What does RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) reveal?

File AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 was opened 17 February 1990 and closed 13 March 2009 with E54 as the last formal enclosure, on the authority of SQNLDR A.W. Dale. NZDF released the redacted file under the Official Information Act in December 2010; the original at Archives New Zealand is restricted until 2080 on personal-privacy grounds under Section 9 of the OIA…

Which agency produced RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)?

RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) is a primary-source record from Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED (privacy-restricted until 2080).

When is RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) dated?

RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) is dated 1990-02-17 to 2009-03-13 (released December 2010). It was declassified December 2010.

What programs and topics appear in RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)?

RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) references AIR 1630/2, Kaikoura Lights investigation, OIA 1156, OIA 1158, RNZAF and pilot sighting.

What does RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) say, in its own words?

"The Royal New Zealand Air Force does not routinely investigate Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings nor does it act as a central co-ordinating body for the recording of UFO sightings reported in New Zealand." (source p. 7).

← Files

DISCLOSURE / FILE

RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)

Royal New Zealand Air Force file AIR 1630/2 Volume 2, opened 17 February 1990 and closed 13 March 2009, the period in which the RNZAF formally stopped investigating UFO reports and confirmed it is not a central recording body for sightings.

Brief

Declassified by the New Zealand Defence Force in December 2010, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 collects UFO correspondence and sighting reports routed through RNZAF Headquarters between 1990 and 2009, with the underlying original file restricted at Archives New Zealand until 2080 on privacy grounds. The bulk of the released material is a March 2009 chain in which SQNLDR Warren Dale, SQNLDR Mike Cunningham, AIRCDRE Steve Moore and others draft and approve the RNZAF's standing reply to two Official Information Act requests, OIA 1156 from North and South Magazine and OIA 1158 from Suzanne Hansen of UFOCUS NZ Research Network. The approved line states that the RNZAF does not routinely investigate UFO sightings and does not coordinate their recording, with the late-1970s Kaikoura Lights investigation cited as the lone exception. The file also captures Airways New Zealand fax reports of lights over Wanganui, Hamilton and a 100NM SW position at FL370 in 2000 and 2001, plus a 2002 inventor letter asking the Chief of Air Staff to back a "flight by quantum dynamics" machine, which Wing Commander S.A. Mackenzie declined.

Metadata

Agency: Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence
Release: 2010-12-22
Type: PDF • .pdf
Length: 153 pages
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED (privacy-restricted until 2080)
Programs: AIR 1630/2, Kaikoura Lights investigation, OIA 1156, OIA 1158
Tags: New Zealand, RNZAF, lights, pilot sighting, OIA, Kaikoura Lights, Airways New Zealand, FL370, 1990-2009

Key points

File AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 was opened 17 February 1990 and closed 13 March 2009 with E54 as the last formal enclosure, on the authority of SQNLDR A.W. Dale.p.6
NZDF released the redacted file under the Official Information Act in December 2010; the original at Archives New Zealand is restricted until 2080 on personal-privacy grounds under Section 9 of the OIA 1982.p.2
Vetting on 1 December 2010 recorded no classified NZ documents and no foreign-source classified documents on the file.p.4
RNZAF's March 2009 standing reply, approved by AIRCDRE Steve Moore, states the service does not routinely investigate UFO sightings and does not act as a central coordinating body for recording them.p.7
The Kaikoura Lights investigation of the late 1970s is cited as the sole exception, driven by public interest and a Government instruction of the day.p.7
OIA 1156 came from Caroline Courtney at North and South Magazine asking whether classified UFO files exist in NZ; OIA 1158 came from Suzanne Hansen, Director of UFOCUS NZ Research Network, requesting any RNZAF UFO holdings.p.9
RNZAF withheld personal-information UFO reports from members of the public on the grounds release could expose authors to public ridicule or harassment, citing statutory powers under the Official Information Act 1982.p.8
Airways New Zealand faxed RNZAF D OPS a 9 June 2001 report from the captain of QFA137 of a bright blue/green glowing light descending vertically 100NM SW at FL370, confirmed by the captain of ANZ184 who saw the flash in their 12 o'clock.p.19
A 26 September 2000 Airways fax reported a steady light low-level approximately 4NM SE of NZWB observed by several people from the same family for about an hour, occasionally bursting into a fireworks-like display; a follow-up two days later concluded it was probably Venus.

