Goose AFB, Labrador, May 1953May 1953

On the night of May 1-2, 1953, two separate sightings of unidentified objects occurred near Goose Air Force Base in Labrador. The first involved an F-94 fighter jet piloted by Captain R.L. Embery. At around 0203 hours (2:03 a.m.) on May 2, Embery spotted a bright white light about 11,000 feet below him while he was flying at 24,000 feet. He had clear visibility and no obstructions, making it an ideal time to observe. The pilot chased the object for roughly 32 minutes, but it repeatedly outmaneuvered him and moved at speeds he estimated at 600 knots, far exceeding his aircraft's capability. The object showed what Embery called "definite maneuverability." When he tried to close in, the object employed evasive action and stayed between 12 and 15 miles away. Embery's radar operator never achieved radar contact with the object, and there was no visible jet or rocket exhaust. The pilot could not photograph the object or detect any color change in the light.

About the same time, a commercial airline crew reported a second sighting. Pilot Warden of Maritime Central Airways and his copilot observed two moon-shaped luminous objects positioned about 500 feet off their right wing while flying 130 miles southeast of Goose Bay. The objects stayed alongside the aircraft for three or four seconds, then suddenly accelerated and departed. One object appeared directly in front of the other. The visibility was unlimited at the time of this sighting. The Air Force radar station at Goose (a PS-5 radar set) recorded no contact with either the objects or the commercial aircraft during the second sighting.

Air Force intelligence officers interviewed multiple witnesses, including radar operators and tower personnel at Goose who reported seeing the first object. One tower witness described it as giving off a purple light and moving at tremendous speed. The investigation found no conventional aircraft in the area that could account for either sighting. Intelligence evaluators concluded that both sightings represented unidentified objects, though they noted that darkness and the object's excessive speed prevented clear identification by shape or configuration. A handwritten note on the file questioning why fuller reports took so long to arrive and asking why radar contact was never achieved suggests the case remained puzzling to those who reviewed it.

This case file, comprising 8 pages as held by the National Archives, remains one of the few Blue Book cases involving multiple credible witnesses, including experienced pilots, and simultaneous radar investigations that produced no conventional explanation.