Bering Sea Area, January 1958January 1958

On January 11, 1958, a P2V-5F patrol bomber flying in the Bering Sea area detected three unidentified objects on its radar. The aircraft was operating near Kodiak Naval Base with four crew members on board. At 11:19 and 30 seconds (1119302, or approximately 11:19 a.m. local time), the radar operators first saw the targets appearing stationary on their screens. Within moments, the objects began moving west at a very high speed, estimated at 900 knots (about 1,000 miles per hour). The targets crossed in front of the aircraft's path at a distance of 11 miles, and as the distance closed, the three separate radar blips merged into a single target. Four crew members also reported seeing lights during the sighting, which lasted about five minutes.

The aircraft's crew tried to call the objects on emergency radio frequency 121.5 megahertz, but received no response. Investigators later identified that Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 285 was in the general area at the time, heading from Anchorage to Shemya. However, the flight's actual course and speed did not match the radar data and speed estimates for the unknown objects. The investigating officer noted that Northwest Orient Flight 285 passed within 20 miles of the patrol bomber, which might possibly explain the flashing lights the crew saw. But he concluded that the flight's path and speed did not align with what the radar had recorded.

The Air Force investigators contacted multiple military and civilian agencies to identify any aircraft operating in the area. None of the agencies reported any flights other than Northwest Orient Flight 285. No physical evidence was recovered. The investigating officer concluded that while the radar targets "indicated possible aircraft," the characteristics of the observed objects could not be matched to any known aircraft in the region at that time. The identity and origin of the objects remained unknown.

The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 7 pages of scanned documents.