BOAC Stratocruiser paced by seven objects

BOAC Flight 510-196, a Boeing Stratocruiser from New York to London via Goose Bay, was cruising at 19,000 ft when the crew saw a large dark object and six smaller ones keeping pace a few miles off the port side. They held station for 18 minutes as the crew and passengers watched. Goose Bay sent up a USAF F-94. As it approached, the small objects seemed to merge into the large one, which shrank and disappeared. Captain Howard was interviewed on the BBC days later.

Explanation

Suggested explanations include a mirage or other optical effect in the evening sky; none has been generally accepted.

What was seen

Shape: One large dark object and six smaller ones
Witnesses: Captain James Howard, First Officer Lee Boyd, crew and passengers
Duration: 18 minutes

Sources

• Wikipedia — UFO sightings in the United Kingdom (1954 BOAC entry)

Browse

• Canada
• 1950s
• Unresolved
• Aviation encounters
• Official government documents
• Many independent witnesses
• Pilot and aircrew witnesses

Similar cases

• Nash–Fortenberry sighting 14 July 1952
• U.S. Navy R5D — object over the North Atlantic 10 February 1951
• American Airlines Captain Peter Killian’s three lights 24 February 1959
• Carson Sink — two colonels in a B-25 meet three deltas 24 July 1952