What happened
The pilots saw a wingless object rush past them. Whitted's statement said it was cigar-shaped and about 100 ft long. Both described a row of what looked like lit windows and a blue glow beneath, with flame trailing from the rear. The case shook Project Sign and fed its interest in the extraterrestrial hypothesis. J. Allen Hynek offered a very bright meteor as an admittedly far-fetched answer, and Blue Book adopted the fireball explanation. Chiles and Whitted stood by their account for decades.