Of course the Kenneth_Arnold_UFO_sighting wasn't the first. These UFO sightings are part of a phenomenon that has been going on since ancient times, perhaps even going much further back.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arnold_UFO_sighting#Arnold_shares_the_story
http://www.project1947.com/fig/kamurrow.htm Today and even several decades ago, if you are a pilot and you see a moving object that doesn't resemble or behave like any known conventional craft, you have a dilemma.
Any pilot that reports a UFO or highly advanced craft, they risk becoming grounded, as well as ridiculed.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/25/flying-saucers-still-evasive-70-years-after-pilots/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_flying_disc_craze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1947_flying_disc_craze#Events_of_Summer_1947