Unidentified flying object/Catalogs

Sighting reports

Some reports considered significant by UFOlogists are listed below.

Japan Airlines pilot, 1986

Japan Airlines (JAL) pilot Kenji Terauchi reported seeing a UFO while flying from Iceland to Japan. The UFOs were reported during the Anchorage leg of the trip in November 1986. There were conflicting reports that different radars did or did not sense an object consistent with the visual sighting; news reports alone do not give enough technical detail to evaluate. Terauchi described seeing three objects that exhibited green, yellow or amber lights.

Iranian Air Force, 1976

During September 17 and 18, 1976, two Iranian pilots and a general reported seeing a UFO flying near Mehrabad Airport. Several phone calls were received at the airport and air traffic supervisor Hussain Perouzi used binoculars to view an apparition that "...was rectangular in shape, probably seven to eight meters long and about two meters wide... it was probably cylindrical. The two ends were pulsating with a whitish blue color. Around the mid-section of the cylinder there was this small red light that kept going around in a circle..." Perouzi contacted General Nader Yousefi of the Imperial Iranian Air Force Command about the UFO, and a single F-4 Phantom II jet was scrambled from the Sharoki Air Force Base. Approximately one hour later the jet took off from the airfield. The pilot managed to fly within 46 kilometers of the UFO when his jet's avionics failed. The pilot turned his jet towards the airport when the jet's electronics returned to working order. During this time Yousefi witnessed the UFO and described it as a star brighter than other stars located in the area. He described the UFO as twice as bright as normal stars within the area.

A second jet was scrambled, flown by Lieutenant Jafari. Jafari was able to see the UFO on his jet's radar.Jafari was unable to visually determine the UFO's size due to its bright light. He did describe the lights as blue, green, red, and orange, that rapidly changed in color.

Jafari gave chase to the UFO and when south of the capital city the UFO ejected an object that flew directly towards his F-4 jet. Jafari attempted to fire an AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile at the UFO but was unable to as his weapons control panel as well as his radio quit. Jafari placed his F-4 in a dive to prevent striking the second UFO. The second UFO returned to the main UFO and a third UFO was detached from the first UFO. The third UFO, or object, was seen flying to the ground. Yousefi observed these maneuvers from the ground. Another jet flying in the area did not see the UFOs but did report experiencing radio failure during this time.

The next day a helicopter flew some of the Iranian pilots to the area where the third UFO was seen landing. The Iranian military officials did not see any evidence of a UFO landing in the area, but they did hear an unexplained radio signal. The signal was strongest near an occupied small house. Inhabitants of the house said they heard a loud noise and saw bright lights the night before. The source of the signal was never discovered.

History

Since the advent of aviation, there have been both instrumental and visual detections of things that could not be explained at the time. The term "gremlin" was used to describe, among other electronic phenomena, unexplained readings from World War II radar systems. There are also many misidentifications, such as the interpretation of the radar detection of the incoming Japanese force at the attack on Pearl Harbor as incoming friendly B-17 bombers.

When the AN/FPS-50 early warning radar, part of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS), went into service in 1960, it soon reported a massive Soviet missile attack on the U.S., which proved to be due to unexpected reflections of the radar beam from the Moon.

Aurora, Texas incident

Aurora, Texas residents reported a UFO crash in 1897. The UFO reportedly crashed into a windmill located on Judge J.S. Proctor's farm. A fire ensued which was seen from three miles away. Residents found the pilot and buried him in a local cemetery. Through the years the headstone has disappeared and the reported UFO visitor lies in an unmarked grave. Some people believe the story is a hoax although some MUFON investigators believe there is validity to this report.

The Kenneth Arnold sighting

UFOs became popularly known as flying saucers after a story in the East Oregonian newspaper, on June 26, 1947, reported salesman Kenneth Arnold's sighting of extremely fast-moving, "saucer-like objects" while flying a private plane. A subsequent follow-up newspaper story coined the term "flying saucer" to describe the objects that Arnold reported sighting. According to the Mutual UFO Network, there is conflict about both the UFO and flying saucer terms:

United States Air Force Capt. Edward J. Ruppelt says unequivocally that "UFO is the official term that I created to replace the words flying saucers". Presumably this would have been sometime between 1951, when Ruppelt took over Project Grudge (later renamed Blue Book), and September of 1953, when he left the agency and the Air Force. Elsewhere in the same book, however, Ruppelt says of Project Grudge's final 600-page report, released in December of 1949, that it was "officially titled Unidentified Flying Objects - Project Grudge, Technical Report No. 102-AC-49/15-100. But it was widely referred to as the Grudge Report." This would mean that some long forgotten anonymous Air Force staffer coined the phrase at least two years before Ruppelt did. But perhaps Ruppelt was only claiming credit for coinage of the acronym UFO.

Arnold self-published reports of the incident, which have been called hysteria by an affiliate of the Skeptical Inquirer.

Roswell incident

In July 1947, there were reports of a flying saucer crash at Roswell, New Mexico. Some reports suggest it was a classified, balloon-borne sensor, developed by the U.S., and intended to gather intelligence on Soviet nuclear weapons. Others, however, believe there was evidence of extraterrestrial origin, and possible government coverups.

On September 8, 1994, the Secretary of the Air Force, Sheila Widnall, announced that the United States Air Force had completed its study to locate records relating to the Roswell incident. "Pro-UFO researchers claim that an extraterrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants were recovered near Roswell in July of 1947, and that this fact was kept from the public."

