A Fairchild Major's Three Quivering 'Pancakes' over Spokane

Major R. J. Gardinier of Fairchild AFB was relaxing in his back yard in Spokane at about 14:00 on 3 September 1950 when three objects came out of the north-west at about 2,000 ft. At first they looked like cardboard tumbling in a dust devil. But they were evidently self-propelled. Each moved on its own and erratically. They quivered constantly and could hang motionless. They looked flat and pancake-shaped, 20 to 30 ft across and khaki-tan to the eye. Through a 6x23 monocular his wife fetched they were metallic bronze. The objects followed the Spokane River and circled the north-west corner of the city for about five minutes before leaving to the south-west toward Fairchild. Mrs Gardinier and a neighbour, Mrs Lowell Allen, saw the last one climb away. There was no sound, trail or debris. The sky was clear.

What is on the record

The case is Unknown #797 in Project Blue Book. The record card gives a military source, three objects and about five minutes, and its conclusion is Unidentified. The 57th Air Division looked at the report before forwarding it. It ruled out aircraft, landing lights, jet trails, meteorites and natural phenomena. It sent the report on with two near-coincident sightings, one of them by a man walking in the officer housing area.

Berliner's list of Blue Book Unknowns spells the name Gardiner; the file has Gardinier. NICAP, Hatch and Overmeire also list the case.

Why it sits where it does

L4 · OFFICIAL RECORD — a released government record names who saw it. Major Gardinier is the principal witness. His wife and Mrs Allen are identified for the last part of the sighting. Nothing from outside the file corroborates them in the archive. The tier measures sourcing rather than truth. What circled the north-west of Spokane is not resolved here.