Expediente Número 690225: Avistamiento de Fenómenos Extraños - Vuelo IB-435 Palma-Madrid

This document is a declassified file (Expediente 690225) from the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire) regarding an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) sighting on February 25, 1969. The crew of Iberia flight IB-435, a Caravelle aircraft flying from Palma de Mallorca to Madrid, reported observing a luminous object at approximately 26,000 feet near Sagunto. The crew described the object as emitting alternating red and white flashes every 10 to 15 seconds, and later reported it appearing as a triangle with illuminated vertices. The object reportedly performed rapid vertical descents and ascents, and was observed for approximately 20 minutes before disappearing. The crew attempted to contact military radar stations (Samba, Safari, Kansas) but received no confirmation of the object. The official investigation, conducted by a Juez Instructor (Investigating Judge), concluded that the object was the planet Venus. The report argues that the crew's observations, including the perceived movement and shape, were optical illusions caused by atmospheric refraction, the planet's position near the horizon, and the crew's distraction. The file includes transcripts of radio communications, declarations from the pilot (Jaime Ordovás Artieda) and co-pilot (Carvajal), meteorological reports, and astronomical data from the Madrid Observatory, all of which were used to support the conclusion that the sighting was a misidentification of Venus.