The Falconbridge radar alert
The account
A bright object was supposedly seen and tracked on radar at a NORAD station in Canada, which sent fighter jets after it.
What investigators found
The military records exist but do not identify the object; skeptics cite astronomical objects and misinterpretation.
The story
In the early hours of November 11, 1975, residents of Sudbury, Ontario, began calling the police to report strange lights. At the Falconbridge radar station, part of NORAD, military personnel said they saw and tracked on radar a bright object that hovered and moved. Fighter jets were sent to investigate but could not identify anything.
Two days later, NORAD issued a press release about the episode, and military documents released later show it was part of a series of alerts at North American bases that fall. The case is cited because it combines radar, military witnesses and civilians. Skeptics note that bright planets and radar echoes confused operators in several episodes of that period.