Dew Line, AlaskaSeptember 1962

Unidentified

Summary

On September 30, 1962, an FEC employee (a civilian contractor working at the Dew Line early-warning radar station in Alaska) reported seeing five objects flying southeast of Pou Delta station. The objects remained in sight for thirty seconds, heading north-northeast at very low altitude and traveling at approximately three hundred knots (about 345 miles per hour).

The observer could not identify the objects visually from their appearance alone. However, he heard sounds that made him firmly believe they were jet aircraft. Two other people were present at the time. One of them could not associate the sound with any particular source, but the observer remained definite in his identification of the sounds as jet engines. Visibility was ten to fifteen miles. The objects were not flying in any organized formation.

No radar contact was detected from the Dew Line's long-range radar systems. The Doppler radar (a system that detects moving objects by analyzing shifts in radio wave frequency) was operational, and both systems were checked for malfunctions with no problems found. However, the Doppler radar has known limitations, including difficulty detecting aircraft at very low speeds combined with certain flight angles, and it may miss targets below two hundred feet over land or fifty feet over water. It can also be disrupted by solar interference and jamming.

The Air Force evaluated the observer as mature and reliable. The station chief was also described as having high maturity and reliability. The case file notes that while the sounds led the primary observer to believe the objects were aircraft, there was no visual confirmation and insufficient data to reach a definitive conclusion. The full case file, consisting of thirteen pages, is reproduced below as held by the National Archives.

Reported location

Dew Line, Alaska

Date of incident

September 1962

State / country

AK / US

Page count

13 scanned pages

USAF evaluation

unidentified

Microfilm

T1206, Roll 46

«v E pr PROJECT 10073 RECORD CARD : : I. DATE 2. LOCATION | 12. CONCLUSIONS 1 0 Wos Balloon : _30 Septe 82 Dew Line, Alaska 0 tgp +44 Balloon : 3. DATE-TIME GROUP 4. TYPE OF OBSERVATION O Possibly Balloon : 0 Wos Aircraft 1 ET RR SNE AC Crs HH Ground- Visual O Ground-Roder O Probably Airerat? | GMT__Q1/0020 Oct B82 OQ Air Visual O Air-Intereept Radar |B Possibly Aireraft : 5. PHOTOS §. SOURCE 0 Was Astronomicol : C Yes O Probably Astronemical OxNe Military DO Possibly Astronomical 7. LENGTH OF OBSERVATION 3. NUMBER OF OBJECTS | 9. COURSE BDU ae XX XInsufticient Dota for Evaivation ph § 8 Unknown 30 seconds five NNE : 10. BRIEF SUMMARY OF SIGHTING 11. COMMENTS Visual sighting of jet a/c SSE of Possibly a/c, however no con- station, Give objects heading NNE,., In firmation and case is evaluated sight for 30 seconds, Low altitude, = as insufficient data. speed of approximately 300 knots. No definite formation, Not close enoggh to be identifidd as a/c, however, associated sound led observer to firmly believe they were a/ce Visibilitly 10-15 miles, no radar pickup, ATIC FORM 329 (REV 26 SEP 52) i ’ ik ; A ER——. Ub Bi iiss, SRE Salis SHES ii et 5 {df pA bid 19 : SL