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The Sighting That Changed the World nJune 24, 1947, the world changed forever. It was a sunny after- O noon as private pilot and businessman Kenneth Arnold flew his small plane over Mount Rainier in Washington State. He was part of a rescue mission to search for another plane that had crashed in the local mountains. Suddenly a “tremendously bright flash” in the air caught his eye. To Arnold’s amazement, he observed nine strange metallic objects skipping “like saucers” across the sky. As an experienced pilot, he could tell that they were like “no aircraft I had ever seen before.” He watched them for about two minutes, as they performed amazing than 1,700 miles per hour! When he landed, Arnold reported his sighting to officials. Mili- tary officers interviewed him and concluded that the sighting was unexplained. The media heard about the case, and Arnold’s sighting became front-page news across the world. The story electrified the public. For the first time, the world was introduced to the word “fly- ing saucer.” Earth, it appeared, was being visited by beings from outer space! The Modern Age of UFOs had begun.* Arnold’s sighting was only the tip of the iceberg. Now thata credible witness had reported seeing UFOs, the floodgates opened for hundreds of other people across the world to report their own sightings. The 29 maneuvers. Arnold estimated that the objects were moving at more