ACUFO:

ACUFO is my comprehensive catalog of cases of encounters between aircraft and UFOs, whether they are “explained” or “unexplained”.

The ACUFO catalog is made of case files with a case number, summary, quantitative information (date, location, number of witnesses...), classifications, all sources mentioning the case with their references, a discussion of the case in order to evaluate its causes, and a history of the changes made to the file.

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Boise, Idaho, USA, on July 6, 1947:

Case number:

ACUFO-1947-07-06-BOISE-1

Summary:

Coming apparently from the pioneering ufology group Civilian Saucer Investigation (CSI), branch of Los Angeles, a report in the ufology literature states that on July 6, 1947, at 1:00 p.m., Paul R. Bates, passenger on an airliner 10 miles southeast of Boise, Idaho, witnessed a "flying saucer" flash against a mountainous background. He called a stewardess, who ran back to try to see it, but by that point the craft had disappeared to the southwest.

Data:

Temporal data:

Date:	July 6, 1947
Time:	01:00 p.m.
Duration:	?
First known report date:	1998
Reporting delay:	Days, years.

Geographical data:

Country:	USA
State/Department:	Idaho
City or place:	10 miles southeast of Boise.

Witnesses data:

Number of alleged witnesses:	1
Number of known witnesses:	1
Number of named witnesses:	1

Ufology data:

Reporting channel:	ufology group.
Visibility conditions:	Day.
UFO observed:	Yes.
UFO arrival observed:	?
UFO departure observed:	?
UFO action:	?
Witnesses action:	Observed, called for witness.
Photographs:	No.
Sketch(s) by witness(es):	No.
Sketch(es) approved by witness(es):	No.
Witness(es) feelings:	?
Witnesses interpretation:	Flying saucer.

Classifications:

Sensors:	[X] Visual: 1. [ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages:
Hynek:	DD
Armed / unarmed:	Unarmed.
Reliability 1-3:	2
Strangeness 1-3:	1
ACUFO:	Insufficient information, possible plane with reflection.

Sources:

[Ref. mhc1:] MICHAEL D. HALL AND WENDY CONNORS:

These US ufologists indicate that on July 6, 1947, at 1:00 p.m. Paul R. Bates, passenger on an airliner 10 miles southeast of Boise, Idaho, witnessed a "flying saucer" flash against a mountainous background. He called a stewardess, who ran back to try to see it, but by that point the craft had disappeared to the southwest.

The source is detailed as: "Aldrich, Project 1947: A Preliminary Report On The 1947 UFO Sighting, p. 83."

[Ref. wia1:] "WIKIPEDIA" (EN):

Table of Reports, Jun 25 - Jul 21

Report publish date	Location	Date of claimed sighting	Names	Notes	Bloecher #
	10 mi SBoise, Idaho	Jul 6	Paul P Bates (580)		#406

The source "580" is indicated as "CSI of LA, now in NICAP Files".

Aircraft information:

There is no information on the aircraft available to me; but since the case involved a passenger and a stewardess, it was likely a DC-3 or DC4 passenger plane, or a similar passenger plane.

Discussion:

I was unable to find the primary source or the early sources for this case; I found nothing in the newspapers of the time that are available to me.

As it stands, the information is very scant and does not allow for ruling out, for example, an airplane reflecting the sun. The witness is a passenger, not a pilot.

Evaluation:

Insufficient information, possible plane with reflection.

Sources references:

* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.

[csi1] ? Ufology group Civilian Saucer Investigation (CSI), Los Angeles branch, USA.
[nip1] ? Ufology group National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), USA.
[jah1] ? "Project 1947: A Preliminary Report On The 1947 UFO Sighting", by Jan Aldrich, USA, page 83.
[mhc1] * "Alfred Loedding and the Great Flying Saucer Wave of 1947", book by Michael D. Hall and Wendy Connors, Rose Press publishers, USA, pp 62-63, 1998.
[wia1] * "Table of reports during the 1947 flying disc craze", list on the Wikipedia (EN), as of 2026, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_reports_during_the_1947_flying_disc_craze

File history:

Authoring:

Main author:	Patrick Gross
Contributors:	None
Reviewers:	None
Editor:	Patrick Gross

Changes history:

Version:	Create/changed by:	Date:	Description:
0.1	Patrick Gross	June 30, 2026	Creation, [mhc1], [wia1].
1.0	Patrick Gross	June 30, 2026	First published.

This page was last updated on June 30, 2026.