​The Gorman dogfight

As you enjoy the crisp, clear Midwestern air and gaze up at the stars this winter, taking comfort in the security that a place like Fargo has to offer, it could be hard to feel any sense of unease. It could be hard to think that anything strange or otherworldly could effect a place like this. Unless, of course, one of those “stars” you were looking at happened to move in a strange way.

Let me fill you in on a little secret:

On the evening of October 1, 1948, while participating in a cross-country flight, Second Lieutenant George F. Gorman was among a squadron of F-51 pilots with the National Guard, returning to Fargo’s Hector International Airport, when he decided to remain airborne due to the night’s clear skies.

As the rest of the pilots in his squadron were landing and preparing to rest for the night, Gorman was taking advantage of the flight conditions by tagging on some additional flying time to enjoy the beautiful autumn evening. Circling around the city, Gorman saw that that he wasn’t the only one out enjoying the clear evening. During his flight, he had noticed that there were quite a number of civilians out as well, including a football game happening at the stadium that he could clearly see the lights of and another plane, a small Piper Cub, aloft not far from him.

In the west, Gorman spotted something odd on the horizon. A small object appeared to be in flight with a bright blinking light, radiating through the night sky. Attempting to catch a closer look at the object to determine the type of craft he was seeing, Gorman noticed that he couldn’t spot any features that would identify the object as a plane. It was then that he decided to radio in to the Hector tower for intel on any aircraft in the area.

On radar, HIA (Hector International Airport) couldn’t detect any other aircraft in the area. Whatever the object was, it was invisible to the radar, but the men manning the tower answered that regardless of the radar’s capabilities, they, along with the nearby Piper Cub and its passenger, could observe the small bright object to the west. It was then that Gorman radioed in with the decision to pursue the craft in an effort to investigate and identify what it was. He began to make his way due west.

Approaching the strange craft, Gorman found great difficulty trying to get close enough to get a clear look. Whenever he would increase speeds, the object would move even faster and it was in this pursuit that Gorman learned that the object’s blinking light would turn into a solid one as it sped forth through the night. Failing to match speeds with the craft, Gorman then decided he would try alternative maneuvers in an attempt to get closer to the object with a series of sharp and precise turns.

When his maneuvers paid off and he was able to see the flying object at a closer distance, Gorman described it as a “simple ball of light” somewhere between six and eight inches in diameter and continued his pursuit, nearly colliding with the object only to find that the mysterious craft was capable of taking 180 degree turns to pursue him in return. The event was one that made its way over various areas of Fargo, including right above the skies over HIA where an air traffic controller confirmed another visual of the object, and made its way southwest of the city. After a few more moments of chase, the bright light then shot vertically upward into the sky and out of sight, vanishing into the night sky.

The strange case of the unidentified flying object over Fargo was officially named “The Gorman Dogfight” and was one that received national attention shortly after, becoming one of the most compelling cases of UFO encounters in United States history. Though several follow-up interviews and investigations were launched to bring any light to this case, along with numerous theories about various objects and weather balloons, the case of Second Lieutenant George Gorman and the unexplained ball of light remains unsolved.

[Editor’s note: Seng is the host of “Whispers in the Night” podcast--which explore topics of the paranormal and unexplained in the Midwest]