U.S. Capitol area included in the 1952 Washington UFO flap

During the July 1952 series of sightings, visual reports and radar contacts were reported in the airspace over the U.S. Capitol and surrounding central Washington, D.C. The simultaneous visual reports and radar returns over the Capitol were widely covered in contemporary newspapers and investigated by Air Force and FAA personnel. The Air Force's eventual public explanation cited radar anomalies due to temperature inversions; that conclusion remains debated by some historians and ufologists.