NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein NARCAP TR-04 Date of Report: February 2001 Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - Eighty Years of Pilot Sightings A Catalog of Military, Airliner, and Private Pilots sightings from 1916 to 2000 Dominique F. Weinstein NARCAP International Technical Advisor France © Copyright 2001 Dominique Weinstein, February 2001 edition 1300+ cases NARCAP P.O. Box 140, Boulder Creek, California 95006-0880, USA www.narcap.org 1 NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein Acknowledgements : I would like to thank Dr Richard F. Haines (NARCAP Chief Scientist), for his advises and his close- cooperation, Dr Peter Sturrock and Dr Jacques Vallée for their help and encouragements, Jean-Jacques Velasco (GEPAN-SEPRA), Gustavo Rodriguez (CEFAA-Chile) and Patrick Leprevost, Air France pilot, for his cooperation and expertise. and also : Jan L. Aldrich (Project 1947 / Sign Historical Group), Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos (Fundacion Anomalia - Spain), Don Berliner (FUFOR - USA), Barry Greenwood (UFO Historical Revue - USA), Loren Gross (for the gift of the complete collection of his very interesting series : UFOs a history), Larry Hatch (*U* UFO Database - USA),(Richard Hall (FUFOR - USA), Don Ledger (Canada), Marco Orlandi (CISU – Italy), Joel Mesnard (LDLN - France), Edoardo Russo (CISU) and Ed Stewart. Abbreviations and Codes Table AB Air Base (US air force base outside U.S. territory) AF Air FORCE AFB Air Force Base (US Air Force Base in U.S. territory) ANG Air National Guard ARTCC Air Route Traffic Control Center ATIC Air Technical Intelligence Center CAA Civil Aviation Authority FAA Federal Aviation Authority GCI Ground Control Intercept GOC Ground Observators corps NAS Naval Air Station NFS Night Fighter squadron NORAD North American Air Defense Command RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force RAF Royal Air Force RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force SAC Strategic Air Command USAAF United States Army Air Force (before september 1947) USAF United States Air Force (after september 1947)) USMC US Marine corps USN US Navy ft feet kph Kilometer per hour kts knots (nautical miles) mph miles per hour (1 mile = 1,604 kilometer) Aircraft: M : military aircraft, A : airliner, P : private aircraft Radar: AR : Airborne radar, GR : Ground radar, RO : Radar only Codes: G : ground witnesses, X : more than one plane involved, E : effects on plane (electromagnetic effects, engine failed, ...etc) Time: LT : Local Time, ZT : Zulu Time (Greenwich Meridian Time) Sources: See list of sources with code number at the end of the report 2 NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein Dedicated to the late Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, "...Of these (UFO) reports, the radar-visual sightings are the most convincing. When a ground radar picks up a UFO target and a ground observer sees a light where the radar target is located, then a jet interceptor is scrambled to intercept the UFO and the pilot also sees the light and gets a radar lock only to have the UFO almost impudently outdistance him, there is no simple answer..." Edward J. Ruppelt, USAF Capt.,1956 3 NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein Introduction For over fifty years, both civilian and military pilots have seen Unidentified Aerial Phenomena1 (UAP), also commonly called Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). This catalogue is a compilation of more than 1300+ such sightings, by military pilots, private pilots and airliners crews. These cases are special for several reasons. Training and experience make pilots and crews much more reliable witnesses than others. They are used to unusual meteorological phenomenona. They have the added advantage of being able to approach the phenomenon. Sometimes they can even overfly the object, observing it between themselves and the earth below. Military pilots are trained to estimate distances, shapes and speed of flying machines. Sometimes, pilots’ sightings are confirmed by radar detection, observers on the ground (control tower personnel, Ground Observer Corps, civilians, ..) or other pilots in flight. In some cases electro-magnetic effects were noted (radios, radar, compasses, engines, ...). In a few rare cases the pilot or crew felt physical effects like heat, or blinding light. This catalog contains 1,305 cases : 606 Military aircraft cases, 444 Airliners cases, 193 private light planes (19 multiple aircraft, 43 cases with no mention of type of aircraft). Among the 1,305 cases, 702 are North American. A detailed study and a database of the 200 radar-cases in this catalog (about 15%) is currently under development at the French Space Agency (CNES) in France, as a SEPRA project led by Jean-Jacques Velasco. An initial