Expediente Número 700616: Avistamiento de Fenómenos Extraños

This document is an official declassified file (Expediente 700616) from the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire) regarding an unidentified aerial phenomenon reported on June 16, 1970. A civil pilot and a photographer, both working for the aerial photography company FOAT, observed a bright, lenticular-shaped object while flying in the province of Burgos. The object remained static at an altitude between 30,000 and 40,000 feet for approximately 15 minutes. The pilot attempted to report the sighting to the Villafria facility but was unable to do so due to a failure in the aircraft's VHF radio equipment. The crew eventually ascended to 11,500 feet to capture three photographs of the object before departing the area to adhere to their flight plan. The report includes internal correspondence between various military departments, including the Mando Operativo Aéreo and the Estado Mayor del Aire, documenting the transmission of the report and the subsequent evaluation. Intelligence officers concluded that the object was likely a weather balloon, citing the visual description and corroborating press reports of a weather balloon observed in the skies over Avila around the same time. The file was officially declassified on July 22, 1993, with the determination that no further investigation was required due to the clarity of the event and that there was no reason to maintain its classified status.