An airliner diverts to Valencia after red lights approach it, and a Spanish jet gives chase
November 11, 1979 · Manises Airport, Valencia · Sighting · Secondary sources only
On the night of 11 November 1979, the crew of TAE flight JK-297, a Super Caravelle with 109 passengers flying from Palma to Las Palmas, saw two intense red lights closing on the aircraft and diverted to an emergency landing at Manises, Valencia. A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 flown by Captain Fernando Camara took off from Albacete and reported a red light that matched his speed even when he went supersonic. The Air Force file, declassified in 1994, says the origin of the lights 'could not be determined'.
Why it matters (4/5)
A passenger flight forced to land and a fighter scrambled; Spain's Air Force later investigated and declassified it.
Caveats
Other accounts give a later declassification date and cite researchers who attribute the lights to distant industrial flares and stars, which the crews reject; those accounts were not checked against the file.
Sources
- El enigma del ovni de Manises (Que!), context