View original document (36.2 MB) PDF viewer unavailable in this browser. Download the PDF to view. Newly declassified FBI records released under the U.S. Department of War’s PURSUE archive provide a granular, minute-by-minute account of a 1947 UFO sighting over Portland, Oregon, based on police dispatch logs and officer testimony.
According to an FBI memorandum dated October 9, 1947, from the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) in Portland to the FBI Director, the first notice of unidentified objects in flight over the city on September 11, 1947, was received from officers in District 18 at 5:21 P.M. The document, titled “65_HS1-834228961_62-HQ-83894_Section_4,” is part of the FBI’s 62-HQ-83894 case file, which includes investigative records, eyewitness testimonies, and public reports concerning Unidentified Flying Objects and flying discs documented between June 1947 and July 1968.
The FBI memo cites records from the Radio Dispatcher of the Portland Police Department. The log reflects that at 5:23 P.M., the radio requested District 14, which is further south, to attempt to locate and identify the objects. At 5:24 P.M., a report was received from the car occupied by the Chief of Police, identified as Chief JENKINS, reporting that they had sighted some objects.
District 14 at 5:27 P.M. reported seeing nothing unusual in the sky. The document includes a detailed statement from Officer Robert D.
Adair, residing at 4325 S.E. Madison Ave., Portland. Adair advised that he was one of the two officers on duty in District 18 on September 11.
The car was in the vicinity of N.E. 25th Avenue and Saratoga Court when Adair and his fellow officer noticed a number of people looking upward and pointing. Upon looking at the sky, Adair observed the very bright reflection of the sun on some object which was apparently made of silvery metal. Per the FBI record, the object was coming from the east and made a wide turn over the city and disappeared to the south.
Officer Adair estimated its speed at about 150 miles per hour and its altitude at about 5,000 feet. He watched it for a period of about two minutes and during that time it gradually disappeared in such a manner as to appear that the angle was slowly changing, so that the sun was no longer reflected into his eyes.
Adair stated that the shape appeared to be round but that the glare was so bright that it could have hidden the true outline of the object. The report notes there was no oscillation visible—only steady flight. Adair stated his belief that it was an ordinary metal airplane reflecting light of the afternoon sun.
Context of the PURSUE Archive Release
The document is part of a broader release of declassified U.S. government records. Per a Wikipedia summary of the United States UFO files, these records, also referred to as the UFO files or the UAP files, are a collection of declassified United States government records concerning UFOs, also called unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). Wikipedia notes the files were released by the administration of Donald Trump beginning on May 8, 2026, and were announced to continue as repeated, ongoing, expanding releases of UFO materials.
The official description of the FBI’s 62-HQ-83894 case file indicates it includes high-profile incident accounts, photographic evidence from sites like Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and technical proposals regarding potential propulsion systems. Additional topics include convention programs, researcher accounts, and extensive media coverage from the period.
The file is partially posted on the FBI vault with more redactions and some pages missing. The version included in the PURSUE archive is described as the complete case file with several newly declassified pages and only minor redactions. The Portland sighting document itself carries the classification “SECURITY MATTER – X,” indicating the sensitivity with which such reports were treated at the time.
What Remains Unanswered
The FBI document offers a detailed account of a specific 1947 incident but leaves key questions open. Officer Adair’s explanation—that the object was an ordinary metal airplane—is presented as his personal opinion, not a definitive conclusion by the Bureau. The document does not identify the object or resolve the discrepancy between the multiple police units that reported sightings and District 14, which saw nothing unusual.
Readers should watch for future PURSUE releases, which per the Wikipedia summary are expected to continue as ongoing, expanding releases of UFO materials. The full scope of the 62-HQ-83894 case file, which spans over two decades of reports, may yield additional records that provide further context for the 1947 Portland sighting and other incidents documented in the archive.
