Pilots aboard a Canadian North airline flight bound for Yellowknife were unable to identify “two white lights” that were dancing in a circular pattern around 10 nautical miles northwest of the Yellowknife airport. The ATR 42-500 charter that departed from Fort McMurray, Alberta, sighted the lights when approaching its destination late at night on Jan. 29 at 11:15 p.m. local time. An incident report on Transport Canada’s aviation incident database, the Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), states that the pilots could still see the lights “as they continued their approach all the way to the ground.” The conversation was recorded and can be heard on the audio recording. The air traffic controller then filed a CIRVIS report, which stands for “Communication Instructions for Reporting Vital Intelligence Sightings.” This report should be made “immediately upon a vital intelligence sighting of any airborne and ground objects or activities that appear to be hostile, suspicious, unidentified or engaged in possible illegal smuggling activity,” according to a rules and procedures document published by Nav Canada. U.S. President Joe Biden has established an inter-agency team to investigate unidentified aerial phenomena. Transport Canada’s CADORS reports cover a wide array of incidents, ranging from bird strikes to disruptive passengers. These reports contain preliminary, unconfirmed data which can be subject to change.
Crew reports white lights over Yellowknife.
