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Within Official Records

How Saskatchewan Pilot Sightings Enter Official Databases

A cockpit report may pass through air traffic control, NAV CANADA and Transport Canada before appearing as a preliminary aviation occurrence.

35 sources 3 graphics

On this page

  • What pilots and controllers record during a sighting
  • How reports move from air traffic control to Transport Canada
  • Why a database entry is not a verified identification
Preview for How Saskatchewan Pilot Sightings Enter Official Databases

Introduction

When a pilot reports an unidentified object or unusual light over Saskatchewan, the report enters Canada’s aviation safety system rather than a dedicated UFO investigation programme. The immediate priority is to protect aircraft and passengers, not to determine whether the object is extraordinary. A cockpit report may therefore move from air traffic control to NAV CANADA and then to Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), where it becomes part of the country’s official aviation occurrence record. That record confirms that a report was received and logged, but it does not verify what the object actually was. This distinction is essential when interpreting Saskatchewan pilot sightings within the province’s UFO history.[ISED Canada]canada.caISED Canada Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in CanadaISED CanadaManagement of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in CanadaJune 1, 2025

Pilot Reports illustration 1

What pilots and controllers record during a sighting

A pilot who encounters an unidentified object over Saskatchewan will normally report it to the nearest air traffic control (ATC) unit, flight service station or other NAV CANADA facility while still managing the flight safely. Controllers are concerned first with operational questions:

  • Where was the object?
  • At what altitude and heading?
  • Did it create a collision risk?
  • Was it moving like another aircraft, a balloon, a drone or a meteor?
  • Did radar or another aircraft detect the same thing?
  • Did the sighting require avoiding action or affect air traffic?

These details are collected because they help maintain safe separation between aircraft and identify possible hazards in Canadian airspace. The reporting process is designed to capture operational facts rather than opinions about what the object might be.[ISED Canada]canada.caISED Canada Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in CanadaISED CanadaManagement of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in CanadaJune 1, 2025

In Saskatchewan, this process is the same whether the sighting occurs near Regina or Saskatoon, over northern wilderness, or in controlled en route airspace. The province’s large areas of sparsely populated terrain can make cockpit observations particularly valuable because there may be few or no ground witnesses.

Pilot Reports illustration 2

How reports move from air traffic control to Transport Canada

The path from cockpit observation to official record follows an established aviation reporting chain rather than a UFO-specific system.

  1. The pilot reports the sighting to an air traffic controller or flight service specialist.
  2. NAV CANADA documents the occurrence, usually through an Aviation Occurrence Report containing the operational details supplied by the flight crew and controllers.
  3. The report is forwarded to Transport Canada, whose CADORS team reviews the information.

Pilot Reports illustration 3

  1. Transport Canada creates a CADORS entry if the occurrence meets the reporting criteria for the database. ISED Canada

The Sky Canada Project found that pilot reports of unidentified aerial phenomena generally follow this route. Reports submitted directly by members of the public through Transport Canada’s aviation incident reporting system may also appear in CADORS if they satisfy the database’s inclusion criteria, although cockpit reports remain the most common aviation pathway. ISED Canada

Why a CADORS entry is not a verified identification

A common misunderstanding is that an official database entry means the government has confirmed an unidentified craft or investigated an extraordinary event.

CADORS does neither.

Transport Canada explicitly describes CADORS as a preliminary reporting system. Entries are intended to distribute timely information about aviation occurrences, and the published details are considered preliminary, unsubstantiated and subject to later revision. The database exists primarily to improve aviation safety rather than to establish the final explanation for every incident. Transport Canada

For reports involving unusual aerial observations, CADORS may classify the event under categories that include weather balloons, meteors, rockets or UFO/CIRVIS sightings, depending on the available information. These categories describe the nature of the report received rather than the confirmed identity of the object. An unidentified object can therefore remain unidentified in the database without implying anything extraordinary. ISED Canada

What happens after the report is logged

Most pilot sightings do not trigger a dedicated investigation once immediate flight safety concerns have passed.

If controllers conclude that there is no continuing operational hazard, the report may simply remain as an occurrence record. Where additional evidence exists—such as radar information, multiple aircraft observations or possible airspace security implications—other organisations may become involved. Depending on the circumstances, this can include Transport Canada specialists, NAV CANADA operational staff or, in cases involving air defence or unidentified radar contacts, military authorities and NORAD. Whether additional investigation occurs depends on the safety or security implications rather than the unexplained nature of the sighting itself. ISED Canada+2Transport Canada

The Sky Canada Project noted that reports classified as unidentified aerial phenomena represent only a tiny fraction of all CADORS occurrences. Because most do not present an ongoing aviation safety issue, they rarely receive extensive follow-up aimed specifically at identifying the observed object. ISED Canada

What this means for Saskatchewan UFO history

For researchers studying Saskatchewan’s aviation-related UFO reports, a CADORS record is valuable because it establishes that trained aviation personnel reported an unusual event through an official safety system.

It can provide:

  • a precise date and time;
  • aircraft type and flight phase; * approximate location and altitude;
  • operational effects on the flight;
  • controller communications; and
  • references to any follow-up within the aviation system.

