by Charles Lear
Pilot UFO sightings have been a constant in the world of UFOlogy ever since the sighting in 1947, that started the public fascination with the subject, by Kenneth Arnold, who was flying in his own plane near Mount Rainier in Washington State. Even though these are often single witness sightings, researchers generally take them seriously, as pilots, especially a commercial pilots, risk their reputations and continued employment by coming forward. But, what about airplane passengers? In the case of passenger sightings, you often have multiple witnesses, or at least one witness that can corroborate the pilot report.
An instance where a passenger witness came forward to back up a pilot report occurred in 1948 in the case of the classic Chiles-Whitted UFO encounter. On July 24, 1948, pilot Clarence Chiles and co-pilot John Whitted, were flying a DC-3 over Alabama. At about 2:45 a.m., Chiles spotted a red glow up ahead and brought Whitted’s attention to what he assumed was an Army jet. It closed in on the DC-3 quickly, shot past the right side of the plane, and then, with a burst of flame coming out of its rear, climbed up into the clouds. The pilots reported that the object was torpedo-shaped, had no wings, was 100 feet long, and 25 to 30 feet in diameter. Passenger Clarence L. McKelvie added to the credibility of the sighting by reporting that he saw a bright light streak by his window at that time. He later appeared in the documentary, “UFOs: It Has Begun,” (A 1976 and 1979 re-release of the 1974 documentary “UFOs: Past, Present, and Future.”) and there he says he spoke with one of the pilots and his description matches theirs. Read more
On February 9, 2021, at around 10:30 p.m., a helicopter pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection flying over Tucson, Arizona, reported to air traffic control that he had just had a near collision with a drone. A Tucson Police Department helicopter was sent into the area and the two helicopters followed the object and attempted to determine the location of whoever might be operating it. While it was described as a drone and a quad-copter, it was mostly tracked using night vision, and the only visual description was of a blinking green light. If it was indeed a drone, it attained an altitude well above the 400 foot limit set by the FAA, performed extraordinary evasive maneuvers, and had a power source that lasted far longer than a normal drone battery.
in his 1956 book “The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects,” in Air Force parlance, a flap was a state of confusion just below panic that could be brought on by any number of things. This week, we’ll look at a 1965 flap in the Virginia area that involved reported EM effects, creatures, and armed citizens ready to defend the planet.
Burns described the object as shaped like a beehive, 125 ft in diameter, and 80 ft tall. He observed it as it rested for 60 to 90 seconds and then rose up and flew away to the northeast. He was able to restart his car and drive home.
Many readers may be familiar with the controversial case of the Gulf Breeze, Florida, UFO photographs taken in 1987 by local contractor Ed Walters. The photos were clear and detailed and stirred up a great deal of excitement within the UFO community. Some, such as former Navy optical physicist turned UFO researcher Dr. Bruce Maccabee, believed the photos were genuine, while others believed they were hoaxed.
According to an article by Staci Matlock in the September 5, 2019
In the 1970s, New York artist and UFO investigator Budd Hopkins began to specialize in abduction research after being confronted by multiple reports. He wrote about his research in the 1981 book “Missing Time” and it wasn’t long after the book was published that people started to be featured in the press and on television with claims of their own abduction experiences. In an
Hopkins described the “Linda Case” in his 1996 book, “Witnessed.” According to him, Linda had written him a letter in spring of 1989 after reading his 1987 book, “Intruders.” In the letter she described seeing strange nighttime visitors while lying paralyzed in bed as a child. She also wrote that she was asked by a doctor about what looked like evidence of surgery inside her nose as he was dealing with some built up cartilage that caused a lump that had concerned her. She wrote that she had never had surgery in her nose and that this was confirmed by her mother.
by Michael Lauck ~
Many countries around the world have active, state funded, long-term UFO studies. If the United States Congress follows up on the recommendation in the recently released Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force report that “additional funding for research and development could further the future study of the topics laid out in this report,” the U.S. may soon have one as well. The U.S. has had two acknowledged, publicly funded UFO investigations in the past. One was run by the Air Force under the name of “Project Blue Book” for most of its existence from 1948 until 1969, and the other by the Pentagon from 2007 until 2012 as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. While the 21-year run for the Air Force investigation may seem substantial, the investigation funded by the French government has lasted more than twice as long.
Stories of UFOs and aliens have long been associated with tabloid newspapers, often with ridiculous headlines, dubious claims, and photos that only the most credulous could take seriously. While these might be considered innocuous pieces of entertainment by many, for the serious UFO researcher they make it harder to convince a skeptical public that the subject is deserving of careful scrutiny. One of the most famous and long lasting of the tabloids is the
It’s official: unidentified aerial phenomena exist, the Pentagon takes the subject seriously, but no there one can say if aliens are involved. This is according to the unclassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that was delivered to Congress this past Friday.
In 1966, there was a series of UFO sightings in Michigan that got the attention of the press and the Air Force. There was a great deal of excitement and Project Blue Book (the code name for the Air Force’s UFO study) scientific consultant, Dr. J. Allen Hynek, was sent in to help calm things down. At a press conference, he offered some possible explanations. Due to sightings over a marsh, he speculated that people there had seen ignited balls of swamp gas, some going out and others igniting, and that this created the illusion of movement. The swamp gas explanation made the headlines and outraged many Michigan residents, including Michigan Representative and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford. He sent a letter dated March 28, 1966, to the chairmen of the Science and Astronautics Committee and the Armed Services Committee, suggesting that one of them schedule “hearings on the subject of UFO’s”. He mentioned Hynek’s explanations in the letter and, in a press release that same day, it is noted that he described Hynek’s swamp gas explanation as “flippant.” Documents relating to Ford’s efforts and the resultant open hearing are housed at the
Because of all the media coverage regarding the
Wherever there are UFOs, there are UFO enthusiasts, and since there are UFOs everywhere, UFO enthusiasts can be found everywhere as well. This week we’ll look at Indonesia, where members of that region’s largest UFO organization have recently offered their opinion to the local press on the upcoming Pentagon UAP Task Force unclassified report due to come out later this month.