UFO Times No 24 Jul Aug 1993

20 Pages·1993·9.6 MB·English

TIMES
Number 24 July/August 1993 ISSN 0958-4846
A BUFORA PUBLICATION
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TIMES
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COUNCIL 1991-92 Harpenden. Herlbrdshire.
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ARTIST
WITNESS CONFIDENTIALITY Edward Clark
The British UFO Research Association realises the importance of trearing cases submitled 10 lhe The pages of UFO Times are open to
dAesvsiosceida tiaonnd bemy pwl iotnyeesds eths roaus gchoonuft idtheen Atisrls.o cInia tt hioen li1go hglu aorla nrh tise,e Tthh aet tBh Ue FuOlmRoAs t Ccaordee i so tfa Pkemnc wlichee nh adse ableinegn anyone wishing to conrribute a paper. Sub-
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h is also the policy of UFO Times not to publish the names or addresses of wilncsscs who are nol in lhe on 3"Amstrad disc or 3.5" disc (MSDOS)
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be lreated with care and empathy by the editorship. (c) BUFORA Ltd 1993
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IIFO Times
CONTENTS
............ 13-16
Fire in the Sky......................................................4 The Winged Serpent of Ashland
Philip Mantle Gordon Millinston
Pat Otter
l-12 UFOCaII...........
The European Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I ....................... 20
Gary Anthony is unwell, thus, there is no
Spacenews for this issue. The Council of BUFORA
wish Gary a speedy recovery.
Frofit co|er illLlstration reproducedwith the kind permission oJ United International Pictures
TIMES
EDITOFlIAL
IJFO Times
FIRE IN THE SKY
A FILM BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTL'RES.
BASED ON THE TRUE STORY OF TRAVIS WALTON.
Certificale: 15, Running Tine: 1 Hour 50 Minutes.
Previewed by Philip Mantle
It is the evening of NoYember 5th events. Seventeen years later, contro- that also depicted UFO abduction
1975. A group of loggers are in a veny still surrounds the incident. The cases. "Most of the gul s had not seen
pickup truck on a mountain road in subject of an autobiographical book, each other in the past ten 1ears. I ques-
a northeastern Arizona forest when THE WALTON EXPERIENCE, and lioned them indiriduallr and their
they observe a strange and unusually many other publications concerning answers always held up. Each man
bright light in the sky. Despite warn- UFOS, the event is one ofthe best-doc- believed he was telling the truth. I think
ings from his co-workers, but umented claims of an alien encounter they all had been traumatised by what-
consumed by curiosity, Tra v is on record, and is corroborated by a ever happened that €vening. It was a
Walton leaves the safety of his truck group of witnesses whose stories have nightmare for them."
to take a closer look. Suddenly, not changed. Walton's ordeal called Co-producer Robert Strauss adds,
Walton is thrust to the ground by a into question his beliefs about the "Travis went ten years without a tele-
mysterious force ofenergy. His com- nature of life as he and the otherloggers phone to avoid answering questions
panions flee in fear. Later, they simultaneously faced the challenges about that night. He installed one only
describe the events surrounding the posed by those who couldn't accept a few days before Tracy Torme called.
disappearance of Travis Walton. their account. He must have considered that an omen
They report an occurrence they "At first I was angry at people's dis- because he finally agreed to talk about
if
would have considered impossible belief, even outraged," remembers everything. He was really intrigued by
they hadn't experi€nced it them- Walton. "Back then, a lot of that had to the idea of finally telling his story and
selves - an encounter with a UFO. do with the fact that there were so many trying to do it in some way that was
For five days the loggers are sus- falsehoods being told. I've gotten more more honest than the way some of the
pected of homicide until Walton philosophical about the scepticism of newspapers and the media portrayed
reappears, disorientated and unable to people. It's not such an unnatural reac- it," adds Torme.
)ccount for his missing time. Walton's tion. It's an incredible thing (that Comments executive producer,
recollections of being aboard an alien happened). What gets me upset is when Wolfgang Glattles, "These men's story
craft bring intemational attention to people refuse to examine the facts or to has never changed. As bizarre as their
their small town o[ Snowflake, Ari even look at things." account is, it's equally difficult to
zona. There are accusations of a hoax, "This is a story that speaks to human believe it was a hoax."
but all must considerthe possibility that character and behaviour about our 'FIRE lN THE SKY was released in
lhe men are telling the trulh. Is their inclination to presume the worsl in the UK in June 1993. The above mate-
account ofwhat happened so incredible someone before considering ideas that rial was supplied by United
it can only be true? challenge our own scepticism," com- International Pictures (UK) and edited
'FIRE IN THE SKY'is a Joe ments producer Joe Wizan. by Philip Mantle.
