Around February 11, the US Air Force shot down three consecutive unidentified flying objects (UFOs) after a giant PRC balloon caused unrest and improved radar detection. Exactly what was brought down from heaven may remain an open question forever. The extensive searches for remains on the frozen ice of Lake Huron and the Arctic Ocean have yielded nothing; meanwhile, there is no longer any active search in the Canadian territory of Yukon.
“The RCMP has decided to suspend efforts in the Yukon to search for a craft shot down on February 11,” reports the Canadian federal police (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP-GRC), “The area of highest probability was searched, but the debris was not found.” In addition to police officers, indigenous people and the Canadian military, which has activated more than 135 reservists, also took part in the search.
Canada and the United States of America operate their NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) air defenses together. On orders from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a US Air Force pilot shot down the UFO using an AIM-9X Sidewinder over the Yukon on February 11. The territory is about a third larger than the Federal Republic of Germany and has a good 44,000 inhabitants.
It may have been the first NORAD launch over Canada. The Sidewinder is one of the most affordable air-to-air missiles at around $400,000 each. Your projectile has a diameter of 12.7 centimeters.
Snowy wilderness
The UFO was said to be much smaller than the Chinese balloon but was spotted thanks to recently improved radar techniques. Somewhere between the gold-mining town of Dawson City, seat of government of the indigenous people of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, and the town of Mayo, seat of government of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, the rubble is said to have fallen. The two towns, located in the heart of the Yukon, are separated by about 170 kilometers of wilderness (as the crow flies), there is only one road connection (230 km). The region is otherwise hardly developed and is currently covered in deep snow.
More snow has fallen since the launch. With that, there was little hope of finding any crumbs that might be left after a small balloon encountered a Sidewinder. The three shot down UFOs were probably benign, which is why the further search effort is not worthwhile. According to one theory, the UFO shot down over the Yukon could be the Pico Balloon K9YO, which a hobby group in Illinois launched about four months earlier.
Plane missing without a trace since 1950
Archival footage of the plane that went missing in 1950
In the Yukon, the unsuccessful search brings back memories of an aviation accident in 1950. At that time, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster with 44 people on board disappeared without a trace. It was en route from Alaska to Montana. About two hours after takeoff, the pilot radioed as scheduled as he crossed the Yukon border and said there was nothing further to share. It was the last verified sign of life from the flight, which never reached its destination.
85 Canadian and US planes and more than 7,000 people took part in the ensuing search, which again resulted in three planes crashing but no other casualties. After about three weeks, the active search was stopped. Again and again there are private attempts to find the remains of the plane; only last year a new group was formed in Yukon’s capital, Whitehorse, that is trying to use flying drones. To this day, there is no trace of the Douglas C-54 Skymaster and the 44 people on board.
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