A Swedish airline crew reports a shining metal object passing below their DC-3
December 17, 1953 · Over Hassleholm, Sweden · Sighting · Primary document linked
At 14:37 on 17 December 1953 the chief pilot of the airline Transair, Captain Ulf Christiernsson, and his crew chief, flying a DC-3 from Malmo (Bulltofta) to Stockholm (Bromma), saw a shining metal, nearly round object pass in the opposite direction about 600 meters below them, just above the clouds, for six or seven seconds. The captain told the press it gave off no exhaust or contrail, could not have been a meteor and might have been 'an unmanned robot'. The Swedish Defense Staff said it knew of no Swedish aircraft in the area, and the air force chief said radar records were being checked. The U.S. air attache in Stockholm forwarded a translation of the press account to Washington on 13 January 1954.
Era: Project Blue Book · Threads: Civil aviation, Other governments
Why it matters (3/5)
A crew sighting that the Swedish Defense Staff investigated and that made national news.
Caveats
The account reaches the U.S. file through a newspaper interview. The attache's report adds that a Royal Swedish Air Board source who knew the captain personally doubted his story. No outcome of the Swedish investigation is in the release.
Sources
- Air Intelligence Information Report Sweden 1953 (DOW-UAP-D163) (U.S. Department of War), primary