evaluation of the most detailed radar-visual cases shows that the technical data indicated by radar (sizes, speeds, distances, maneuvers, locations . .) are quite close to those estimated by pilots. Another study of the 57 cases involving electro-magnetic effects on the aircraft (about 4%) of this catalog is under development with Dr Richard F. Haines for the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP)2 Dominique Weinstein Paris, February 3, 2001 1 An unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) is the visual stimulus that provokes a sighting report of an object or light seen in the sky, the appearance and/or flight dynamics of which do not suggest a logical, conventional flying object and which remains unidentified after close scrutinity of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making both a full technical identification as well as a common-sense identification, if one is possible. (Dr Richard F. Haines 1980) 2 the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP), PO Box 140, Boulder Creek, California 95006. www.narcap.org 4 NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein updated : 04/09/2000 AIRCRAFT / UAP ENCOUNTERS CATALOG DATE TIME COUNTRY LOCATION TYPE OF PLANE AND WITNESSES UFO DESCRIPTION Rad CODES SOURCES ar G X E 16.01.31 20:45 LT UK near Rochford M one row of lights like lighted windows on a 03 pilot railway carriage. It rose and disappeared 26.01.00 13:00 LT USA Between Wichita, Kansas and ? six "flying manhole covers" 03 Colorado Springs, Colorado pilot 26.09.late 23:00 USA Nevada A DH-4 one cylindrical huge object, wingless. the pilot E 03 an airmail pilot was forced to land, 31.06.10 15:00 LT Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand ? a "dull grey-white airship" seen in distance 03 pilot 32.00.00 daytime Greenland East coast M RDAF Three Heinkel He.8 seaplanes one hexagonal, flat, aluminium looking object E 03 pilots followed the plane course. 33.07.05 night UK over Sussex M 4 Hawker Fury fighters a huge circular light dropped in the center of X E 03 pilots the aircraft formation. One a/c forced to land 36.10.10 04:15 LT Italy Cape Talamonore M four italian Idro S.62 bis one blinding light appeared to shoot short 03/37 pilots flames from its center and flew north. 37.01.01 12:00 LT USA Virginia / North Carolina border P A Curtis Wright Sedan a gondola-shaped object of gun metal color 03 military pilot crossed the aircraft's path. 42.03.25 midnight Holland Zuider See M An RAF bomber one luminous orange disc 357 crew 42.06.00 Holland M An RAF bomber (301st Squadron) a bright object moved around the plane X M290 crew 42 17:50 Australia Tasman Peninsula M An RAF aircraft an object looking like a singular airfoil of 413 summer pilot glistening bronze color with a dome on top 419 42.11 France west coast of France, Bay of Biscay M a military plane (anti-sub. squad.) a huge object followed and passed the plane 366 pilot 03 42.12.09 evening France Somme estuary M An RAF Hurricane fighter 2 bright lights came from the ground, chased 357 pilot the plane, then moved away 03 43.00.00 night Atlantic Ocean Between USA and England M A USN PB-2Y5 one single lit orange object flew in formation 03/37 pilot + 8 crew members with the aircraft. 43.04.05 09:50 USA Air Corps Ferrying Command Base, P one BT-13A trainer aircraft one orange, round object flew alongside in 03 Long Beach, California pilot formation with the aircraft, then shot away 43.05.00 Europe Above the English Channel M An RAF Lancaster night bomber a huge orange ball, near the sea, stationary 03 pilot + all crew 43.05 or night Tunisia M RAF Hurricane (73rd Squadron) one light 03/37 07 pilot 43.10.14 Germany Schweinfurt M several USAAF B-17 bombers near-collision with a group of luminous disc- X 324/357 crews (384th Bomber Group) shaped objects (could be "windows") L338/03 43.12.14 night Italy Naples M RAF Beaufighter (255th Squadron) dogfight with a bright light which out climbed 03/37 pilot the aircraft. 43 Late daytime Germany Central Germany M one USAAF B-17 one gold sphere, size of a basketball, flew 03 tail gunner (390th bomb. group.) around the bomber. 5 NARCAP TR-04 2001 D. F. Weinstein 44.00.00 night Atlantic Ocean South Atlantic M A military transport two bright lights came toward the aircraft, 03/37 4 pilots separated, went around, and turned. 44.02.00 02:30 Australia Bass Strait M a Bristol Beaufort bomber a dark shape with pulsating lights on its rear E 321/324 crew part 413/419 44.03.00 USA Yakima, Washington ? Seven pebble-shaped bright objects in V 339 pilot formation 44.03.00 USA Carlsbad, New Mexico M a USAAF B-29 bomber a spherical object moved with sharp turns at 303 pilot great speed 44.04.30 21:00 Italy near Anzio M RAF Beaufighter (600th Squadron) one red-orange glow followed the aircraft, NR 03/37 pilot + radar officer doing evasive maneuvers.