Description

1956 - Canada - A Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, while flying at an altitude of about 11 km saw and photographed a very bright, disc-like object that was remaining stationary near a thunderhead.
An analysis of the photograph suggests that it would have been radiating in excess of a gigawatt of power within the spectral range of the film.

At about 7:20 PM, MDT (about 20 minutes before sunset), on Aug. 27, 1956 a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot was flying nearly due west over the Canadian Rockies near Ft. MacCleod, Alberta (49.5 degrees latitude, 113.5 degree longitude).

He was flying at 36,000 ft (about 11 m) in the second position (far left side) of a formation of four F-86 Sabre jet aircraft.

While approaching a large thunderhead (cumulonimbus) at a ground speed of about 400 kts (740 km/hr) he saw, at a much lower altitude, a "bright light which was sharply defined and disc-shaped" or "like a shiny silver dollar sitting horizontal."