These details often make pilot cases more precisely documented than many civilian sightings. However, they should not be treated as official confirmation that the reported object was an unknown craft. The database records the occurrence, not the final explanation. Some entries are later attributed to conventional aircraft, astronomical objects, balloons or other identifiable causes, while others remain unresolved because the available evidence is insufficient to reach a firm conclusion. Transport Canada

Within the broader history of Saskatchewan UFO reporting, pilot reports therefore occupy a distinctive position: they enter official federal aviation records through well-established safety procedures, giving historians and researchers reliable documentation of what was reported, while leaving open the separate question of what was actually seen.

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Endnotes

2. Source: tc.canada.ca
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/aviation-publications/civil-aviation-daily-occurrence-reporting-system-cadors-manual-tp-4044

Source snippet

Transport CanadaCivil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) Manual - TP 4044...

3. Source: tc.canada.ca
Title: Transport Canada Report an incident affecting airport or aerodrome safety
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/operating-airports-aerodromes/report-incident-affecting-airport-aerodrome-safety

4. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Title: ISED Canada Sky Canada Project
Link:https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project

Source snippet

Canada ProjectDecember 3, 2025 — SKY CANADA PROJECT DISCLAIMER It should be noted that the Sky Canada Project is not intended to access a...

Published: December 3, 2025

5. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Title: annual report chief science advisor 2024 2025
Link:https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/annual-reports/annual-report-chief-science-advisor

Source snippet

Report of the Chief Science Advisor 2024-2025December 17, 2025 — Canada’s Sovereign Airspace: The Sky Canada Project Canada exercises sov...

Published: December 17, 2025

6. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Title: ca Projet Ciel Canada
Link:https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/fr/bureau-conseillere-scientifique-chef/projet-ciel-canada

Source snippet

Ciel CanadaDecember 3, 2025 — PROJET CIEL CANADA AVERTISSEMENT Il convient de noter que le projet Ciel Canada n’est pas destiné à accéder...

Published: December 3, 2025

7. Source: publications.aws.tpsgc-pwgsc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca
Link:https://publications.aws.tpsgc-pwgsc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca/site/fra/9.954480/publication.html

Source snippet

Iu37-59/2025E-PDF - Publications du gouvernement du Canada - Canada.caJune 1, 2025 — MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC REPORTING OF UNIDENTIFIED AERIA...

Published: June 1, 2025

8. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Title: ca Questions and Answers about the Sky Canada Project
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9. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Link:https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project/preview-sky-canada-report-ocsa

10. Source: tc.canada.ca
Title: ca4. High Altitude Object Incidents
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/binder/4-high-altitude-object-incidents

11. Source: search.open.canada.ca
Title: ca Question Period Notes
Link:https://search.open.canada.ca/qpnotes/record/tc%2CTC-2023-QP-00006

12. Source: search.open.canada.ca
Title: ca Question Period Notes
Link:https://search.open.canada.ca/qpnotes/record/tc%2CTC-2022-QP-00005

13. Source: tc.canada.ca
Title: ca The Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS)
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/publications/aviation-safety-letter/issue-2-2021/civil-aviation-daily-occurrence-reporting-system-cadors

14. Source: tc.canada.ca
Title: ca Final Report
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/publications/final-report-sub-committee-runway-incursions-tp-13795

15. Source: open.canada.ca
Title: ca Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Report System
Link:https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/a348c1d1-2392-4595-b5e2-c6a244a7e87f

16. Source: tc.canada.ca
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/reference-centre/exemptions-canadian-aviation-regulations-cars/exemption-standards-specified-cadors-manual-made-pursuant-section-80701-canadian-aviation-regulations

17. Source: tc.canada.ca
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/reference-centre/aerodrome-safety-circulars/aerodrome-safety-circular-asc-no-97-002a

18. Source: tc.canada.ca
Title: aerodrome safety circular asc no 97 002a annex b
Link:https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/reference-centre/aerodrome-safety-circulars/aerodrome-safety-circular-asc-no-97-002a-annex-b

19. Source: ourcommons.ca
Link:https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/TRAN/meeting-38/evidence

Additional References

20. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgbNKOK7lr4

Source snippet

Air traffic control audio: Pilot reports unusual lights over northern Canada on Jan. 30, 2023...

21. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6JgyhoCyi8

Source snippet

Canadian journalist calls for total government transparency on UAP reports...

22. Source: youtube.com
Title: Canadian journalist calls for total government transparency on UAP reports
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu-Yv3thTEI

Source snippet

Sky Canada Project Report Preview with Chris Rutkowski...

23. Source: youtube.com
Title: Sky Canada Project Report Preview with Chris Rutkowski
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGf_HpSxhM8

Source snippet

Document reveals first known Canadian UFO study in nearly 30 years...

24. Source: youtube.com
Title: Document reveals first known Canadian UFO study in nearly 30 years
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCggCRTh1c

Source snippet

Unusual object spotted on Winnipeg flight...

25. Source: publications.gc.ca
Link:https://publications.gc.ca/pub?id=9.954480&sl=0

Source snippet

Management of public reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena in Canada: report of the Sky Canada Project.: Iu37-59/2025E-PDF - Govern...

26. Source: icao.int
Link:https://www.icao.int/safety-management/SMI/SI/Examples

27. Source: navcanada.ca
Link:https://www.navcanada.ca/en/flight-planning/flight-planning-and-reporting.aspx

28. Source: navcanada.ca
Link:https://www.navcanada.ca/en/air-traffic/space-based-ads-b/public-ads-b-performance-report.aspx

29. Source: canadacommons.ca
Link:https://canadacommons.ca/artifacts/53274763/report-of-the-sky-canada-project/54173224/