Rosalia, Washington: B-36 pilot turns toward circling, rising white light
At 1:34 a.m. on February 6, 1953, Maj. Leo J. Moffatt, piloting a B-36 over Rosalia, Washington, saw a round white light circling and rising at about 7,000 feet and turned his aircraft toward it.
Background
At 1:34 a.m. on February 6, 1953, a B-36 piloted by Maj. Leo J. Moffatt was over Rosalia, Washington, when he saw a single round white light, visible from all directions, at an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet on a southeast course, circling and rising as it proceeded. It was observed visually for 3–5 minutes. The B-36 made a 180° descending turn toward the light, whose speed was estimated at 170–230 mph. Project Blue Book explained it as a weather balloon launched from Geiger Field (now Spokane International Airport); James E. McDonald cited the case in his 1968 statement to the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. The account follows the entry in George M. Eberhart's chronology UFOs and Intelligence (CUFOS) and the sources cited there; it is not an independent determination by From Beyond Space.