Kinross incident (Moncla F-89)
- Date
- 23 Nov 1953
- Place
- Over Lake Superior, north-west of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (F-89C from Kinross AFB), United States
- Record
- Curated case
- Assessment
- Contested
- Evidence strength
What was reported
On the evening of 23 November 1953 Air Defense Command radar at Sault Ste. Marie tracked an unidentified target over Lake Superior near the Soo Locks, and an F-89C from Kinross AFB with pilot Felix Moncla and radar operator Robert Wilson was scrambled. Ground controllers saw the two radar returns converge and merge at about 8,000 ft, after which the fighter's IFF signal vanished; no wreckage or bodies were found. The official accident report says the target was an off-course Royal Canadian Air Force C-47 and that the F-89 probably crashed during the intercept; the Canadian pilot later denied being intercepted, and Donald Keyhoe popularised the case as an aircraft taken by a UFO. A 2006 claim that divers had found the wreck was exposed as a fabrication.
What officials concluded
Resolved
Crash during the intercept of an off-course RCAF C-47 (USAF accident report)
Strongest ordinary reading
Aircraft accident during an intercept; the identity of the target is disputed by the Canadian crew
Evidence profile
- No: Visual
- No: Infrared
- Yes: Radar
- No: Video
- No: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- No: Civilian
- Yes: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- Yes: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- No: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- No: Silent
Outside sources
- Wikipedia: Felix Moncla (Kinross incident)en.wikipedia.org
On the map
46.80° N, 85.50° W, plotted at the centre of the region named in the record
Show on the map