RAF Station, September 1959September 1959

On the evening of September 29, 1959, military personnel at RAF Station Kirknewton in Scotland observed an unusual light in the sky. The first sighting occurred at approximately 20:33 (8:33 p.m.). Two witnesses, both radio operators at the base, reported a round, white to dim yellow light about the size of a nickel to a dime. The object had an unusual brilliance and moved slowly at an estimated altitude below 1,000 feet and a speed between 75 and 150 miles per hour. Observers heard no sound and saw no exhaust.

About an hour later, at 23:30 (11:30 p.m.), multiple witnesses reported seeing a similar or identical light from three different locations near the base. A total of five people at three separate sites observed the object. All witnesses agreed on basic details: the light was round, white or dim yellow, about the size of a dime, and flew at low altitude and slow speed. They all stated it bore no resemblance to any aircraft they had ever seen. Because the object was seen from three different angles at the same time, the investigators ruled out the possibility that the light was a reflection from a temperature inversion or other weather-related optical effect.

The Air Force investigated several conventional explanations. They learned that a scheduled flight from London to Edinburgh had been approaching the airfield around the time of the first sighting on an east-northwest heading, descending to 5,000 feet. They also found that one additional witness, an Air Force airman named Gerald Gibey, had reported a UFO sighting at 23:30 (11:30 p.m.). However, the investigative officers concluded that they were unable to develop any reasonable hypothesis to explain the 23:30 sighting on September 29, 1959. No photograph was taken. The file's OCR text becomes increasingly difficult to read in the latter pages, though the basic findings remain clear.

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