“Lots of Active Bright Lights in Formation” Reported by Pilots over Canada on January 19th
That CADORS report can be read here.
At least four aircraft reported the lights, including a Flair Airlines flight from Vancouver to Toronto that described seeing multiple lights sometimes in a triangle formation.
“Yeah, it’s quite bizarre,” a pilot on that flight said. “There’s around six of them just randomly in formation flying at a high altitude at 12 o’clock.”
An air traffic controller in Winnipeg said that a “company aircraft over Thunder Bay” suggested the lights could be satellites, but an Air Canada pilot flying from Seattle to Winnipeg replied, “I’m certainly no expert, but they’re moving side-to-side and then going away from each other and then forming triangles. That doesn’t really seem like they’re in any type of orbit. But I mean, I’m no expert.”
A pilot on a Morningstar Air Express cargo flight from Calgary to Toronto said the lights were “definitely not satellites,” adding, “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the 15 years of night flying that I’ve done.”
Despite talk of sunlight reflecting off of satellites, the strange lights remained a mystery to those involved in their reporting.
“There’s no active airspace, military airspace, anything like that we’re aware of,” an air traffic controller said. “I honestly have no idea what that might be.”
Although the Canadian military denies any interest in UFOs “outside the context of investigating credible threats, potential threats, or potential distress in the case of search and rescue,” Canadian Air Defence (CADS ID) was notified about the lights.
Canadian Air Defence Sector in North Bay, Ontario, monitors North America’s northern airspace as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for Canada and the continental United States.
“NORAD detects radar tracks and if required, provides a threat assessment of those tracks based on a variety of factors,” a Canadian NORAD and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) spokesperson told CTV News. “For operational security reasons, we do not discuss how NORAD assesses threats.”
Concerns about unauthorized incursions into NORAD airspace have been heightened since February 2023, when several unidentified flying objects were shot down over North America.
Despite this, CTV News reported, the RCAF, Transport Canada, and Nav Canada all declined to provide additional information on the sightings or any potential responses.
Meanwhile, later the same day, pilots in the U.S. reported a similar phenomenon, documented in a Memphis air traffic control audio recording.