Wizanllodd Black Production based Director, Robert Lieberman, says,
on the true story of Travis Walton, "Not only are we confronted with the COMPETITION
whose alleged abduction by a UFO is enigma of truth or hoax, but the conse- United International Picturcs have
one of the most intriguing and contro- quences faced by those who become kindly donated a number of promo-
versial UFO cases. ostracised from their community." tional 'FIRE IN TllE SKY' items. To
Starring D.B. Sweeney (The Culting Screenwriter. Tracy Torme. identi- win an original copy of the soundtrack
Edge), Craig Sheffer (A River Runs fies the film as a study of"how a single from the film on audio cassette, simply
Through It). Peter Berg (Late For event can alter your life foreverjust by answer the question beloq All comrt
Dinner)And Academy Award nominee, (your) being unlucky enough lo be in entries will be placed 'in a hal' and one
James Camer, the film was produced the wrong place at the wrong time. winner will be dmwn out. Ten runners-
by Joe Wizan and Todd Black and 'FIRE IN THE SKY' is also about up will each receive a colour brochure
directed by Robert Lieb€rman from the friendship and betrayal - and forgive- detailing the movie. All entries should
screenplay by Tracy Torme. The film's ness." Torme first heard of the Walton be sent to: Philip Mantle, l, Woodhatl
special effects were created by Indus- case while listening to the radio in high Drive, Batley, W. Yorks. WFIT-7SW.
trial Light and Magic. school. A decade later, he travelled to Closing date is August 31st 1993. The
The biggest mysteries and greatest Snowflake with co-producer, Robert wirmer will be announced in a future
miracles in history have few witnesses Strauss, to investigate the story. "l issue of llFO TIMES.
and those compelled to relate unprece- spoke extensively with Travis Walton The question is:-
dented experiences have inevitably and the other men who were involved,
faced contempt and ridicule. In 1975, including Mike Rogers," says Torme, a ln which town in Arizona didTravis
Walton live at the time of his
an Arizona woodsman came forward to Peabody Award-winner and screen-
tell about a startling sequence of writer of 'INTRUDERS'. a mini-series encounter in 1975?
UFO Times
Eritish Unidentified Flying Object Research Association
CASE REPORT
AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS
(or The Ballooning Alternative to Travel)
Part
1
Case No. PHILCASE.076 Date of incidents: JAS REPORT 75191 : l5-7 -91 &
Statdqrd UFO report form not issued due to witness names REPORT 51/91: 1-6-91
ramaining confdentiql to the CAA. Report class: FB2-304 [Vall6e]
lnvestigators: Diane Eakin & Ken Phillips
Sighting area: Sussex - N5042N E0044 [30 NM SE MAY]
N5122 W0050 [l 2.5 NM wNW Ockhaml
This report first became known to the investigator after incident(s). Eventually, a reply came back from the Joinr
watching a brief n€ws report on the BBC 6 O'Clock News Airmiss Section [JAS], Uxbridge postulating a 'Solar
in May 1992. There were very few details given other than Balloon' hypothesis.
the fact that the incident had involved a large passenger Meanwhile, Diane Eakin had managed to obtain further, bur
airliner over the Sussex. England airspace. limited, information from 'UK Airmisses Involving Commer-
After contacting BUFORA's Director of Investigations cial Air Transport', fiom its May-August 199 t edition, but this
[DOI], the investigator was told by her that, according to the additional information imparted no really helpful data such as
information she had received, there were two separate inci- names of penonnel and airlines involved; furthermore, the
dents involving two different aircraft on two different dates. reports contained in this periodical were clouded by aeronau-
The DOI funher advised the investigator to contact another, tical 'jargon' which render the repofs difficult for the layman
local investigator living near Ashford, Kent - Diane Eakin - to interpret.
in order to prompt herto find out what she could from Gatwick Thus, in lieu of any funher substantial data, the following
Air Traffic Control [ATC]. In the meantime, the first invesri- report is based merely on a sequential account ofa frustrating
gator wrote a lener of inquiry to the CAA Headquarters in attempt to obtain supplementary data on the incidents in
London in the hope their staff could shed some light on the question.
LETTER FROM N. G. POPE, SECRETARIAT LETTER OF R,EPLY FROM JOINT AIRMISS
(AIR STAFF), 2a, ROOM 8245, SECTION IN RESPONSE TO AN EARLIER LETTER
Dated 5th May 1992 OF ENQUIRY TO CAA HEADQUARTERS, LONDON
Ministry of Defence, Grcup Captain J.E. Maitland, RAR
Main Building, Joint Airmiss Section,
Whitehall Hillingdon House,
London, SWlA-2HB.
