49.50N 50.03W (Atlantic), February 1951February 1951

On February 10, 1951, a crew of five Navy pilots spotted something unusual over the Atlantic Ocean east of Newfoundland. The men were flying a transport plane (a Navy C-54, registration number 6501) from Iceland to Newfoundland at 10,000 feet. At 00552 (about 12:52 a.m.), they spotted a yellowish light on the water below them, roughly 200 miles northeast of Argentia. At first they thought it might be a lit-up ship or a distant city.

As the crew watched, the object climbed rapidly through a thin layer of clouds and grew tremendously bright. It took on a circular shape with a glowing yellow-orange ring around its edge. The pilots estimated it was at least 200 to 700 feet across, though darkness and distance over water made precise estimates difficult. The object appeared to be heading toward their plane on a collision course. When it seemed dangerously close, it suddenly reversed direction, making a roughly 130-degree turn, and shot away over the horizon at what the crew described as "terrific speed," perhaps well over 1,000 miles per hour. The entire sighting lasted seven to eight minutes.

The five Navy officers who witnessed the object, all experienced North Atlantic pilots, filed detailed accounts of what they saw. A sixth crew member also reported seeing a glowing, round object resembling fire. Gander Air Traffic Control confirmed that no other aircraft were known to be in the area. Weather was clear with good visibility. The Air Force initially requested additional information from the Navy, but the case was later closed after consultation with an astronomer. While investigators acknowledged the possibility that the object could have been a meteor or fireball, they concluded it was most likely an unusual display of the northern lights (aurora borealis) occurring at that latitude.

The full case file of 17 pages is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.