The Flight NRL796 UFO Incident: Another Aerial Anomaly Over The Nunavut Region

The Nunavut region of Canada has a long history of UFO sightings and encounters, one of the most recent occurring midair during a Nolinor Airlines flight over the region close to Baffin Island. Not only did multiple members of the crew see the anomalous object, but their report was publicly disclosed. Of course, just what the object might have been remains a mystery, but the shift in attitudes, even back in 2018, in terms of transparency of such incidents, would appear to be a shift in the right direction.

Perhaps also of interest, as well as sightings of mysterious aerial objects, bizarre noises have been reported coming from the waters of the region, noises which, at one point, were investigated by the military. While they have since been determined to be nothing of concern, many people have suggested that there is much more to these strange sounds than authorities will say, with some researchers even asserting that some kind of underwater extraterrestrial base exists deep below the surface of the Arctic region.

Whatever the truth might be, the incident over the skies of Nunavut in the winter of 2018 is simply another reminder that, whatever is behind the UFO phenomenon, sightings are still happening all the time.

A Strange Object Somewhere Off Baffin Island

As it made its way to the Mary River Mine near Baffin Island over the Nunavut region of Canada, Flight NRL796 would find itself in the middle of an intriguing and thought-provoking aerial incident. It was a little after 8:30 pm on November 24^th, 2018, and as the Nolinor Aviation Boeing 737-200 jet cut through the dark skies, the crew suddenly noticed something strange ahead of them. ^[1] They looked at the anomaly for several moments, eventually deciding that they were looking at a solid object. The pilot later stated (to the vice president of the airline) that what he was “a shining light, which changed from red to green to white, and which may have been from a star or a meteorite,” adding “it was probably something natural!”

They immediately reported what they were seeing to Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), which, in turn, reported the sighting to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). This in itself should alert to us to how serious the sighting was immediately taken. Incidentally, the wording used on the incident report is “Weather balloon, meteor, rocket, CIRVIS/UFO.” We might question whether such wording is some kind of code only understood by a select few. Whatever the truth might be, the sighting is just one of many in this region of Canada, which as a whole has many UFO sightings each year, and has done for decades, at the very least.

According to data supplied by the Ufology Research Group, there were 1,101 UFO reports made in Canada during 2017 (the year before the NRL796 incident). And it is worth pointing out that there are likely many more sightings during 2017 – just like every other year – that will have gone unreported for various reasons, not least for fear of ridicule. It is also worth considering that many UFO sightings go unnoticed. Indeed, there could be many, many more cases of UFOs in our skies than we already think. Ultimately, the report concludes that “the continued reporting of UFOs by the public and the yearly increase in numbers of UFO reports suggest a need for further examination of the phenomenon by social, medical, and/or physical scientists!”

Hiker Reports Bizarre Object Over Iqaluit

The fact is, as we mentioned earlier, the Nunavut region has many strange encounters on record. And while many of these stretch back decades, these strange incidents continue to happen in the contemporary era.

At around 3 am in the early hours of September 16^th, 2016, for example, in Iqaluit, a hiker reported seeing several strange star-like objects moving in what appeared to be a specific sequence. ^[2] He stopped for a moment and watched the strange aerial display for several minutes, including seeing an airplane that “disappeared out of sight” as it reach the strange lights, only to reappear when it “reached the other side” of them.

He continued to watch, suddenly noticing “something bright flash” somewhere overhead. This flash came again a second time, and then a third. At this point, starting to feel a slight apprehension at the strange events unfolding overhead, he reached for his mobile phone, suddenly deciding he would call a taxi instead of walking home as he had initially planned to do. However, try as he might, his phone was unresponsive. Eventually, after trying for several minutes, the signal suddenly returned, and he placed his call to a local taxi company. The taxi arrived a short time later, and he went straight home, the strange objects still high in the early morning sky.

Daylight Sighting With Over 60 Witnesses!

Another intriguing sighting unfolded in the same region several years earlier in July 2011. On the afternoon in question, at around 1 pm on July 11^th, an anonymous witness stated that he went outside onto his deck to “have a smoke” when he noticed a strange object in the bright, summer sky. He claimed he could see a round, spherical-type object that had a “blue light rotating around another stationary blue light!”

The witness immediately darted back inside in order to retrieve his camera. However, by the time he returned outside, the object was now much higher in the sky. He confirmed that the aerial anomaly remained overhead for almost three hours. Moreover, there were “at least 60 witnesses” who saw the object at one point or another. In fact, the event was so remarkable for one woman that she “freaked out and ran back inside her house!”

At one point during the sighting, using a strobing flashlight, the witness attempted to communicate with the object using Morse code, signaling the SOS call. Then, without warning and possibly in response to the flashing, the object “took off, leaving only a vanishing blue streak in the sky!”

