“Flying Light” Not An Illusion, Says Observer
NEW PLYMOUTH, November 2 (P.A.).—The “flying light” object that he saw on Sunday night was not an illusion, said Captain W. T. Rainbow, when he arrived at New Plymouth today. Several other people in the aircraft also saw it.
Captain Rainbow was piloting a National Airways Corporation DC8 aircraft over the Waikato when he first sighted the object. “It was traveling at the same altitude — 8000 feet — and was clearly visible.
“It looked like a marine beacon kept revolving, so that we saw there was some kind of port hole in it. The object also changed colour slightly.”
There was a full moon and visibility was good. Captain Rainbow judged the object’s speed to be about seven times greater than that of his aircraft “because in the time it took us to cover the 10 miles between Albastross Point and what we call Hamilton West, the object covered 70 miles.”
It was in sight for fully five minutes and, when the aircraft climbed to 9000 feet to clear some cloud, the object climbed with it.
Among the passengers were Air Commodore R. J. Cohen, Inspector General of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and an airline pilot.
“The pilot had seen the object when I spoke to him about it,” said Captain Rainbow, “and I woke up Air Commodore Cohen and pointed it out to him. We did not tell the women passengers in case it caused some alarm.”
His co-pilot, First Officer S. G. Trounce, also saw it.
“It was definitely not an illusion,” Captain Rainbow added. “I know what a planet looks like and it was nothing like that. On the ground it is easy to get confused about these things. But when you’re in the air and an object flies alongside of you, you cannot mistake that.”
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INVESTIGATION OF MYSTERIOUS LIGHTED OBJECT
NEW PLYMOUTH, November 3 (P.A.).—A full investigation has been ordered by the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation, Mr. Shand, into the sighting of a mysterious lighted object by a National Airways Corporation plane crew on Monday night.
The acting Minister of Defence, Mr. Halstead, this morning asked the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice-Marshal W. H. Merton, for the fullest co-operation of the R.N.Z.A.F. in the inquiry.