The ChillX Zone

A Fighter Jet Chases the Unknown Over Lake Superior

November 23, 2025

On the night of 23 November 1953, F‑89C Scorpion jet #49-2588 took off from Kinross Air Force Base in Wisconsin. Its mission: intercept a mysterious radar contact near Lake Superior, north of Keweenaw Point. Ground radar tracked both the jet and an unidentified object as they converged mid-flight; then the jet’s blip simply vanished. The unknown object also disappeared, leaving no trace behind.

The Disappearance of Two Airmen

Lieutenant Felix Moncla Jr. (811 flying hours) and Second Lieutenant Robert Wilson (observer) were never recovered. The radar screen logged the jet closing on the unknown object at about 8,000 ft altitude. At the point of convergence, the radar return for the F-89 merged into one with the unknown object and then both vanished from the scope. A full Air Force search, involving the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian forces, found no wreckage.

Conflicting Explanations

The official statement changed twice: first claiming the jet had intercepted and identified a Canadian C-47, then later attributing the jet’s loss to pilot error and vertigo. No evidence supported either theory, and the incident remains unresolved. Analysts still regard the case as one of the most puzzling military-involved UFO encounters.

Legacy of Silence

Flight crews, radar operators, and aviation historians still refer to the “2November 23, 1953, Lake Superior, F-89C Scorpion, aircraft disappearance, radar blip, unidentified aerial object3 November intercept” as a standard in unexplained aerial behavior. Two seasoned airmen vanish; radar data records the chase — yet no physical remains, no conclusive explanation. The skies over Lake Superior carried the unknown that night, and the mystery endures.