Expediente Número 780704: Avistamiento de Fenómenos Extraños (Barcelona, Hospitalet y Sabadell)

This document file, numbered 780704, details an investigation by the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire) into a reported UFO sighting over Barcelona, Hospitalet, and Sabadell on July 4, 1978. The inquiry began following a letter from the Secretary of the Barcelona Parapsychology and Ufology Group (A.P.U.), who claimed that an unidentified flying object had overflown these areas and had been detected by the radar at El Prat Airport. The military hierarchy initiated a formal internal review, passing the inquiry from the First Air Region to the Operations Division and eventually to the Third Air Region and the Air Sector of Catalonia. The investigation involved formal requests for information from the Chief of the Control Center at El Prat Airport. The response from the Control Center was negative; they stated that there was no record of any unidentified object detection on that date. Furthermore, the Control Center noted that they had previously received telephone communications from the Palma de Mallorca Control Center regarding the launch of US military balloons from Sicily. These balloons were often slow-moving and typically did not appear on radar screens. Following these findings, the military concluded that there was no evidence to support the sighting report. The file was subsequently marked as 'declassified' on June 20, 1994, with the determination that there were no remaining aspects of the case that required the maintenance of a 'classified' status.