"At the request of Congressman Steven H. Schiff (R-NM), the General Accounting Office (GAO) initiated an audit in February of 1994, to locate all records relating to the "Roswell Incident" and to determine if such records were properly handled. The GAO audit was completed and the results published by the Headquarters, U.S. Air Force in 1995. The publication is entitled "The Roswell Report: Fact vs. Fiction in the New Mexico Desert." This publication may be obtained from most U.S. Government Depository Library. The call number is ISBN 0-16- 048023-X....Prior to the interviews, Secretary Widnall released those persons from any previous security obligations that may have restricted their statements.

"The Air Force research did not locate or develop any information that the "Roswell Incident" was a UFO event nor was there any indication of a "cover-up" by the Government. Information obtained through exhaustive records searches and interviews indicated that the materials recovered near Roswell was consistent with a balloon devise of the type used in a then classified project. No records indicated or even hinted that the recovery of "alien" bodies or extraterrestrial materials."

Reports also indicate that a government task force, called Majestic-12, may have been formed to manage the alien information. The Majestic code, however, has also been associated with classified continuity of government, or "shadow government", programs that were confirmed in the Eisenhower Administration and may have existed in the Truman Administration.

1976 Iranian Dogfight

During Septemember 17 and 18, 1976 two Iranian pilots and a general reported seeing a UFO flying near Mehrabad Airport. Several phone calls were received at the airport and air traffic supervisor Hussain Perouzi used binoculars to view a "'...It was rectangular in shape, probably seven to eight meters long and about two meters wide... it was probably cylindrical. The two ends were pulsating with a whitish blue color. Around the mid-section of the cylinder there was this small red light that kept going around in a circle...'" Perouzi contacted General Nader Yousefi, of the Imperial Iranian Air Force Command about the UFO; and a singleF-4 jet was scrambled from theSharoki Air Force Base. Approximately one hour later the jet took off from the airfield. The pilot managed to fly within 46 kilometers of the UFO when his jet's avionics failed. The pilot turned his jet towards the airport when the jet's electronics returned to working order. During this time Yousefi witnessed the UFO and described it as a star larger than other stars located in the area. He described the UFO as twice as large as normal stars within the area.

A second jet was scrambled flown by Lieutenant Jafari. Jafari was able to see the UFO on his jet's radar. Jafari said the radar return was similar to that one found for a Boeing 707. Jafari was unable to visually determine the UFO size due to its bright light. He did describe the colors observed as blue, green, red, and orange that rapidly changed in color.

Jafari gave chase to the UFO and when south of capital city the UFO ejected an object that flew directly towards his F-4 jet. Jafari attempted to fire an AIM-9Sidewinder air-to-air missile at the UFO but was unable to as his weapons control panel as well as his radio quit. Jafari placed his F-4 in a dive to prevent striking the second UFO. The second UFO returned to the main UFO and a third UFO was detached from the first UFO. The third UFO, or object, was seen flying to the ground. Yousefi observed these maneuvers from the ground. Another jet flying in the area did not see the UFOs but did report experiencing radio failure during this time.

The next day a helicopter flew some of the Iranian pilots to the area where the third UFO was seen landing. The Iranian military officials did not see any evidence of a UFO landing in the area, but they did hear a "beeper" signal described as a homing signal. The signal was strongest near an occupied small house. Inhabitants of the small house said they heard a loud noise and saw bright lights the night before. The source of the signal was never discovered.

Rendelsham Forest incident

(CC) Image: Simon Leatherdale
Site of the alleged Rendlesham UFO incident.

In an incident called by some "the British Roswell", military officers reported seeing UFOs in late December 1980 near Rendelsham Forest in Suffolk, England. The US had a military base while the RAF Woodbridge base was located near the reported UFO sightings. On December 26, 1980, military personnel reported seeing strange lights near the east gate of the RAF Woodbridge base. During the investigation USAF Sgt. Jim Penniston reported seeing and touching a triangular craft. The craft immediately flew away from the location after Penniston's encounter. Penniston reported the UFO visitors were time travellers not extraterrestrials. It was also reported the triangular craft left three impressions in the ground where it had landed. On December 28, 1980, the deputy base commander Lt Col Charles I. Halt investigated and made a personal recording using his tape recorder. To listen to the unclassified recording you can go here:[1] Halt along with other military personnel observed a flashing light seen across the field to the east. Also observed were starlike lights and one of the objects seemed to emit a bright stream of light sporadically.

Skeptic Ian Ridpath believes the incident was based on a misinterpretation of nocturnal lights. He goes into great detail at his website The Rendelsham Forest UFO case.

Japan Airlines flight 1628 incident

Japan Airlines (JAL) pilot Kenji Terauchi reported seeing a UFO while flying from Iceland to Japan. The UFOs were reported during the Anchorage leg of the trip in November 1986. Terauchi reported seeing the UFOs on his weather radar, and dimmed his cockpit lights to confirm the UFOs seen were not a reflection. Military radar did not confirm the UFOs as they were considered clutter while FAA radar did pick up one of the objects on its radar. FAA officials also said one of the objects stayed close to the cargo jet, even after the pilot took various maneuvers to elude the objects. Terauchi described seeing three objects that exhibited green, yellow or amber lights.

Chicago O'Hare International Airport incident

Numerous witnesses reported seeing a metallic looking, gray, revolving object, called Unidentified Ariel Phenomena or UAP, near United Airlines Gate Gate C17 on Concourse C. The incident was reported on November 7, 2006, after two United taxi mechanics reported seeing the object shortly after 4 p.m. Other witnesses included a United Airlines plane captain and first officer. A supervisor and several other mechanics also reported seeing the object. Based on their reports the UAP, or UFO, was between 22 to 88 feet in diameter and was approximately 1,900 feet above the concourse. The UAP also left a hole about the size of the object when it departed the area. The hole was observed for approximately 14 minutes after the UAP left the area, according to witnesses. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar did not confirm the presence of the object. The FAA chalked up the reported UAP or UFO as weather phenomena.