The witness claimed he had seen many UFOs previously (offering the number was close to 200) but that this was the first time he had witnessed such an otherworldly object in the middle of the day.

You can see that video footage below.

Bizarre Noises Coming From Under The Water

It is also worth our time here exploring strange noises coming out of the Arctic Ocean off the coast of the Nunavut region. Reports of these strange sounds surfaced in several mainstream media accounts in November 2016 ^[3], with reports even stating that the military had scrambled jets in order to investigate the odd noises.

According to the article, reports on the sound varied, with some claiming to hear a low humming sound, while others insisted they could hear a “ping” or a “beep” noise coming from the icy waters. A particularly thought-provoking detail is that this strange noise appeared to coincide with a “troubling drop in the number of migrating animals” in the region, at least according to Canadian authorities, leading some researchers to assert that there must be some kind of connection between the two events.

As we might imagine, there were several theories put forward to explain the curious noises. Some people, for example, insisted that the sounds were nothing more than nearby mining operations, while others suggested there was a discreet, secret submarine presence in the waters off Nunavut. There were even suggestions from some corners that the organization Greenpeace had intentionally planted sonars in the waters to “scare away” whales and seals from hunters, something which the group steadfastly denied, by the way.

Incidentally, the strange noises were first noticed near the Fury and Hecla Strait, which just happens to be close to Baffin Island. One report came from the crew of a yacht, who claimed they could hear the bizarre sounds through the hull of their vessel.

International Interest In Unclaimed Territory

It is also interesting to note that a joint Canadian-US military base, Hall Beach, resides along the same stretch of coastline where these mysterious sounds are thought to have been coming from. Moreover, some people have insisted that Russian submarines have even been seen in the waters off the coast of the Nunavut region, with some researchers suggesting Russian submarines, as well as ships and planes, often come as close as they can to NATO territory, perhaps even crossing into air and sea space.

What seemingly makes this situation even more interesting, and perhaps precarious, is that both the Russians and Canadians have made claims to these previously unclaimed regions, which include potential “maritime shortcuts” that have appeared in recent years due to the shrinking of the ice in the region. However, according to some, the regions of interest in claiming these waters are not so much due to shortcuts, but due to potential activity and entrances around the North Pole.

While many people dismiss such claims as nothing but nonsense, many researchers have proposed that some kind of entrance to an Inner-Earth exists there. Moreover, they put forward that the East-West side of the old Cold War is still very much looking to gain control over such territory. There is, though, one more possibility to consider – one that is perhaps even more outlandish.

Evidence Of A Subaquatic Extraterrestrial Presence?

While many, even some in the UFO community, dismiss the idea unreservedly, claims of underwater alien bases around various coastlines have swirled for decades, with some suggesting that one of these subaquatic bases resides near the North Pole. Might this explain the increased UFO activity in the Nunavut region, particularly off the coast?

With this in mind, it is worth highlighting once again the military bases in the region. Officially, these bases are there to “track incoming missiles,” possibly entering NATO airspace from the Arctic region. Could it be possible, however outrageous, that it isn’t just incoming missiles that these bases are tracking, but vehicles of a potentially otherworldly nature? It is certainly a consideration worth keeping on the back burner. After all, these bases might have served a legitimate purpose during the years of the Cold War, but, at least until recent times, that threat was seemingly removed.

The source of the strange sounds off the Nunavut coast remains a complete mystery. Perhaps even stranger, the mysterious noises are something that the Canadian military will “no longer investigate!” We might ask, if only to speculate, if such investigations are taking place secretly, away from the public gaze. Whatever the truth, and whatever the crew of NRL796 and other residents of Nunavut have witnessed over the years, there is something out of the ordinary in the skies over this part of the world.

The video below examines the Arctic region a little further.

Expert Opinion

Between the alleged UFO sightings from Flight NRL796 over Nunavut’s Baffin Island and decades-old anecdotes of strange lights and watery hums, the region has garnered a reputation for unexplained activity. Flight crew accounts, official disclosures via CADORS, and multiple local reports collectively support the notion that unusual aerial and underwater episodes persist in this Arctic corridor, hinting at deeper mysteries lurking beneath frigid horizons.

Skeptics emphasize the possibility of meteorological phenomena or routine aircraft misinterpretations, especially given the pilot’s own suggestion that the bright object could be natural. Official findings about the region’s puzzling underwater sounds also lean toward nothing out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, the lingering ambiguity and multiple witness accounts continue to stoke speculation—from secretive defense operations to the possibility of subaquatic alien outposts—leaving the matter far from settled.

Verdict: Inconclusive
Evidence remains ambiguous, with plausible natural explanations but persistent unknowns preventing definitive conclusions.

Marcus Lowth is an expert on this topic and has over 20 years experience studying and reporting in these fields. Marcus has written several books and appeared on TV shows as an expert investigator discussing these topics.