Vapor Trails over Goose Air Base, Labrador

On March 1, 1952, at 1544Z, an instrument instructor pilot, Captain W. C. Matthews of the 6th Air Rescue Squadron, MATS, reported observing vapor trails while flying a NEAC C-47 aircraft at an altitude of 6,000 feet over Goose Air Base in Labrador. The sighting was confirmed by the pilot of the aircraft, Major R. Hange. Captain Matthews immediately reported the incident to the Goose Air Base tower operator, who confirmed that there were no other aircraft known to be in the area at that time, excluding the local aircraft he was managing. Captain Matthews, drawing upon his experience flying in Europe during World War II, expressed no doubt that the vapor trails were real. The object creating the trails was described as a fast-moving aircraft, likely a jet, traveling at a very high altitude in a north-easterly direction. The official intelligence report, authored by Captain Charles J. Powley and approved by Colonel William L. Travis, concludes that there is insufficient data to determine the nature of the object, noting that a check of the area revealed no other aircraft traffic. The document is classified as unclassified and was later downgraded under DOD Directive 5200.10.