Manises UFO incident
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🛸 Case
Contents 5
| Type | Case |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Manises incident |
The Manises UFO incident took place on the night of 11 November 1979, when a Spanish charter airliner carrying 109 passengers diverted to Manises airport in Valencia after its crew reported red lights closing on the aircraft. A Spanish Air Force Mirage F1 was later sent to investigate. Journalist Javier Cavanilles has called it Spain's most famous UFO case.[1][2]
The flight
The aircraft, a TAE Super Caravelle on flight JK-297, was flying German and Austrian tourists from Salzburg to the Canary Islands after refuelling in Palma de Mallorca. At about 11 p.m. Captain Francisco Javier Lerdo de Tejada saw red lights apparently approaching on a collision course. Military radar and Barcelona control could not explain them. He said the lights followed his changes of altitude, staying close to the aircraft, so he diverted to Manises. Passengers were told the landing was due to a fault.[1][3]
The captain's account
Speaking to reporters in the Canary Islands days later, Lerdo de Tejada said he had seen an unidentified flying object and had never known such danger. He said the objects followed him down 12,000 feet in 30 seconds and disappeared about 30 miles from Valencia. A former Spanish Air Force pilot, he said he had spoken to the Mirage pilot, who confirmed what he had seen.[3]
The Mirage
A Mirage F1 piloted by Capt. Fernando Cámara took off from Los Llanos air base in Albacete. He reported seeing a bright object that changed colour, which moved away as he approached, and said that during a later attempt his aircraft's systems indicated it was being tracked by radar. After about an hour and a half he returned to base short of fuel.[1]
Official explanations
In 1980 the incident was raised in the Spanish Senate, and officials attributed it to optical illusions. The Spanish Air Force file, compiled in 1994, was declassified in 1996. Researcher Juan Antonio Fernández Peris used it for a detailed study suggesting the crews had been misled by flares from a distant chemical plant and by stars and planets; the witnesses rejected this. Some have suggested that electronic warfare equipment on U.S. Sixth Fleet ships in the area could explain the Mirage's system alerts, which Cámara disputed.[1][4]
References
- Manises UFO incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Un 'ovni' forzó el aterrizaje de un Caravelle en Manises", El País (13 Nov 1979) · elpais.com · archived copy
- "'UFOs' force Spanish pilot to land", The Guardian (from the archive, 14 Nov 1979) · theguardian.com · archived copy
- Juan Antonio Fernández Peris, "The Manises UFO file", Academia.edu · academia.edu · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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