Incident · 21 December 1978 – 31 December 1978 · Kaikōura coast, South Island, New Zealand
Kaikōura lights
Also known as Kaikoura lights, Kaikoura
Partly explained. The RNZAF attributed the sightings to natural but unusual atmospheric phenomena, Venus, spurious radar returns, squid boats and ground lights; an independent study in the same file disputes this for the radar-tracked object. (RNZAF UFO file AIR 1080/6/897 Vol. 1: investigation of the December 1978 east-coast South Island sightings (Kaikōura))
On 21 December 1978 the crew of a Safe Air cargo flight from Blenheim to Christchurch, pilots Vern Powell and Ian Pirie, saw unexplained lights off the Kaikōura coast of New Zealand's South Island, some reportedly matched by Wellington air traffic control radar.
On the night of 30–31 December a Melbourne television crew, reporter Quentin Fogarty and cameraman David Crockett, flew a newspaper run between Wellington and Christchurch aboard a Safe Air Argosy with Capt. Bill Startup and filmed bright lights on 16 mm colour film for about fifteen minutes, again with radar contacts reported. The footage was broadcast around the world.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force investigation attributed the sightings to a combination of a very bright Venus, unusual atmospheric propagation and anomalous radar returns, and the lights of squid-fishing boats, cars and trains; its files were released in December 2010. The physicist Bruce Maccabee disputed those explanations, while a later re-examination of the film by DSIR scientist William Ireland matched the lights to squid boats about 6 km away.
Sources: RNZAF file AIR 1080/6/897 · Wikipedia · ABC News (2010)
Facts and claims
- claimed On December 21, 1978 the crew of a Safe Air Argosy cargo plane saw unexplained lights off the Kaikōura coast, some reportedly matched by Wellington air traffic control radar. Source: abc.net.au (archived)
- claimed On the night of December 30–31 a TV crew led by journalist Quentin Fogarty flew with Capt. Bill Startup and filmed bright lights, again with radar contacts reported. The footage was broadcast worldwide. Source: The Kaikoura UFOs - 1978 at 3:17
- documented The RNZAF concluded that the radar and visual sightings "are the result of natural but unusual atmospheric phenomena": freak propagation effects on radar and light, an unusually bright Venus, known spurious returns on the Wellington ATC radar, the lights of more than 50 Japanese squid boats, and possibly trains or vehicles near the Clarence River. Its file AIR 1080/6/897 was released in December 2010. Source: RNZAF UFO file AIR 1080/6/897 Vol. 1: investigation of the December 1978 east-coast South Island sightings (Kaikōura)
- documented A DSIR image analysis of TV1 film shot near the Clarence River on 3 January 1979 found the light's brightness and deblurred size consistent with Venus. An independent study in the same file disputes conventional explanations for the object filmed and tracked on the Argosy's radar on 31 December. Source: RNZAF UFO file AIR 1080/6/897 Vol. 1: investigation of the December 1978 east-coast South Island sightings (Kaikōura)
Connected files
Books
- The Kaikoura UFOs (subject of)
- Let's Hope They're Friendly! (subject of)
Documents
- RNZAF UFO file AIR 1080/6/897 Vol. 1: investigation of the December 1978 east-coast South Island sightings (Kaikōura) (documented in)
People
- Bill Startup (witnesses)
- Quentin Fogarty (witnesses)
Videos
- The Kaikoura UFOs - 1978 (subject of)
Mentioned in this file
- Robert Powell (Person)
Mentioned in videos
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