Incident · 11 November 1979 · Manises Airport, Valencia, Spain
Manises UFO incident (TAE flight 297)
Also known as Manises, TAE 297
Partly explained. The Spanish Air Force found "no proof to admit the presence of UFOs", found no confirmed radar contact correlated with the lights, and suggested a bright planet, a balloon or reflected lights; it did not identify the object. (Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case))
At about 23:00 on 11 November 1979, the crew of TAE flight 297, a Supercaravelle carrying 109 passengers from Salzburg to the Canary Islands, saw red lights that seemed to approach the aircraft at collision speed and then follow it. Radar stations in Madrid and Barcelona could offer no explanation, and Capt. Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada diverted to Valencia-Manises, often described as the first emergency landing of a commercial flight because of a UFO.
A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 flown by Capt. Fernando Cámara was scrambled from Los Llanos Air Base; he reported pursuing a bright, colour-changing object at up to Mach 1.4, with his avionics apparently jammed.
The Spanish Air Force file, declassified in 1994, found no confirmed radar contact correlated with the lights: brief echoes on the EVA 5 height-finder were judged probable clutter, and only the airliner's track was recorded. Its investigating general found "no proof to admit the presence of UFOs", and a later note for Parliament called the object possibly "simply an optical illusion". Researchers such as Juan Antonio Fernández Peris have attributed the lights to industrial flare stacks and bright stars, explanations the witnesses reject.
Sources: Spanish Air Force file 791111 (Biblioteca Virtual de Defensa) · Wikipedia
Facts and claims
- claimed Transportes Aéreos Españoles flight 297 (Salzburg to Tenerife, 109 passengers), captained by Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada, diverted to Valencia-Manises after the crew saw red lights that seemed to approach and follow the aircraft. A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 was scrambled from Los Llanos to intercept. Source: en.wikipedia.org (archived)
- documented The Spanish Air Force file (declassified 1994) found no confirmed radar contact correlated with the lights: the EVA 5 radar's height-finder briefly showed up to five echoes at 9,000–11,000 ft, which the inquiry judged probable fixed echoes or clutter, and Pegaso recorded only the Caravelle's track. The investigating Lieutenant General concluded in January 1980 that there was "no proof to admit the presence of UFOs" and suggested a bright planet, a weather balloon or lights reflected by a temperature inversion, heightened by the crew's anxiety. A 1980 note for Parliament says the object "may simply have been an optical illusion". Source: Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case)
- documented The file's summary notes that a flashing green, red and white light seen southeast of Valencia was later found to follow the movement of the sky, and that the Albacete F1 could not close on the lights, though its pilot reported radio interference and locks on his warning system. Source: Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case)
- claimed Later researchers, notably Juan Antonio Fernández Peris, proposed bright stars and refinery flare stacks as explanations; the witnesses reject them. Source: en.wikipedia.org (archived)
Connected files
Documents
- Spanish Air Force file 791111/791117/791128: unusual phenomena in Valencia, Motril and Madrid, November 1979 (the Manises case) (documented in)
People
- Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada (witnesses)
Videos
- 1979-11-11 Manises Case, Spain (subject of)
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