John Whitted

Airline First Officer

John B. Whitted was the first officer and co-pilot of Eastern Air Lines Flight 576 and the second principal witness in the 1948 Chiles–Whitted Encounter. His testimony is especially important because he independently observed the object from the cockpit after Captain Clarence Chiles first alerted him.

Background

The surviving case material identifies Whitted as a 30-year-old Eastern Air Lines first officer at the time of the encounter. He had previous military aviation experience and is described in later historical research as having been a B-29 pilot during his military service.

This gave the case an unusually strong witness combination: two trained professional aviators, both familiar with aircraft and aviation conditions, observing the same event from slightly different positions in the cockpit.

Whitted's role in the encounter

At approximately 2:45 a.m. on July 24, 1948, Flight 576 was flying near Montgomery, Alabama, at roughly 5,000 feet when Captain Chiles spotted a rapidly approaching light and called Whitted's attention to it.

Whitted then observed the object as it passed their DC-3. His description broadly supported Chiles's account: a large, wingless, elongated object with bright illuminated features along its side and a fiery or glowing discharge from the rear as it climbed away into the clouds.

Differences between Chiles and Whitted:

Chiles reported seeing details including what appeared to be a cockpit area and a protruding structure or boom toward the front. Whitted did not report those features. Instead, Whitted emphasized what appeared to be a series of rectangular illuminated windows along the object's side. Both agreed on the central characteristics: an apparently structured, wingless object, intense illumination, rapid passage, and a sharp climb away.