NW Of Azores (Atlantic), April 1960April 1960

On April 19, 1960, the crew of a Norwegian motor vessel called the Luxsefjell reported seeing a flaming object in the sky northwest of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship's bridge crew observed the object around 2324 GMT (11:24 p.m.) bearing roughly southwest and about 20 degrees above the horizon. The object was moving at great speed and appeared to rule out any conventional explanation like a star or airplane, according to the ship's master.

That same evening, a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft reported sighting a burning object at nearly the same time and location. The pilot described the object as glowing very bright white before it broke apart into trailing pieces. The sighting lasted approximately five seconds. Around the same time, another aircraft near Gander, Newfoundland reported seeing two bright streaks of green light about three to five seconds apart. A debrief of the patrol pilot indicated the object appeared round, very bright, and moving extremely fast, crossing an arc of 45 degrees in the five seconds it was visible.

The case file documents reached various military and naval commands, including North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and the Coast Guard. A senior controller noted that the only other reasonable possibility for the sighting was a falling comet or meteor. The Air Force's evaluation form, completed after the initial reports, concluded the object was probably a meteor. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives across 7 pages.