Nandi, Fiji - Honolulu SW Of Canton Island, Pacific, May 1962May 1962

In May 1962, the crew of Qantas Flight 586 reported seeing lights from another aircraft while flying between Nandi, Fiji and Honolulu. The plane was cruising at 37,000 feet, about 35 minutes southwest of Canton Island, when the pilots spotted the lights of another aircraft moving east at roughly 35,000 feet. When the Qantas crew turned on their landing lights to identify the unknown aircraft, it immediately extinguished all of its lights.

The Qantas pilots contacted Canton Radio to ask about other traffic in the area. Canton Radio reported no aircraft besides Flight 586 in that region. The sky was clear at the time of the sighting.

The Air Force investigation that followed found no additional clues. A second record card in the file suggests the unidentified object moved from south to southwest and appeared as a slightly elongated light viewed through a car window. It allegedly passed behind ground obstructions at a 30-degree elevation angle. The investigating officer noted the witness believed UFOs come from outer space but thought this sighting might have been caused by an aircraft, despite the absence of sound and the object's luminescence. The officer concluded the case was likely an aircraft, reasoning that the absence of sound does not rule out the possibility of a conventional airplane.

The file contains 12 pages as held by the National Archives.