Dogfight with a UFO
Gorman told the tower that he was going to pursue the object to determine its identity. He moved his Mustang to full power (350 to 400 MPH), but soon realized that the object was going too fast for him to catch it in a straight run.[3] Instead, he tried cutting the object off by turns. He made a right turn and approached the object head-on at 5,000 feet; the object flew over his plane at a distance of about 500 feet. Gorman described the object as a simple "ball of light" about six to eight inches in diameter. He also noted later that when the object increased its speed, it stopped blinking and grew brighter.[3]
After his near-collision, Gorman lost sight of the object; when he saw it again it appeared to have made a 180-degree turn and was coming at him again. The object then made a sudden vertical climb; Gorman followed the object in his own steep climb. At 14,000 feet his P-51 stalled; the object was still 2,000 feet above him.[3] Gorman made two further attempts to get closer to the object, with no success. It seemed to make another head-on pass, but broke off before coming close to his fighter. [3] By this point the object had moved over the Fargo Airport, in the control tower the air traffic controller, L.D. Jensen, viewed the object through binoculars but could see no form or shape around the light.[4] He was joined by Dr. Cannon and his passenger from the Piper Cub; they had landed and walked to the control tower to get a better view of the object.[4]
Gorman continued to follow the object until he was approximately 25 miles southwest of Fargo. At 14,000 feet he observed the light at 11,000 feet; he then dived on the object at full power. However, the object made a vertical climb. Gorman tried to pursue but watched as the object passed out of visual range. At this point he broke off the chase; it was 9:27 PM.[5] He flew back to Fargo's Hector Airport.
