The Light That Followed Ronald Reagan
In 1974, the governor of California looked out of his plane's window and saw a bright light. He asked the pilot to follow it.
What was reported
In 1974, Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, was flying in a small plane near Bakersfield when he and his pilot noticed a bright white light moving near them. According to the pilot, they followed it for several minutes before it suddenly shot upward at great speed and vanished.
Reagan told a Wall Street Journal reporter about it soon after, saying he had seen a UFO. He later avoided the subject, and when he was president he made several speeches imagining how an alien threat might unite humanity.
Explanations offered
The sighting has never been identified. Suggestions include a bright planet such as Venus, another aircraft or a weather balloon, with the speed being an illusion. Reagan told the reporter he was sceptical about UFOs before that night.
- When
- 1974
- Where
- Near Bakersfield, California, USA
- Witnesses
- Ronald Reagan and his pilot
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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