Regina, Canada, May 1960May 1960

On the evening of May 7, 1960, military personnel at and near Regina, Canada, spotted two white points of light moving across the sky. The objects traveled north, stopped, then proceeded east before fading away after roughly an hour of observation.

The sightings were reported by ground observers and tracked by electronic equipment (ground radar sets known as FPS-29 and FPS-GA). An F-86 jet fighter was scrambled to intercept the object, but the pilot could not locate it visually or on the aircraft's airborne radar. The file notes that strong northern lights were visible that evening.

The key detail came from the radar station itself: a weather balloon, or pibal (a balloon used to measure wind speeds and directions at various altitudes), had been released just before the sighting. When investigators compared the balloon's movement with what the witnesses reported seeing, the two matched perfectly. The object's speed matched the winds recorded at that location and altitude. One senior controller stated in his opinion that witnesses had seen the pibal, and that northern lights reflecting off the balloon may have caused radar interference.

The Air Force concluded that the sighting was probably a balloon. The case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, consisting of 7 pages.