Barcelona Air Traffic Control
Barcelona Air Traffic Control played a critical role in the Manises UFO Incident of November 11, 1979, by confirming to TAE flight JK 297 that no other aircraft were operating on or near the commercial airliner's flight path when the crew observed two powerful red lights over the Mediterranean Sea.
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Role in the Manises Incident
At approximately 23:05 hours on November 11, 1979, Captain Javier Leo de Taha radioed Barcelona Air Traffic Control after flight mechanic Francisco Javier Rodriguez alerted the crew to two unidentified red lights approaching their Super Caravelle aircraft at 23,000 feet. Barcelona ATC's confirmation that no conventional aircraft were in the vicinity was a key factor in Captain Javier's decision to abort the flight path and perform an emergency landing at Manises Airport—marking the first recorded case of a commercial flight being grounded due to a UFO encounter.
The ATC confirmation eliminated the possibility of misidentifying conventional air traffic and supported the crew's assessment that they were observing genuinely anomalous objects that posed a safety risk to the 109 passengers aboard.