Uxbridge,
Our ref: D/Sec(AS) 1213 Middx. UB10-0RU.
Dear Mr. Phillips, Tel: [phone].
Thank you for your letter dated 29 April, in which you asked t5-6-92.
whether we had any information on a near, mid-air collision Dear Mr. Phillips,
between an "Al Italia,/Dan air" aircraft and a "UFO".
Your letter to the 'Director of General Safety Operations'
I assume that you are referring to the incident that occurred was forwarded to me because this section deals with all air-
on 2l April last year, when the pilot of an Alltalia MD80 misses, civil and military, reported in UK airspace.
reported sighting a "flying object". In fact, while the MOD
was forwarded a copy of the pilot's report to the CAA, we Of the two incidents you mention, neither was reported as
received no other reports that tied in with this. an airmiss. However, an airmiss report involving an unident!
fied object,[which was probably some sort of balloon] was
If you have not alrcady done so, you may wish to contact published in April in the CAA's booklet, 'UK Airmisses
the CAA, with a view to seeing if they have any other infor- Involving Commercial Air Transport, May , Aug 1991'; this
mation that might be ofuse to you. drew a lot of media aftention. The booklet can be obtained
I hope this is helptul. from: The CAA Printing & Publication Service at Crenville
House, 37 Gratton Rd. Cheltenham, Clos. GL50-2BN; tel
Yours sincerely, I
0242-235151. believe the publication, which comes out
N. Pope. every 4 months. costs f5 per edition.
UFO Times
If you get the May - Aug l99l edition, you will find that PS: Airmiss 75191 - this [a LFO SOL.\R B.\LLOO\*] might
the incident which the press picked up is Airmiss 75191 which explain a black, lozenge-shaped objecr nore heieht possibil-
took place on the 15th July. You will probably also notice that ity below...
51/91 referred to some other unidentified object, but almost * Solar energy airship exposed to the sun takes otT
-sradually:-
certainly a part-deflated balloon of some kind; this happened
Dimensions: length approx. 10'. diameter appror. 1'. thickness
on the lst June.
l0 microns - supplied with a 60' tll ing cableS
The information in these reports is in the public domain but
I cannot let you have copies of the original pilots' reports $ Waming: do not use your airship in strone * Lnd. Keep away
from obstacles such as trees, buildings relegraph poles &
submitted to JAS in confidence forflight safety purposes only. electricity pylons, etc... Tie up your airship to \ins cable,
Yours sincerely, because, if released, it could reach e\traordinarr altitudes
J. Maitland. (30,000')
MAY-AUGUST 1991
the temperaturc rose from +8' to +12o.
AIRMISS REPORT No75/91 The top of convection \\'as was at
Date/time: 151745 Jul 4,500', above this was a ver)' drv area
Type Operator AIt,/FL Assessed Met. Conditions up to about 15,000'. Wind velocity at
14,000' - 305125, 10.000'- 295/25.
Reporting
Aircraft: 8737 CAT FL I4O VMC 40 km 2) AIS(Mi]) undertook very thorough
tracing action but could reach no posi-
Reported
tive conclusion. Their radar replay did
Aircraft: Black lozenge-shaped object
show a primary retum in the general
Position: N5042N E0044 [30 NM SE MAY] area but it was seen to move about like
Airspace a light a,/c or helicopter at low level. No
typ€: CTA Met or other balloons could be traced
which having been released could have
PART A: SIJMMARY OF Gatwick via the Eastwood Stack and reached this arealtime nor which could
INFORMATION REPORTED TO passing the BEXIL way point. He was have appeared black. The only possible
JAS descending through 15,000 and exception lo lhis was thal some hol-air
THE 8737 PILOT - reports that he thought the object may have been a balloon pilots launch small balloons
was inbound to Gatwick and in com- balloon, or part of, describing it as which can be followed with a device
munication with London Control on black and about 18" wide. The SC called a'Wind Tracker'. One balloon
128.4 while squawking with Mode C. reports that a primary return was pilot contacted had released balloons
He was heading 308'and descending seen about 10 NM behind the R737 on the 6th/7th July but then not again
tinhr othueg hre FgLio n1 4o0f a4t 03 5k5m k.t Hwiisth F vOis isbaiwlit ya hinega dain/cg wSaEs agt ivaebnou ht a1f0f0ic k itn. fAorfmolalofiwon- uonneti l othf eh ils9 thb.l aOcnk tbhael lo2olsnts h teo t r7a,c2k0e0d'
small, black lozenge-shaped object and avoiding turns to the left to avoid before he lost sight of it and he assumed
the primary return, which had they could go much higher than this.
