were reported in the span of two weeks by both pilots and radar.
We’re talking hundreds of reports.
The 1952 UFO Flap
It was known as the “1952 UFO Flap”. During a 6-month period in 1952, over 16,000 sightings were reported, none of which could be explained by the Air Force.
Flatwoods, West Virginia
Later in 1952, Six local boys and a local woman reported sighting a UFO landing and later discovered a bizarre-looking creature near the site.
They quickly fled the area as they were “terrified” of the creature. But the government had an explanation.
The Flatwoods Incident: Explanation
Government officials blame it on a meteor and a barn owl perched in a tree that casted large “humanoid” shadows.
National Parks Gallery, Picryl
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
In the fall of 1953, a US Air Force pilot disappeared while pursuing a UFO over Lake Superior. The US Air Force claims that the pilot crashed and the unknown object was actually a Canadian Air Force plane.
The Canadians quickly spoke up.
The U.S. National Archives, Picryl
Sault Ste. Marie: Canadian Response
The Canadian Air Force disputed the claim that the aircraft was theirs, saying none of their craft were near the area in question at the time.
Levelland, Texas
A few years later, in 1957, the “Levelland UFO case” occurred. It’s known as one of the most impressive in UFO history, because of the large number of witnesses involved over a relatively short period of time.
The US Air Force blames this occurrence on a lighting storm.
Lancaster, New Hampshire
In 1961, an intriguing incident known as “The Hill Abduction” occurred, where a couple claimed to have been abducted by extraterrestrials.
The Hill Abduction
Their extensive reports claim that they watched the UFO fly around the area surrounding their car, before it abruptly stopped directly in front of them.
That’s when they saw the aliens.
The Hill Abduction: Alien Encounter
They got out of their car and walked toward it, where they saw 8-11 aliens peering back at them from inside the craft.
Then the aliens moved.
The Hill Abduction: Inside the UFO
In unison, all but one figure moved to what appeared to be a panel on the rear wall of the hallway that encircled the front portion of the craft.
And then the alien spoke to them.
The Hill Abduction: The Message
The alien then communicated a message telling them to "stay where you are and keep looking." The man had a recollection of observing the humanoid forms wearing glossy black uniforms and black caps.
Socorro, New Mexico
In 1964, an officer of the law reported a UFO close encounter. He claimed that he saw two figured beside a shiny object that later rose into the air accompanied by a roaring flame.
The incident was blamed on a lunar lander test, and a hoax by New Mexico Tech students.
Exeter, New Hampshire
In 1965, a UFO the size of a barn was seen as close as 500 feet away by a teenager and two officers. There had been several similar reports in the weeks prior.
New Hampshire: Explanation
Apparently, government officials believed the witnesses but reported it to the media as nothing more than “stars and planets twinkling”.
Further investigations ensued but were not made public.
Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, Pexels
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
In 1965, the “Kecksburg UFO Incident” occurred which involved a “large, brilliant fireball” that was seen by thousands in at least six states and Ontario, Canada.
Paola-Castillo, Wikimedia Commons
Kecksburg UFO Incident
The UFO apparently “streaked over the Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario area, dropped reported metal debris over Michigan and northern Ohio, and caused sonic booms in western Pennsylvania.”
Government officials blamed it on a meteor.
Leary, Georgia
In 1969, government official Jimmy Carter claimed he saw a UFO, shortly before giving at speech. Several other witnesses were present at the time.
Jimmy Carter’s Description
The flying object appeared to change colors, and was “not solid in nature.” Witnesses were able to view the object for a good 10-12 minutes before it flew out of sight.
Most the witnesses were not interviewed until 7 years later, where they were then discredited due to possible memory loss.
Pascagoula, Mississippi
In 1973, the “Pascagoula Abduction” happened. Two men claimed they were abducted by aliens while fishing off a pier on the Pascagoula River.
They claimed to have heard a “whizzing sound”, saw “two flashing blue lights”, and then saw an oval shaped object approach them.
SMG2019, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Pascagoula Abduction
They claimed to have been "conscious but paralyzed" while three "creatures" with "robotic slit-mouths" and "crab-like pincers" took them aboard the object and subjected them to an examination.
North Bergen, New Jersey
In 1975, the “Stonehenge Incident” occurred, where a man was driving when his radio suddenly turned to static. He then saw a round “space craft” with brightly lit windows hovering over the ground.
He claimed that “ten small, hooded, identically dressed figures emerged from the UFO, dug up soil and collected it in bags before returning to the craft.”
Marko Aliaksandr, Shutterstock
The Stonehenge Incident
The man returned the next day and found the holes in the ground.
Other witnesses, including a doorman at the Stonehenge building, separately reported seeing the same thing.
Snowflake, Arizona
Also in 1975, an American Forestry worker claimed to have been abducted by a UFO while working on a logging crew. He apparently went missing before he suddenly reappeared after a five-day intensive search.
The U.S. National Archives, Picryl
Stephen, Minnesota
In the summer of 1979, Deputy Sheriff Val Johnson was on duty and driving close to the North Dakota border when his patrol car was struck by a blinding ball of light that he saw beaming towards him.
Johnson was knocked unconscious, and his patrol car was damaged.
Dayton, Texas
In 1980, the “Cash–Landrum Incident” occurred, where a family was driving when they claim to have seen a very large, diamond-shaped object stop ahead of them on the road. It had blue flashing lights and flames shooting from the bottom.
