NOV 2: AUCKLAND: A bright "flying light" travelled alongside a National Airways DC3 plane for about five minutes last night.
It was seen by the pilot, co-pilot and several of the passengers. Both the plane and the "light" were flying at an altitude of 8,000ft.
The aircraft was on flight 108, the last passenger plane from Wellington to Auckland. It was piloted by Captain W. T. Rainbow and the co-pilot was First-officer S. G. Trounce.
Captain Rainbow described it as an "eerie experience".
"It was definitely not a comet or meteor," he said. "We see them often on night flights."
The light was first seen well behind the aircraft. It was travelling along the coast on a parallel course and gradually overtook the aircraft, flew alongside it, but some 15 miles distant, for a short period, and then disappeared ahead.
In the five minutes it was in view, it travelled from Waitara to the Waikato River mouth, a distance of about 72 air miles.
It must have been travelling about 850 miles an hour.
"It was just above a layer of cloud, and we could see it travelling against the white mass," said Captain Rainbow.
"The night was clear and visibility was excellent."
The light, was fluctuating in intensity and changing from red, through yellow and orange.
At first the crew thought it was another aircraft, but a call to flying control in Wellington confirmed that there were no aircraft in the area.
NOVEMBER 3, New Plymouth: The "flying light" object that he saw on Sunday night was not an illusion, said Captain W. T. Rainbow, when he arrived at New Plymouth today.
Several other people in the aircraft also saw it, he added.
Captain Rainbow was piloting a National Airways Corporation DC3 aircraft over the Waikato when he first sighted the object.
"It was travelling at the same altitude, 8,000 feet, and was clearly visible," he said.
"It looked like a marine beacon kept revolving, so that he saw there was some kind of port hole in it.
"The object also changed colour slightly."
There was a full moon and visibility was good, said Captain Rainbow.
It was in sight for fully five minutes and when the aircraft climbed to 9,000 feet to clear some cloud, the object climbed with it.
His co-pilot, First Officer S. G. Trounce, also saw it.
"It was definitely not an illusion," he added.
"I know what a planet looks like and it was nothing like that. On the ground it is easy to get confused about these things, but when you're in the air, and an object flies alongside of you, you cannot mistake that."
NOVEMBER 4, Wellington: A "full and immediate" investigation has been ordered by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Shand, into the sighting of a mysterious lighted object by a National Airways Corporation plane crew last Monday night.
The Acting Minister of Defence, Mr Halstead, this morning asked the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice-marshal W. H.
Merton, for the fullest co-operation of the Air Force in the inquiry.
Among those on the plane who saw the object was the inspector-general of the R.N.Z.A.F., Air Commodore R.J. Cohen.
The plane was on flight 108, the last flight on Monday night between Wellington and Auckland.
"I have called for an immediate full report," said Mr Shand this morning.
"This is the most circumstantial and apparently reliable report on such an object as we have yet had and I am especially interested because of the character of the witnesses, whose reputation cannot be questioned.
"There have been other previous reports of similar objects in New Zealand skies, but they have been dismissed as fireballs or other natural phenomena.
"On the evidence available, it appears that this object does not come into that category," Mr Shand said.
Interviewed by telephone, this afternoon, Air Commodore Cohen, who is at present visiting Hobsonville air station, said he thought the object sighted from the plane was a planet low down on the horizon.
"I cannot identify it, but have ordered the navigation people to investigate. They are checking on it now," he said.
"The object did appear to move," he continued, "but planets do appear to move quite fast when they are low on the horizon. I saw it over a period of about 10 minutes from 8.15pm, but really did not give it a second thought.
"It changed colour through a wide range of shades, but then planets do that in that position."
When he landed from a N.A.C. passenger flight at Kaitaia this afternoon Captain Rainbow said in a telephone interview: "There is not doubt in my mind that it was not a planet nor a comet or meteor, although at first I thought it was a planet.
"We first saw it astern, and I put the plane on automatic pilot, steering a steady course and was slightly ahead of it. I have never seen a planet move like that.
"It is easy enough to say it was a planet, but we saw it moving in and out of the top layer of stratus cloud.
"I took the plane up to 9,000 feet and the object climbed with us."