Appearance / Description of Object(s)

Did not see anything solid, just flashing lights

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

I have no idea

Description of Area / Surroundings

The area was heavily wooded with spruce trees, willows, small grassy meadows. The nearest community was Ft. Resolution which was roughly 25 miles to the NE, The abandoned Mining town of Pine Point was 20 miles to the south. The highway we were heading for was 12 miles to the west.

Full Description & Details

On the morning of January 10-1991 , I was travelling with a companion (Sonny Balsillie) to check his trapline. We left Ft. Resolution at around 9:30 in the morning and arrived at the end of Sonny's trapline at about 11:00 a.m. While turning our snowmachine around we encountered mechanical problems (jammed Transmission) We attempted to make repairs but did not have the proper tools to do the repairs. We beagn walking the twelve miles back to the highway where we had left our vehicle and snowmobile trailer. At approx 5:00 p.m. we stopped under a large tree in the middle of a clearing to have a bite to eat. We built a small fire to dry our clothes and feet. The weather was quite mild for january -10 with light snow falling. It was dark by the time we stopped. We were there for 10-15 minutes when we began to hear off to the east a low humming, throbbing sound, like a very large engine running at idle. The sound grew nearer and nearer until it was right above our position. We did not see anything. Suddenly there was a very bright flash like a huge flashbulb going off directly above us which lit up the entire area. After a few seconds another large flash occured and a few seconds after that a third flash. The humming and throbbing sound continued all the while. After about five minutes the sound began to move to the west until it gradually faded away completely. We stared at each other for a few minutes and decided to get out of there, continuing our walk to the highway. We arrived back at the highway around 11:00 p.m., loaded the snowmachine and headed back to Ft. Resolution arriving home just before midnight. We told our wives what had happened but I don't know if we convinced them or not. At no time during the entire episode did we see anything, just the flashing lights , and the sound of something running. There was almost an electrical feeling in the area all the time.

Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?

I am a private pilot and I do not know of any aircraft, either fixed wing or rotary wing that makes the sound that we heard. As I stated, we did not see anything physical. My job as a forestry officer allows me many hours in both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. I was spending upwards of 1000 hrs a season in helicopters as well as several hundred hours a season in fixed wing aircraft.

Witness Background

I am presently eployed as a coordinator for liquor enforcement in the Northwest Territories. I am college educated with a diploma in Resource management. I have worked a number of jobs including highway transport officer, wildlife officer, heavy equipment operator and airline agent for a regional airline. I was born in the NWT and have lived here my entire life.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I fully believe in ufo's but only of the manmade sort. I do not believe that we are being visited by aliens or beings from other planets. The action of the object could resemble that of a balloon as it seemed to move very slowly away from us. That would not explain the strange sounds we heard. The lights are easily explained as any commercial aircraft has extremely bright lights (normally 28 volt lights) I have read many reports on ufo's over the years as I have always been an aircraft buff. I have never put much faith in stories of alien encounters, abductions and so on. However I do firmly believe that there are aircraft out there that may not be in the public eye.

Other Comments

I have always wondered about the strange humming sound. I have worked in a mine around very large equipment and there is nothing that sounds like what we experienced that night

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