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UFO

Kinross Incident

An F-89 Scorpion was scrambled to intercept a UFO over Lake Superior. Radar showed the jet merge with the object—then both disappeared. No trace of the aircraft or crew was ever found.

November 23, 1953
Lake Superior, Michigan, USA
5+ witnesses

The Vanishing Interceptor

On November 23, 1953, an F-89 Scorpion jet was scrambled from Kinross Air Force Base to intercept an unknown object over Lake Superior. Radar operators watched the jet approach the UFO—then both blips merged and vanished. Neither the aircraft nor its crew were ever found.

The Scramble

The response:

  • UFO detected
  • Over Lake Superior
  • Kinross AFB scrambled
  • F-89 Scorpion
  • Night intercept

The Crew

Two men lost:

  • Lt. Felix Moncla Jr. (pilot)
  • 2nd Lt. Robert Wilson (radar operator)
  • Experienced crew
  • Standard intercept
  • Never returned

The Track

Radar showed:

  • F-89 pursuing UFO
  • Closing distance
  • Objects merged
  • Single blip
  • Then nothing

The Disappearance

What operators saw:

  • Two radar returns
  • Approaching each other
  • Became one blip
  • Then vanished
  • Complete disappearance

Extensive effort:

  • Lake Superior searched
  • No wreckage found
  • No oil slick
  • No bodies
  • Nothing recovered

Official Explanation

Air Force claimed:

  • Canadian aircraft
  • RCAF identified
  • Not true
  • Canada denied
  • Cover story

Canadian Denial

RCAF response:

  • No aircraft there
  • Checked records
  • Nothing in area
  • Official denial
  • Explanation falls apart

The Questions

Mysteries:

  • What was the UFO?
  • Why did objects merge?
  • Where is the wreckage?
  • What happened to crew?
  • No answers

Lake Superior

Search challenges:

  • Massive lake
  • Deep water
  • Cold temperatures
  • Difficult search
  • But nothing found

Family Quest

Moncla family:

  • Sought answers
  • For decades
  • Air Force stonewalled
  • No closure
  • Continuing mystery

2006 Claims

Sonar discovery:

  • Claimed wreckage found
  • Great Lakes Dive Company
  • Proved questionable
  • No verification
  • Hope raised, dashed

The Implications

If true:

  • Aircraft captured
  • By unknown object
  • Crew taken
  • No explanation
  • Profound mystery

Official Silence

Air Force position:

  • Accident
  • Lake Superior
  • Case closed
  • No further comment
  • Standard dismissal

Significance

Military jet disappears while chasing UFO on radar with no trace ever found.

Legacy

The Kinross Incident represents one of aviation’s darkest mysteries—two airmen who flew toward a UFO and were never seen again, their fate unknown to this day.

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