UFO Encounter near Ottawa, Canada - AUG/1979

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The following report you are about to read concerns a most
interesting UFO sighting which occurred on August 17, 1989 over the
skies of Ontario, near our Nation's Capital, Ottawa. The first
piece of information you will see is a routine telex sent to the
National Research Council of Canada (NRC), which since the late 60's
has been given the responsibility as acting as the repository of
UFO reports. The second piece of info, is a reproduction of the
10 page letter sent to Uplands Air Base (and forwarded to the NRC)
by one of the two observers of the UFO sighting. The second name,
the name of the pilot, is blacked out in both instances, along with
his address and phone number. Through unique circumstances, I was
able to obtain the name of the pilot, which happens to be that of
John Cassidy, who was also (now retired) a long-time police officer.

The reasons for looking into this case are several. For one
thing, as I think you'll agree, this particular UFO sighting seems
particularly remarkable because of the credibility of the witnesses,
and the effects and duration of the UFO sighting. I've gone to
the trouble of reproducing this information here, since I think it
a good example of a fairly recent sighting which to date, doesn't
seem to have any usual explanation, although I have yet to check
with the NRC for their own findings. I noticed this particular
report while scanning through hundreds of pages of sighting reports
which can be found on microfilm, and obtained through the National
Archives of Canada. In addition, this sighting occurred less than
100 miles from my home town of Renfrew, Ontario, where at that time
I was residing. Additionally, and this is how I came upon the name
of the pilot, Cassidy is also known by both my father and brother,
who at the time were both private pilots, and who flew out of
Arnprior, Ontario, quite frequently. Thus, this particular UFO
incident is interesting to me for personal reasons.

I'm currently in the process of doing some nominal follow
up on this case in order to ascertain whether or not the NRC did
any further investigation on it, and whether or not they came up
with a prosaic explanation. Progress has already been made as to
getting additional details, and hopefully by about January 1990,
I'll have some further comments to make regarding this most
extraordinary UFO encounter of 10 yrs ago.

-Tom Mickus 12/15/89

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NOTE: "XXXXX" will represent "blacked out" material which appears
in the following reproduced documents. Additionally, the
phrase "[text faded on bottom of page]" indicates illegible
material, usually a sentence or two, which can be found at
the bottom of each of Elma L'Abbe's 10 page letter, which
was reproduced poorly for the microfilm which I viewed.

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A Claude (scrawled on top)


N 79/71 (meaning the 71st
sighting report
received by the
NRC in 1979.)

NRC OTT

COMM SQN OTT
PUZ4/21

P 211500Z SEP 79
FM NDHQ OTTAWA
TO ZEN/NDOC OTTAWA
BT
UNCLAS D SECUR 2294
NRC FOR HERZBERG INSTITUTE OF ASTROPHYSICS
SUBJ: UFO REPORT
REFS: A. CFAO 71-1
B. LETTER FROM MISS ELMA L ALBE(sic) 31 AUG 79
1. UFO REPORT. SUBJ REPORT RECEIVED UNDER REF B AND FWD IAW
REF A
2. A. 150100 AUG 79 (GMT)
B. CLEAR
C. MISS ELMA L ABBE, 98 MARY ST. ARNPRIOR, ONTARIO
K7S-1E5, TELEPHONE 623-5298 AND MR XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
ONTARIO, TELEPHONE XXXXXXXXX
D. LT AC ALT 4000 FT. HEADING 270 DEGREES FROM ST. JOVITE, P.Q.
TO ARNPRIOR, ONTARIO APPROX 40 MILES NE OF OTTAWA
E. N/A
F. DIAMETER 300 FT. THICKNESS 50 FT. A ROLLING ENERGY BALL WITH
A RED RADIANT SIDE AND A WHITE RADIANT SIDE, DISAPPEARED WEST
G. 5-8 MINS
H. COPY OF LETTER TO FOL
BT
.
NRC OTT
M
COMM SQN OTT

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SIGHTING REPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF CANADA (RG 77, Vol.309)
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Letter addressed to: Canadian Military Forces, Uplands Air Base,
Uplands, Ottawa, Ont.


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Miss Elma L'Abbe
98 Mary Street
Arnprior, Ont.
K7S 1E5

Aug. 31, 1979.

