Air Canada Pilots Spotted China’s Spy Balloon in 2023, Declassified Records Show

Air Canada Pilots Spotted China’s Spy Balloon in 2023, Declassified Records Show
A suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts toward the ocean after being shot down off the South Carolina coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. Randall Hill/Reuters
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Recently declassified Royal Canadian Air Force documents show that two Air Canada flights had spotted a suspected Chinese spy balloon in January 2023 before news broke that it had breached North American airspace and then was shot down days later.

The two heavily redacted secret documents associated with the sightings were obtained by independent private investigator Ryan Stacey through access-to-information requests and provided to CTV News.