UFO Sightings? (Read first post before contributing)

[jimdavis]

I suspect this sort of thing is seen far more often than we hear about.

Avcom comments like "I don't believe you", are the sort of thing that make folks keep quiet about what they saw. Those are just different words for "You are a liar".

I have seen a totally inexplicable flying object, up close, on a perfectly clear day, but I am not about to discuss it with an audience who simply brand me as a liar, rather than try to learn something.

Jim

[lion]

I suspect this sort of thing is seen far more often than we hear about.

Avcom comments like "I don't believe you", are the sort of thing that make folks keep quiet about what they saw. Those are just different words for "You are a liar".

I have seen a totally inexplicable flying object, up close, on a perfectly clear day, but I am not about to discuss it with an audience who simply brand me as a liar, rather than try to learn something.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Please share this. It would be most interesting.

Cheers,

L.

[happyskipper]

People ridicule what they don't understand, or are afraid of - c'mon guys, anyone else got some details to share.

And, yes, I saw an unexplained light in the night sky once, which was not a 'plane, a bird, or Christopher Reeves.....

[Christo]

https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/iss-spo ... 86350?mt=8

[Sin Bad]

Having mentioned this "sighting" to a few people...I find that there is a lot more of this going on than I imagined. It would be really Interesting if some of you would share your experiences, even if they were years ago. Bear in mind that UFO means just that...unexplained. My astronomy friends are amused at my reluctance to "go public" with this info because, as they put it...they see stuff all the time that they can't identify!!! It's only a UFO until you ident it!

[jimdavis]

I will gladly share my experience with those who are sufficiently interested to send me a PM.

Jim

[PaulLudick]

Gents, good posts here. Would be most unlikely have been a satellite in low earth orbit as it would have had to move at quite a distance from the observers perspective relative for left to right. This includes the ISS. From a terrestrial perspective a weather balloon does hold merit for further investigation.

With all being said, I recommend you lads make contact with MUFON. This IS a serious organization that studies UFO sightings around the world with some serious senior ex government employees and scientist being members. I know they should have a local South African representative but it should be in their site. Make no mistake, no chancers or "moegoes" wanting to make a a quick "prank call" should contact them as they do not take it lightly. Pilots are definitely of high interest to them so uncle Jim, you and Sin Bad definitely should offload the intel to them for their further studies. For any keen amateur observer wishing to know more when bright satellites are overhead your part of the woods, heavens-above.com is the best quick access website with very accurate and user friendly data.

my I suggest to the MODS that they open a permanent thread mybe in the academy and flight safety section (login required) and to pre reuqisite it of no "you're a liar" or "I don't believe you" comments otherwise banning will occur. Also, same as with meteor observations in the astronomy field, that when posting a sighting, a detailed account is noted as well. Off course, speculation and assumptions should remain welcome. Ultimately, some video or photo evidence will also help I the future....

[jimdavis]

Thanks, Paul for a nice sensible post.

Jim

[Sin Bad]

Hi Paul,
I have contacted MUFON...awaiting a reply. Thanks for your response. Having seen many reports of "ufo's" in the past...and reacted with natural cynicism...it's quite an interesting position I now find myself in. Logically, a small percentage of these things COULD be observed by trained observers...ie astronomers, photographers or pilots. People who by their occupations are more likely to identify correctly what they have seen. These objects would then be researched and "hopefully" categorized and that would be that. That is why I attempted to get as much info as possible about the one we saw. Thus far..no luck. I have had long chats with the professional astronomers...looking for satellites or planets to fit the details. Nothing. BUT.. In my discussions with fellow pilots have come up with quite a few ..oh yes I've seen something as well's! Those are what I'm looking for details on now. Possibly there may be some similarities.
BTW..I am a keen wildlife and astro photographer. Favorite weapon is a Canon 50d with a 100-400 mm zoom. If I had had that with me at the time, and could have got a shot, all you would have seen would be a bright pixel or two...very high and small.

[Rotor kop]

<<MODERATED>>

<<MODERATORS's COMMENT>> Several requests have been made to keep this discussion strictly relevant to the topic being discussed and for those that have sighting experiences to share them here. Please refrain from passing any derogatory comments intended to shed disbelief in what any author posts. The intention of this thread is to allow those to would like to post in sincerity of what they observed to do so without the typical ridicule that often follows.

[Sin Bad]

Ok happyskipper, you can share your "sighting" now.....we won't tell anyone...

[biffvj]

Quite a few years ago, on a cloudless night, my wife called me while I was working on the car. She was pointing upwards into the sky.
I saw what looked like a shooting star, except it did not only go in one direction, but was zig zagging and the light stayed moving for too long.
It must have moved for at least twenty seconds before disappearing.
Could not explain it.

[forssc]

saw one of these more than a few times in the air......

WP_20140308_005[1].jpg

[Wayne Boonzaier]

Interesting Article on News 24

United Kingdom- An airline pilot has reported a near miss in which a “rugby ball”-shaped UFO passed within a few feet of his passenger jet while flying near Heathrow Airport some few months ago. The incident is being further investigated by aviation authorities.

The Telegraph reports that the captain told the aviation authorities that he was certain the object was going to crash into his aircraft and ducked as it headed towards him. The investigation has been unable to establish any earthly identity for the mysterious craft, which left the aircrew with no time to take action.

The incident occurred while the A320 Airbus was cruising at 34 000ft, around 32 kilometres west of the airport, over the Berkshire countryside. The captain spotted the object travelling towards the jet out of a left hand side, cockpit window, apparently heading directly for it. The pilot’s immediate reaction was to duck to the right and reach over to alert the First Officer.

The Captain described the UFO as being “cigar/rugby ball like” in shape, bright silver and apparently “metallic” in construction. He then checked the aircraft’s instruments and contacted air traffic controllers to report the incident. However, there was no sign of the mystery craft.

The incident was investigated by the UK Airprox Board, which studies “near misses” involving aircraft in British airspace. It checked data recordings to establish what other aircraft were in the area at the time, but eliminated them all from its quest to find out what had been responsible. It also ruled out meteorological balloons, after checking none were released in the vicinity. Toy balloons were also discounted, as they are not large enough to reach such heights. Military radar operators were also contacted but were unable to trace the reported object.

The Ministry of Defence closed its UFO desk in December 2009, along with its hotline for reporting such sightings. Following that change, the Civil Aviation Authority took the decision that it would continue to look into such reports, from aircrew and air traffic controllers, because they could have implications for “flight safety”.

If there are Un-identified objects in our airspace then it seems the CAA would need to investigate due to a possible threat to aviation safety

[Sin Bad]

Since the time I posted the first line in this thread, a few interesting things have happened. An unusually high number of people that I have spoken to about our "sighting" ,have come back with...."oh yes...I've seen something like that...". Most of them are qualified experienced commercial pilots. People who, in my biased opinion, are trustworthy witnesses. Two were ex SAAF, fast jet pilots...two airline pilots and one flight attendant, who was called into the flightdeck by the captain. (To show her the "UFO"). All but two of the "sightings were during the day and mentioned silver,metallic,cigar shaped objects that were capable of vast acceleration and vertical performance outside our experience. None of the objects were visible on radar. Out of the 20 odd people I spoke to, I had 6 "hits"....ie people that added their experiences. From a statistical point of view.... That's too many. Yes, I know...my results are skewed by the high percentage of pilots I interviewed...but that's the point. There must be a LOT more events out there that people are keeping quiet about.