ReportonAerialPhenomena ObservedneartheChannelIslands,UK, April232007 Jean-FrancoisBaure,DavidClarke,PaulFuller&MartinShough Copyrightnote:Thisdocumentisproducedforprivateresearchpurposesanddistributionimpliesnolicenseto reproduce.Alltextandoriginalimagesare 2008bytheauthors,and,apartfrom“fairuse”,permissionmustbe soughtforreproductioninwholeorinpart.Otherimagesremaintheintellectualpropertyoftheiroriginators,who whereverpossiblearecreditedinthetext. February2008 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough Contents ReportSummary&Acknowledgments..............................4 Section1:SummaryofObservations................................6 Section2:TranscriptofRadioCommunications......................14 Section3:DetailedReconstructionofSightingGeometry...............25 Section4:RadarObservations....................................38 Section5:MeteorologicalConditionsintheSightingArea..............50 Section6:Hypotheses...........................................60 a) Sundogs..............................................60 b) Subsun...............................................62 c) 3 rd /4 th orderrainbows.....................................64 d) Surfacereflections&mirages..............................65 i) god-raypatches..................................65 ii) sunglitterreflectionsfromtheseaoffBrittany..........66 iii) sunglitterreflectionsfromlakesinBrittany............73 iv) specularreflectionsfromGuernseyglasshouses........76 v) specularreflectionsscatteredfromhaze..............79 e) Aircraftcontrails........................................85 f) Shiptracks.............................................87 g) Lenticularclouds.......................................90 h) Militaryexercises.......................................98 i)LighterthanAir(LTA)vehicles............................99 j) Windscreenreflections...................................99 k) Earthquakelights(EQL).................................102 2 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough l) Earthquakeclouds.......................................109 Section7:Conclusions..........................................111 Appendices A.MoDFile.............................................118 B.WitnessStatements.....................................130 C.MeteorologicalCharts&Tables...........................158 D.JerseyWeatherRadar....................................173 3 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough ReportonAerialPhenomena ObservednearChannelIslands,UK,April232007 Jean-FrancoisBaure,DavidClarke,PaulFuller&MartinShough Summaryofthereport WedescribesimultaneousobservationsofUAPs 1indaylightbymultipleobservers(aircrewand passengers)onboardtwocivilaircraftinwidelyseparatedlocations.RecordingsofATCradar data,andofradiocommunicationsreportingeventsinrealtimetoAirTrafficControl,are examinedalongsideCAAdocuments,witnessinterviews,andothersources.Adetailed reconstructionofthesightinggeometryisoffered.Wedescribeattemptstoexplainthe phenomenawiththehelpofexpertadvisersandprofessionalresourcesinthefieldsof meteorology,atmosphericoptics,geophysicsandotherfields. Itprovedpossibletoeliminateanumberoftheorieswithafairlyhighlevelofconfidence,butwe wereunabletoconclusivelyidentifytheUAPsobserved.Wefoundthattwotheorieshadsome potentialtoexplainatleastamajorityofthefeaturesobservedandmightbethebasisofafuture explanation.Butwearesensiblethatapotentialtoexplainisnotanexplanation. Thesetwotheoriesinvolvedatmospheric-opticalphenomena(specularsunreflectionsonahaze layercappingalocaltemperatureinversion)orgeophysicalphenomena(relatedto‘earthquake lights’orEQL).Buteachtheoryhassomeinterestingproblems.AswestateinourConclusions (Section7 ):‘Itmayprovepossibleforotherinvestigatorstoadaptthesetheoriesandsoimprove thefitwithobservation,orfurtherworkmightthoroughlyruleoutoneorbothofthem.’Athird candidate-amock-miragedueaseveretemperatureinversionneartheBretoncoast-waskept outofcontentionbyoneapparentlyinsurmountableproblem. Wewereabletoshowthatwidespreadmediastoriesdescribingenormousphenomenauptoa milewideanddetectedbyradarwerebasedonspeculationandmisunderstandings.Manynews reportsweregrosslyexaggeratedandinaccurate.Howeveraswefurtherstate: ‘WeareunabletoexplaintheUAPsightingssatisfactorilywithouteither a)discountingatleast somesignificantfeaturesofthereports,or b)doingviolencetoatleastsomeconventional meteorologicalopticsorconventionalEQLphenomenology.Wehopethatreadersofthisreport willfindithelpfulindecidingwhich(ifeither)ofthosecoursesofactionseemsthemore reasonableandeconomical.’ ______________________________________________________________________________ 1UAP=UnidentifiedAerialPhenomenon 4 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough Acknowledgements Thisinvestigationtouchesonmanydifferentareasofexpertiseandwearegratefulforthe patienceofmanypeopleandorganisationswhohaveassisteduswithinformationandadvice. Theyarecreditedinthetextalongwithmanyprintandwebresources.Weapologisetoanyone whosenamehasbeeninadvertentlyomitted,andforanymistakenorabsentcreditswhichwe willbegladtocorrect(pleasecontacttheauthors*).Althoughwehaveendeavouredtocheck withauthoritativesourceswhereverpractical,theauthorsareofcoursewhollyresponsiblefor anyerrorsoffactorinterpretationthatremain. WewouldespeciallyliketothankCaptRayBowyer(AurignyAirlines);KateandJohnRussell; CaptPatrickPatterson(BlueIslandAirways);JerseyAirTrafficControl,ChannelIslandsZone, inparticularPaulKelly(AirTrafficController),SimonLanglois(engineer,ATCRadar Processing)andJeremySnowdon(DirectorofCivilAviation,formerlyChiefElectronics Engineer);AnthonyPallot(PrincipalMeteorologicalOfficer,JerseyMeteorologicalDept);Frank LeBlancq(JerseyMeteorologicalDept);TimLillington(formerSeniorMeteorologicalOfficer, GuernseyAirportMetOffice);LesCowley(physicist,atmosphericoptics;authorofCHANNEL ISLANDSSIGHTINGS: AnInvestigationintoPossibleRoleofAtmosphericOptical Phenomena,2007 ,areportkindlypreparedforusbyDrCowleyatanearlystageinour investigationwhichhelpedgreatlytofocusthedirectionofourefforts);AndrewTYoung (atmosphericscientistandexpertonopticalmirage,SanDiegoStateU.);FriedemannFreund (NASA,geophysicsofearthquakeprecursors);JohnS.Derr(USGeologicalSurvey,earthquake lightsresearcher);MiguelAngelRico-Ramirez(radarmeteorologist,BristolU.);RobinHogan (cloudphysicist,ReadingU.);ThierryJimonet(meteorologist,METEO-France,Toulouse); BertrandChapronandFrancisGohin(oceanographers, Institutfrançaisderecherchepour l'exploitationdelamer ,IFREMER,Brest);PierreBlouch(Meteo-FranceE-SURFMAR ProgrammeManager,CentredeMeteorologieMarinedeBrest);LoicHarang(CENTREDE METEOROLOGIESPATIALE,Lannion);LucienWald(HeadofHelioclim/SODA,Centre EnergetiqueetProcedesEcoledesMinesdeParis/Armines/CNRS);BrunoLassus(Le CommandantdePort,St.MaloPortAuthority);DundeeUniversitySatelliteReceivingStation; AJBPattimore(DeputyHarbourmaster,GuernseyHarbourAuthority);JerseyPlanningand EnvironmentDepartment(PED,Fisheries&MarineResources);PaulIngrouille(Guernsey ClematisNurseryLtd);UKMinistryofDefence;UKMeteorologicalOffice;AurignyAirlines; BlueIslandAirways;GaryAnthony;JoeMcGonagle;Jean-PierrePharabod;DominicWeinstein &KimEfishoff(NARCAP);SaraDoherty(CAASafetyDataOffice). ______________________________________________________________________________ * mailto:[email protected] 5 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough 1)SummaryofObservations a)AurignyAirlines544(BN2aTrislander) Pilotobservation ThefirstobservationofabrightlightwasmadebythepilotofaBN2aMk3Trislander(Aurigny Airline544,G-XTOR)inboundtoAlderneyfromSouthamptononaheadingof207 °onairway R41,atapositionsome13nmiNNEoftheORTACreportingpoint.ORTAC(approx.N50 °W 02 °)markstheboundaryonairrouteR41betweentheLondonFlightInformationRegion(FIR) andtheBrestFIR.ItisalsotheNboundaryoftheChannelIslandsControlZoneservedbyJersey radar. Capt.RaymondAnthonyBowyerbeganflyingin1984andatthetimeofthesightinghadbeena professionalairlinepilotfor18years,pilotingnumerousaircrafttypes(PA34Navajo,Fokker 27,Trislanderandothers)onroutesintheChannelIslands,UKandEuropeforcompanies includingNovair,Regionair,ChannelExpress,JerseyEuropeanandFarnairEurope.Hehad flownthisparticularaircraft,TrislanderG-XTOR,onthisSouthampton-Alderneyroutefor8½ years,amountingtobetween500and600roundtrips. 2 Theaircraftwasincruiseat130knots(IAS)atsomewhatover4000ft. 3Itwasalargelycloudy afternoon(see Section5 )withdirectsunlightblockedbymediumlevelaltocumulusandhigh levelcirrus(sun~45degelevationintheSW,~17°totherightoftheflightpath).TheEandW horizonswerecloud-obscured,andtherewasalayerofthinhazebelowtheaircraftat approximately2000ft.Butthehorizonaheadwasfreeofcloud,andvisibilitywasestimated100 milesattheflightaltitude.TheislandsofAlderneyandGuernseywerealsoclearlyvisible. Fig.1LocationoftheChannelIslands, showingtheTrislander’sroutefromSouthamptontoAlderney 2InterviewbyPaulFuller,SouthamptonAirport,8June2007,textreviewedbyCapt.Bowyerandcorrectedand updated16July2007(see AppendixB ) 3ThecruisealtitudewasFL40,orastandardpressurealtitudeof4000ft.TruealtitudeASLdiffersfromthis dependingonlocalairpressure,asexplainedin Section 3. 6 ReportonAerialPhenomenaObservedneartheChannelIslandsBaure,Clarke,Fuller&Shough Thetimewasabout1406Z 4whenCapt.Bowyernoticedabrightlightclosetothehorizonalmost directlyaheadoftheaircraft.Hisinitialimpressionwasthathecouldbeseeingsunlightreflected fromlargevineryglasshousesontheIslandofGuernseytensofmilesaway.Hehadoftenseen