Nash-Fortenberry UFO sighting
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 4
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Nash–Fortenberry sighting, Nash-Fortenberry |
The Nash–Fortenberry sighting took place on 14 July 1952, when the crew of a Pan American DC-4 airliner saw eight glowing, disc-shaped objects in formation below them over Chesapeake Bay, near Newport News, Virginia. Project Blue Book listed it as "unknown".[1][2][3]
The sighting
The aircraft was flying from New York to Miami at 8,000 feet, about an hour after sunset, with First Officer William B. Nash and Second Officer William H. Fortenberry in the cockpit. At 8:12 p.m. Nash was pointing out the lights of Newport News when a red-orange glow appeared near the ground beyond the city.[3] It turned out to be six bright objects, glowing like hot coals, racing towards the aircraft in a stepped line well below it. The pilots said the discs flipped on edge, the line reversed order, and they then flipped flat and darted off to the west in a sharp turn. Two more objects then shot out from beneath the airliner to join them. All eight climbed in an arc above the aircraft's altitude and blinked out.[3] Nash compared the sharp turn to a ball ricocheting off a wall.[3]
Investigation
The pilots radioed Norfolk, and the case was investigated by Air Force officers, including Maj. John Sharpe.[3] Ruppelt's account of the summer 1952 sightings mentions the crew's report of eight UFOs near Newport News.[2][3] The case was listed by Blue Book as unknown.[1]
Explanations
Astronomer Donald Menzel suggested in 1963 that the pilots saw lights on the ground distorted by layers of haze, and later suggested fireflies trapped between the window panes. Steuart Campbell proposed a mirage of Venus.[1] Researcher Tom Tulien, writing for NICAP, argued that Menzel's searchlight explanation did not match the objects' geometry or the weather records.[3] Fortenberry died in a 1957 airliner crash; Nash, interviewed in 2002, still stood by the account.[3]
References
- Nash–Fortenberry UFO sighting — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Edward J. Ruppelt, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects (1956), Project Gutenberg · gutenberg.org · archived copy
- Tom Tulien, "Revisiting One of the Classics: The 1952 Nash/Fortenberry Sighting", NICAP · nicap.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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