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This is a New Zealand Defence Force public release of RNZAF file AIR 39/3/3, "Flying Saucers," which covers 1952 to 1955 and was declassified in September 2010 under the Official Information Act. It collects sighting reports from the public and military personnel, press clippings, and a table of 1952 sightings. It also holds Carter Observatory opinions attributing some reports to meteors. A large part covers the inquiry into lights seen from National Airways Corporation Flight 108 on 31 October 1955, which the RNZAF could not fully explain as Venus.
“Christchurch”32 pages
# "Flying Light" Not An Illusion, Says Observer NEW PLYMOUTH, November 2 (P.A.).The "flying light" object that he saw on Sunday night was not an illusion, said Captain W. T. Rainbow, when he arrived at New Plymouth today. Several other people in the aircraft also saw it. Captain Rainbow was piloting a National Airways Corporation DC8 aircraft over the Walkato when he first sighted the object. "It was travelling at the same altitude - 8000 feet and was clearly visible. "It looked like a marine beacon kept revolving, so that we saw there was some kind of port hole in it. The object also changed colour slightly." There was a full moon and visibility was good. Captain Rainbow judged the object's speed to be about seven times greater than that. of his aircraft "because in the time it took us to cover the 10 miles between Albatross Point and what we call Hamilton West, the object covered 70 miles." It was in eight for, fully five minutes and, when the aircraft climbed to 9000 feet to clear some cloud, the object climbed with it. Among the passengers were Air Commodore R. J. Cohen, Inspector General of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and an airline pilot. "The pilot had seen the object when I spoke to him about it," said Captain Rainbow, "and I woke up Air Commodore Cohen and pointed it out to him. We did not tell the women passengers in case it caused some alarm." His co-pilot, First Officer S. G. Trounce, also saw it. "It was definitely not an illusion," Captain Rainbow added. "I know what a planet looks like and it was nothing like that. On the ground it is easy to get confused about these things. But when you're in the air and an object lies alongside of you, you cannot mistake that." FILE # INVESTIGATION OF MYSTERIOUS LIGHTED OBJECT The acting Minister of Defence, Mr. Halstead, this morning asked the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal W. H. Merton, for the fullest co-operation of the R.N.Z.A.F. in the inquiry. NEW PLYMOUTH, November 3 (P.A.).-A full investigation has been ordered by the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation, Mr. Shand, into the sighting of a mysterious lighted object by a National Airways Corporation plane crew on Monday night.
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