1990.03.07
10.40
Another incident involving a helicopter’s near-miss with a UFO took place in the vicinity of Nalchik Airport, [Russia,] USSR, on 7 March 1990, when the crew of a Mil Mi-2, commanded by V Silka, was ordered to investigate a low-flying unidentified object that had been tracked on radar since 10.40 am. The helicopter was at 800 metres when visual contact was made with the object, which was flying at a lower altitude. Described by the crew as spherical in shape and about three metres in diameter, the UFO then ascended to the same height as the helicopter and began to move away, but the helicopter soon caught up. Suddenly, the UFO turned and approached the helicopter at high speed. The pilot made a 90-degree turn to avoid a collision, and the UFO made the same manoeuvre. An immediate descent by the helicopter was not reciprocated by the UFO, however, which stopped and then returned to its original position before disappearing.
The air traffic controller reported that both the helicopter and UFO could clearly be seen on radar until the moment the helicopter began to make its approach from a distance of six kilometres, at which point both “targets” disappeared from the screen for about twenty seconds. The incident, lasting 23 minutes, was also tracked by an air defence radar station.