civilian-claim1979· Valencia, Spain

On November 11, 1979, Iberia/TAE Flight JK-297 made an emergency landing at Manises Airport near Valencia, Spain, the first documented case of a commercial aircraft diverting specifically because of a UFO. Captain Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada reported red lights approaching the aircraft on a collision course. A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 scrambled from Albacete reached Mach 1.4 in pursuit before losing contact.

Military and civilian radar at Torrejón and Barcelona both detected anomalous returns. The full Spanish Air Force report was declassified in August 1994. The official conclusion, that the lights were likely reflections from a distant industrial complex, was rejected by the flight crew, the pursuing fighter pilot Captain Fernando Cámara, and multiple aviation investigators.

Citations

Manises UFO incident· Wikipedia, 2024
The Flight JK297 UFO Incident. The Manises Case· UFO Insight, 2022

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