Manises Airport, Valencia, Spain
Manises Airport in Valencia, Spain is the site of the first recorded emergency landing of a commercial flight due to a UFO encounter. On November 11, 1979, TAE flight JK 297 made an unscheduled landing at the airport after encountering unidentified red lights over the Mediterranean Sea, an incident that became known as the Manises UFO Incident.
The Manises UFO Incident
At approximately 23:47 hours on November 11, 1979, Captain Javier Leo de Taha landed his Super Caravelle aircraft carrying 109 passengers at Manises Airport after two powerful red lights matched his aircraft's altitude changes and maintained close proximity despite evasive maneuvers. Barcelona Air Traffic Control had confirmed no other aircraft were in the vicinity, leading the captain to determine that continued flight violated aerial safety protocols.
Just prior to the emergency landing, the flight crew detected three additional UFO radar signatures, each with an estimated diameter of 200 meters. Airport personnel at Manises independently witnessed the anomalous moving lights, as did Marines stationed at the nearby Manises Air Force Base. When one of the radar signatures passed close to the airport runways, ground crew activated emergency lighting in case the object was an aircraft experiencing technical difficulties.
Military Response
The incident at Manises Airport prompted a military response. Spanish Air Force pilot Fernando Kamaro was scrambled at 04:00 hours from Los Llanos Airbase in a Mirage F1 fighter jet to intercept and identify the UFOs. His approximately 90-minute pursuit resulted in documented avionics jamming and apparent electronic countermeasures from the unidentified craft.
Significance
Manises Airport's role in the first commercial flight grounding due to UFOs, combined with independent witness corroboration from airport and military personnel, makes it a significant location in UFO history. The incident reached the Spanish Parliament in September 1980, where it was officially dismissed as optical illusions despite multiple forms of evidence.