The flaming object was so hot that it melted the metal of their car.
The Cash–Landrum Incident
Soon after, the aircraft was surrounded by large military-looking helicopters, which followed it as it disappeared back into the sky.
The reports don’t stop there, though.
www.esercito.difesa.it, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
The Cash–Landrum Incident: Health Symptoms
When the family retuned home later that night they all experienced similar health symptoms, which included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized weakness, a burning sensation in their eyes, and feeling as though they were suffering from sunburn.
Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley, Shutterstock
The Cash–Landrum Incident: Hospitalization
One of the family members was hospitalized with severe burns, skin loss, and hair loss, which was apparently caused by radiation.
The hospital reports strengthened their claims and the media jumped all over it.
Gulf Breeze, Florida
The “Gulf Breeze UFO Incident” occurred in 1987. It involved a series of UFO sightings, one of which included dozens of photographs of said UFO.
One person claimed to have been “briefly immobilized by a blue beam” of light, and then seeing a hovering object above the ground.
Then the aliens came out.
MyImages - Micha, Shutterstock
The Gulf Breeze UFO Incident
The man then stated seeing the craft, “deposit five aliens on the road”.
One of the aliens then “stared into his window, at which point the aliens communicated with him in English and Spanish via telepathy and presented him with a book showing pictures of dogs.”
Marko Aliaksandr, Shutterstock
Michigan
Several years later, another notable UFO event occurred: The 1994 Lake Michigan UFO Event. Over 100 witnesses reported 5-6 cylindrically-shaped objects with colorful lights fly across West Michigan.
To this day, the event remains unexplained as all “earthly explanations” have been ruled out.
Phoenix, Arizona
In 1997, another strange event occurred, which is dubbed as “The Lights Over Phoenix”. Lights of varying descriptions were seen by thousands of people from the Nevada line, through Phoenix, to the edge of Tucson.
Government officials blamed it on flares dropped by A-10 Warthog aircraft during training exercises.
Highland, Illinois
In 2000, yet another strange event took place, called “Black Triangle”—or the “St. Clair Triangle”.
Five on-duty officers in different locales, along with hundreds of civilian witnesses, sighted and reported a massive, silent, triangular aircraft that displayed colored, pulsating lights.
The Black Triangle
An aircraft with a similar description was reported in other parts of the country, and the world, all within several months following this first observation.
Chicago, Illinois
Four years later, in 2004, another triangular formation with colorful lights was seen at low altitude by hundreds of witnesses.
It happened on three separate occasions and was captured on multiple videos, including local news coverage.
Merikanto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Morristown, New Jersey
In 2009, five unidentified red objects were seen over Morristown, New Jersey.
Apparently, this one was a true hoax as the perpetrators came clean a few months later saying that they tied flares to helium balloons and purposely recreated UFO sightings to prove how easy it is to fool people.
soron616, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Desert, Arizona
In 2018, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, three commercial pilots saw an unidentified object fly over them in open airspace above Arizona.
Government officials claim it was a “high-altitude research balloon”.
Clayton, New Mexico
In 2021, a pilot, at an altitude of 37,000 feet reported seeing a “long cylindrical object” that almost looked like a "cruise missile type of thing" moving really fast right over the top of them.
FAA air traffic controllers did not see any object in the area on their radarscopes.
Deadhorse, Alaska
On February 10th, 2023, A high-altitude object entered U.S. airspace and was shot down over the Beaufort Sea by the U.S. Air Force.
It quickly attracted public attention.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A, Shutterstock
The 2023 Alaska High-Altitude Object
The Department of Defense said it was the size of a small car and flying northeast at approximately 40,000 feet posing a risk to civilian flight.
President Biden responded.
Natural Earth Imagery, Shutterstock
The 2023 Alaska High-Altitude Object: Biden’s Response
President Biden stated that the object was “probably a civilian-owned balloon and most likely tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions.”
An attempt was made to recover debris from the sea, however the search was apparently “abandoned.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense, Flickr
The 2023 Alaska High-Altitude Object: The Chinese Spy Balloon
The “possible civilian owned balloon” that was shot down was detected less than one week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down over the Atlantic.
But it didn’t stop there.
Oregon State University, Flickr
The 2023 Alaska High-Altitude Object: Another Object
A day later, on February 11th, another unidentified object was shot down in Yukon, Canada. The search for debris was also apparently “abandoned”.
The 2023 Alaska High-Altitude Object: Explanation
The White House stated the leading explanation for the objects was "commercial or research entities and therefore totally benign".
But the very next day brought even more chaos.
Kellerbn, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Lake Huron, Michigan
Only one day later, on February 12th 2023, an octagonal object with strings hanging from it was detected over northern Montana, Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A, Shutterstock
The 2023 Lake Huron High-Altitude Object
Airspace in the Lake Huron area was temporarily closed following the previous incidents. The object was shot down by the US Air Force and National Guard, falling into Canadian waters.
The search for debris was once again “abandoned” due to weather.
Final Thoughts
Believe it or not, the reported incidents in this article are not the only claims of UFO and alien interactions—they are simply American reports.
There are thousands of extraterrestrial claims from all over the world dating way back to 1450 BC and occurring as recently as December 2023.
