File 137 · 21–31 December 1978
Kaikoura lights, New Zealand
Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand
Opened 9/4/2026
Ledger illustration of the file — not a photograph of the object. Ledger illustration of the report. South Island coast at night. — Night Ledger illustration of the file
Standing
Unidentified
On the public record, and still open. A claim, paper, or film — not a finding that it was ours, and not a finding that it was not.
What was claimed
A TV crew on an Argosy freighter filmed lights off Kaikoura. Radar, pilots, and Wellington air traffic were all in the loop.
What is on the record
This file is a working record — a report, not a verdict. Official paper, if any, is linked where we have it.
On 21 December, a Safe Air Argosy flying from Blenheim to Christchurch reported lights that the Wellington radar also held. On 30–31 December, reporter Quentin Fogarty and a film crew rode the same run and recorded bright objects, some appearing to pace the aircraft. Capt. John Boswell and others described targets that dropped and climbed.
Squid-boat lights and radar artifacts have been the long official lean. The film still shows compact, bright sources against the dark water. A news crew, a cargo plane, and a radar talk-down: New Zealand’s most-watched file.
Could this have been ours?
The known sky, that night.
Satellites were already up. The station was not. Starlink was not.
Always
Venus and the bright planets
A fixed brilliant point. Does not streak. Does not hover over a street then leave. Often the first misread light in a rural report.
Always
Aircraft, balloons, meteors
Landing lights, flares, lanterns, reentries, fireballs. They are on the known sky. They do not close a file by themselves — they are what a serious look has to hold the claim against.
Orbit · Space — the desks for lights that are already named.
Sources
Related files
Same craft, same place, same years. A neighbor in the catalogue — not a conclusion.
Same craft · Same place · Same year · December 30-31, 1978
Kaikoura Lights Radar-Visual Encounter
Kaikoura, South Island · New Zealand
Unidentified
Aircrew, passengers, and air traffic controllers observed and filmed bright lights maneuvering near an aircraft; confirmed by Wellington radar and RNZAF investigation.
Same craft · Same years · 11 November 1979
Manises, Spain
Manises / Valencia · Spain
Unidentified
A commercial flight diverted to Manises after the crew reported red lights that paced the airliner. F-1 fighters were scrambled.
Same craft · Same years · 27 August 1979
Val Johnson, Minnesota
Marshall County, Minnesota · United States
Unidentified
A deputy’s patrol car was damaged and the officer injured after he reported a blinding light on a rural road. State police documented the car.
Same craft · Same years · 20 September 1977
Petrozavodsk phenomenon
Petrozavodsk, Karelia · Russia
Identified
A glowing object that showered the city with luminous “jets” was seen across northwest Russia and Finland. TASS printed it as news.
Same craft · Same years · 1977
Colares, Operation Saucer
Colares, Pará · Brazil
Unidentified
An Amazon island town reported beams of light that burned skin. The Brazilian Air Force sent a team, filmed objects, and later classified the file.
Same craft · Same years · 19 September 1976
Tehran intercept
Tehran · Iran
Unidentified
Iranian F-4s scrambled after a brilliant object over the city. Avionics and weapons failed on approach. A Defense Intelligence report called the case outstanding.