Verbatim

The Royal New Zealand Air Force does not routinely investigate Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings nor does it act as a central co-ordinating body for the recording of UFO sightings reported in New Zealand.
p.7
An exception was made in the case of the Kaikoura Lights Sightings in the late 1970s, due to public interest and an instruction from the Government of the day.
p.7
Statutory powers exist under the Official Information Act 1982 to withhold such
p.7
A. BRIGHT LIGHT GLOWING BLUE/GREEN DESCENDING
p.19
CAPTAIN OF ANZ184 CONFIRMED THEY SAW THE FLASH IN THEIR 12 O'CLOCK
p.19
STEADY LIGHT SIGHTED LOW LEVEL APPROX 4NM SE NZWB, OCCASIONALLY BURSTING INTO FIREWORKS LIKE DISPLAY, THEN RETURNING TO STEADY LIGHT,
p.23
MY RESEARCH HAS ENABLED ME TO IDENTIFY THE PROPOSE OF THIS MACHINE WHICH POINTS TO FLIGHT BY QUANTUM DYNAMICS, PLUS A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL FEATURES THAT ARE Major EVEN BY TO DAYS STANDARD,

Most interesting

The original file is locked at Archives New Zealand until 2080, a 70-year hold after closure justified entirely on privacy of the members of the public who filed UFO reports, not on national-security grounds.
RNZAF's internal email chain shows the no-investigation policy was a deliberate communications line built in March 2009 by SQNLDR Warren Dale and SQNLDR Mike Cunningham, approved by an Air Commodore, and reused verbatim for two separate OIA requests filed days apart.
The file was deliberately split mid-2010: Volume 2 was closed at the point between the last member-of-the-public correspondence and the more modern policy and administrative documents relating to the current review and public release, with Volume 3 opened to hold the policy material.
A 26 September 2000 sighting near Whenuapai of a steady light that burst into fireworks-like displays over an hour was identified two days later by an air traffic control officer as probably Venus, an unusually fast in-file resolution.
The file mixes scrambled Airways New Zealand teletype reports of pilot sightings at FL370 with letters from self-described inventors asking the Chief of Air Staff to help develop quantum-dynamics flying machines, and treats both as routine UFO correspondence.

Cross-references

PDFRNZAF UFO File, AIR 39/3/3 Volume 4 (1981–1984)Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence
PDFRNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 1 (1984–1989)Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence
PDFRNZAF UFO File, AIR 39/3/3A Volume 1 (1979–1984)Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence
PDFRNZAF UFO File, AIR 39/3/3 Volume 3 (1979–1980)Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence
PDF

Common questions

What is RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)?: Royal New Zealand Air Force file AIR 1630/2 Volume 2, opened 17 February 1990 and closed 13 March 2009, the period in which the RNZAF formally stopped investigating UFO reports and confirmed it is not a central recording body for sightings.
What does RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) reveal?: File AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 was opened 17 February 1990 and closed 13 March 2009 with E54 as the last formal enclosure, on the authority of SQNLDR A.W. Dale. NZDF released the redacted file under the Official Information Act in December 2010; the original at Archives New Zealand is restricted until 2080 on personal-privacy grounds under Section 9 of the OIA…
Which agency produced RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)?: RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) is a primary-source record from Royal New Zealand Air Force / Ministry of Defence. Its original classification was UNCLASSIFIED (privacy-restricted until 2080).
When is RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) dated?: RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) is dated 1990-02-17 to 2009-03-13 (released December 2010). It was declassified December 2010.
What programs and topics appear in RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009)?: RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) references AIR 1630/2, Kaikoura Lights investigation, OIA 1156, OIA 1158, RNZAF and pilot sighting.
What does RNZAF UFO File, AIR 1630/2 Volume 2 (1990–2009) say, in its own words?: "The Royal New Zealand Air Force does not routinely investigate Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings nor does it act as a central co-ordinating body for the recording of UFO sightings reported in New Zealand." (source p. 7).

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