by Charles Lear
Because the F stands for “flying” in the acronym UFO, it stands to reason that pilots should frequently be UFO witnesses. They certainly are and there is even a specialized reporting center just for them. The National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena was founded in 1999 by Dr. Richard M. Haines. The organization is dedicated to the study of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and their effects on aviation safety. By the way, Dr. Haines finds the UFO designation for the phenomena so distasteful, he refuses to appear on Podcast UFO. Most pilots prefer to remain anonymous, as publicly admitting to seeing a flying saucer is not usually an enhancement to their careers.
There are, however, sightings that have made national and international news, with the pilot’s name included. These go as far back as 1947 with the sighting by Kenneth Arnold and another that same year by his soon to be friend, E. J. Smith, along with his crew. But, sometimes, there are encounters where planes disappear from radar and pilot witnesses are not left behind to tell their tales.
When approaching this subject, it’s natural to begin with the Bermuda Triangle and the tragic Dec. 5, 1945 case of Flight 19. This involved five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers that took off on a training mission and never returned. Twenty-seven men were lost and never seen again. Though some have speculated that aliens were responsible, there is no record of the pilots reporting any UFOs. A more plausible explanation is that the leader became confused, lost trust in his compass and led his squadron far into the Atlantic where they ran out of fuel.