That Time A P-51 Mustang Pilot Chased A UFO

In 1948, George F. Gorman, a 25-year-old WWII veteran and North Dakota National Guard pilot, had an encounter that still puzzles experts today. Flying his P-51 Mustang on a clear October evening, Gorman spotted something strange in the sky—and decided to chase it. What followed became one of the most famous early UFO sightings in U.S. history.

A Routine Flight Turns Strange

It was the night of October 1st, 1948. Gorman had just completed a cross-country flight and decided to get in a little extra flying over Fargo. The skies were calm, perfect conditions for night flight. As he circled the city at around 5,000 feet, he noticed another plane well below him—a Piper Cub, flown by Dr. A.D. Cannon.

Then, off to the west, Gorman spotted something odd: a glowing light in the sky. It moved too fast to be a conventional aircraft. Curious, he radioed air traffic control to ask if any other planes were in the area. They confirmed: only the Piper Cub and his Mustang. But Gorman insisted—there was something else out there.

The Dogfight Begins

Cannon and his passenger in the Cub confirmed it too—they could see the strange glowing object. That was enough for Gorman. He radioed the tower to say he was going after it.

What followed was no simple flyby. Gorman pushed his Mustang to 400 mph, trying everything from sharp turns to high-speed climbs to get close. But the object kept outpacing him. It blinked as it moved, glowing brighter when it accelerated—something no known aircraft could do.

At one point, Gorman made a head-on run. The object came straight at him, then shot over his canopy at the last second. He estimated it was no more than 6 to 8 inches wide—small, round, and glowing bright.

Not Just Imagination

As Gorman climbed to 14,000 feet in pursuit, his plane stalled. The UFO stayed well above him, still in view. Meanwhile, Cannon and two air traffic controllers watched the whole thing from the ground through binoculars. They described the object as round, perfectly lit, and incredibly fast.

“I am convinced that there was definite thought behind its maneuvers,” Gorman later said. “It seemed to be governed by the laws of inertia—it turned fast, but not impossibly so, and followed natural curves in flight.” He even blacked out briefly during one of the turns, overwhelmed by G-forces his body couldn’t keep up with.

Eventually, the object climbed out of view, and Gorman, out of altitude and answers, returned to base.

Still Unexplained

The U.S. Air Force investigated and reportedly found radioactive traces on Gorman’s aircraft. They speculated he had flown near some sort of nuclear-powered object—though no definitive explanation was ever given.

Gorman kept quiet about it over the years, once telling a reporter, “If anyone else had reported such a thing, I would have thought they were crazy.” He later retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 1969.

To this day, the Gorman dogfight remains one of the most well-documented—and mysterious—UFO encounters in American history.