Dear Sir,

On Aug. 17, 1979, I was flying from St. Jovite, Que., to

Arnprior, Ont; heading 270~. I was in a single prop, fixed wing,

white with blue markings, 1974, Cherokee Warrior aircraft. I was

sitting beside the pilot in the cockpit. The two passenger seats

behind us were not occupied. Please note: neither myself or the

pilot were under the influence of alcohol or drugs...[text faded

on bottom of page]... We are both healthy, stable, cool, calculating

individuals, not given to halucinations or hysteria. We have known

each other over 25 yrs. I am, by profession, a medical technologist.

The pilot is, by profession, a police officer of approximately 16

yrs. experience. He is also a cattle farmer, and has good fortune

in the stock and bond exchange over the past 30 yrs. He is a pilot

of many years experience, and owns the aircraft we were flying in...

No. C-GOUD.


We were cruising at an altitude of...[text faded on bottom of

page]... Ottawa. We were above the Gatineau hills, approximately

40 miles N.E. of Ottawa. Visibility was excellent - maximum,

approximately 40 miles or more, minimum , 25 miles. The time of

the following experience was 2100 hrs. The pilot's watch stopped

at 2100 hrs, mine was not affected.


I looked out of my window and observed the (R) wing becoming

red in color. I then looked to my left, past the pilot's head, and

observed the the (L) wing was also red in color. I mentioned my

observation to...[text faded on bottom of page]... performance of

the aircraft. The pilot said to me, "the aircraft is slowing down

- our airspeed is "0" - the instruments are behaving strangely."

I said to the pilot "take it down 1000 ft.". He replied, "I can't,

I can't control the aircraft; the controls are jammed or something

- we should be falling yet we aren't". I said, "there is something

out there - it must be exactly overhead; I can't see it" - The

pilot agreed. At that point we both felt the aircraft being pulled

upwards...[text faded on bottom of page]... appeared to be stationary

in the sky, was being drawn upwards. The pilot looked out the right

window and said to me, "My God, look at the size of it; it must be

close to 300 ft. in diameter." When I looked, I saw a gigantic red

ball of energy, close to the right wing and close to the aircraft.

It sped away rapidly and as it did it appeared to be white light on

the reverse side... The depth of it was approximately 50 ft. It

disappeared into a large dark gray cloud to the west of us, only to

re-appear in the same cloud rolling towards the orange ...[text faded

on bottom of page]... it rolled, we saw it's red radiant side then

its white radiant side, as it rolled along the cloud exposed to our

view. When it sped away from our aircraft, we had a falling sen-

sation. The aircraft was returning to normal. The altimeter read

5000 ft. We estimated that we must have fallen 1000 ft. before we

got this reading. In total we estimated that we had been drawn

upwards 2000 ft. at least. At 4000 ft., we were flying once again,

right on course, just as it had been before this experience. The

temperature ...[text faded on bottom of page]...


This experience lasted 5-8 min. approximately... by my watch.

We ruled out St. Elmos fire because of the duration of the experience,

plus "its" re-appearance in the distant cloud. As we descended to

land at Arnprior airport, the rolling, red and white, energy ball,

disappeared into the orange sky of the sunset.


I am reporting this to you as I feel it is my duty to do so.

You may keep this for your records. We feel that we were very

fortunate. This thing could have ...[text faded at bottom of page]...

be so fortunate.


The pilot is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Ont; telephone

XXXXXXXX He can usually be reached mornings 9 a.m. to 12 noon,

with the exception of Wed and Sat and Sun.


Should you wish to contact him regarding this matter, please

use discretions, as his young wife is insanely jealous of him, and

very protective of 2 young children. She does not respect him or

his rights. She opens his mail and interferes with his phone calls.

Try to speak ...[text faded at bottom of page]... for the time being

at least, should you not be able to speak with him privately. If

he cannot speak freely, leave your name and number and he will

return your call. Or better still, phone or write me, and I will

relay your message to him. This later (sic) method would be more

reliable. The pilot has hesitated informing you of this sighting

due to his marital set up. He is presently proceeding with divorce

proceedings however that is not yet completed.


Your co-ordination would be most ...[text faded at bottom

of page]...


At the advice of my personal physician, here in Arnprior, I

requested that screening tests be done to determine whether or not,

the pilot and myself were exposed to excess radiations, and absorbed

same. I made this request Mon, Aug. 20th, to Dr. Wate of Radiation

Protection Bureau 998-4708 under the Federal Health and Welfare

Dep't. 996-4950, by telephone, and I must say that he was less than

helpful, or co-operative. He claimed our case to be "beyond his

realm of experience, and let the matter drop at that."