Newfoundland, Canada, 1951
In Newfoundland, Canada, on February 10,1951, Atlantic-Continental Air Transport Squadron 1, a US Navy flight, encountered a giant UFO.
The flight took off from Keflavik, Iceland, about 90 miles west of Gander, Newfoundland. The pilot of the craft was US Naval Reservist Lieutenant Graham Bethune, who was the first crew member to spot a large, unknown flying craft.
Bethune could quickly see that the 300 ft. diameter UFO was on a collision course with the plane. Members of the crew in the cockpit were all scurrying to see the object, which resulted in several of them sustaining minor injuries.
Captain Bethune's Statement
In an official statement, Bethune stated:
"I observed a glow of light below the horizon about 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the water. We both [the pilot as well] observed its course and motion for about 4 or 5 minutes before calling it to the attention of the other crew members... "
Suddenly, the UFO seemed much larger... it was accelerating, estimated at up to 1,000 mph, and the crew was extremely concerned with a possible head-on collision. Then the object's color began to change.
To the relief of the crew, the UFO's angle of flight suddenly changed. At this time, the crew was able to clearly see that the object's shape was circular, and the UFO was of a red-orange color.
Collision Avoided
The object had reversed its course, tripled its speed, and soon disappeared over the horizon. Later, it would be verfied by radar that the UFO had come to within 5 miles of the plane. The UFO was tracked by DEW Line Radar at Goose Bay, Labrador.
The plane arrived safely, and soon the entire crew was interrogated by Air Force Intelligence. It was also reported the the captain of the plane was shown a photograph of a UFO by what was believed to be the CIA. The UFO was similar to what the crew had encountered.
In a subsequent video interview, Bethune would add that the UFO was under intelligent control, and that he had disengaged his automatic pilot, to attempt to fly under the object, and therefore avoid what seemed to be an imminent collision.
