Document · 4 November 1968
Spanish Air Force file 681104: lights between Valencia and Sagunto, 4 November 1968
The Spanish Air Force file on the lights reported by the crew of Iberia flight IB-249 between Valencia and Sagunto on 4 November 1968, declassified in 1992. It contains the Air Operations Command intelligence summary and the transcript of the crew's exchange with Barcelona Control. Published in the Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa under CC BY 4.0 ("Fuente: Biblioteca Central del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio / Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa").
Sources: Ejército del Aire, expediente 681104
Facts and claims
- documented The file summarises that at 18:23Z on 4 November 1968 Iberia flight IB-249, a Caravelle from Barcelona to Alicante, told Barcelona Control it had in sight a very large light with two small side lights, which descended, went out, rose and lit again, and finally went out and was lost towards the Mediterranean. Barcelona had no radar contact, as the estimated position was beyond its range. Source: doc-ea-expediente-681104-valencia-sagunto.pdf
- documented The transcript records the crew saying: "es una luz central muy grande con dos luces laterales — la estamos mirando todos desde la cabina — a ver si la pueden ustedes localizar en la pantalla — está como un OVNI". Source: doc-ea-expediente-681104-valencia-sagunto.pdf
- documented The 1992 declassification review notes that there was no follow-up investigation and no data on size, altitude or speed. It suggests the descending and dimming effect could be a ventral light, such as landing lights, ceasing to be visible from above, but concludes that the scarcity of data prevents any reliable hypothesis. Source: doc-ea-expediente-681104-valencia-sagunto.pdf
Connected files
Incidents
Videos
- En familia: OVNIs (RTVE, 1989), with Lt. Gen. Carlos Dolz de Espejo and Iberia captain Juan Ignacio Lorenzo (discussed in)
More documents
- Spanish Air Force file 761119: the luminous phenomenon over the Canary Islands, 19 November 1976
- Spanish Air Force file 670603: aircraft and radar encounter over Montánchez, 3 June 1967
- Brazilian Air Defence Command report on the events of 19–20 May 1986 ("Official UFO Night")
- Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case)
- Italian Air Force OVNI archive, 1972–1990 (summary table of 208 reports)
- Project Blue Book case file: Haneda AFB, Japan, August 1952