about 500 m ahead of the a,/c and at the
s1a.5m ese lce vite lp.a Wssiethd inv etrhye cslopsaece, Ioesf sa bthoaunt ait,p pbeuat ritesd p tiolo ct hreapnogret ehde saedeiningg tnoowthairndgs. Tohf eb aCllAooAnSsR; Gth eisy wanedll oatwhaerres ooff tshiism uilsaer
a1/0c0 a yndds, aatw tahye, mdoowstn, 3th0e' apboorvtsei dtehe olfe vtheel Tfahcets DinV oRr dCeSr Cth awt aisn baolsuon da dtvraisfefidc ocfo uthlde sm1i0zo9es( taf lre)e.s ssTt rhtichetai onon b2sj emocf]t tashreee e Aenx NbeOmy ptbtheyed a 8rftr7ioc3mle7
ofthe wing. He informed London Con- be given vectors to avoid the area. pilot must be considered as untraced.
trol, yia the RT, who reported seeing a JAS Notesi
small, primary radar contact astern l) A meteorological balloon was
of the a/c. No impact or disturbance released from Crawley at 17.19 on rhis PART B: SUMMARY OF THE
was felt on the a/c and no damage was panicular day. it was light-brown in WORKING GROUP'S
observed during a post-flight inspec- colour and was trailing a silvery-mesh DISCUSSIONS
tion. He assessed the risk ofcollision as triangle. Twenty six minutes after The only information available to
high. release [7.45] it was at 27,000' bear- the Working Group was the report from
AIC AI LAICC reports that dudng ing 085.76" and at a range of 30 km the pilot ofthe B737, photogaphs from
a moderate traffic loading on the from Crawley. It ascended through the radar recordings and reports from
BIG/EAS CCF sector the 8737 pilot 15,000' l3 minutes after release the appropriat€ ATC and operating
reported an object passing his a/c in the [17.32] when it was bearing 097.6'and authorities.
opposite direction at a high closing at a range of l7 km. There was a sharp A member commented that the
speed. The B737 was inbound to inversion between 4,000-5,000' where number of sightings of balloons and
IJFO Times
other unidentified objects seem to have recognisable piece of aviation equip- object struck the B'737 the general
become more prevalent in the S and SE ment, while the temperature opinion was that there had been a pos-
of the country. Members took note of inversion made it unlikely that some- sible risk of collision.
the AIS(M) comment on the pdmary thing lik€ a piece of black polyth€ne
retum seen in the general area of the could haye been canied to that level.
PART C: ASSESSMENT OF RISK
airmiss as being more akin to the move- It was ageed that this airmiss was best
AND CAUSE
ment of a light a/c or helicopter at low described as a confliction between the
level. They were at a loss to identify 8737 and the unidentified object. Degree of risk: B
the reported object since its shape Whilst members wele unsure what Cause: confliction between the 8737
and behaviour did not seem to fit any damage could have occurred had the and the unidentified object.
AIRMISS REPORT No. 51/91 therefore regretted that the object
Date,/Time: 0l1438 Jun musl be considered as unidentified
Type and untraced.
Operator Ah/FL Assessed Met. Conditions
Reporting PART B: SUMMARY OF THE
Aircraft: 873'l CAT FL 80 VMC 50 Km WORKING GROI]P'S
DISCUSSIONS
Reported
Aircraft: Untraced Balloon The only information available to
Position: N5122 W0050 (12.5 NM WNw Ockham) the Working Group was the report ftom
the pilot ofthe B737.
Airspace type: LTMA
It seems unlikely, to the JAWG,
PART A: SUMMARY OF level and assessed the risk of collision
that this was aDy type ofmeteorolog.
INFORMATION REPORTED TO as 'A'. He comments that there was an
ical balloon: they are manufactured
JAS:- opposite direction a/c below him at
to disintegrate at a set altitud€ and
The B737 PILOTreports that he was 5,000' at about the same time. the radio sonde descends on a small
inbound to Heathrow from Dublin and JAS Note: both military and civilian parachute. However. the FO's descrip-
receiving a radar control service from agencies have spent considerable time tion of"a wrinkled appearance" had all
the former on 123.9 while squawking studying radar replays of the area in the hallmarks of a half-deflated bal-
1ll405'4 awt it2h5 0M okdt,e leCv.e Hl ae t wFaLs 8he0a wdiinthg nwoh itcrahc teh ec oauirlmd isbse tsoeoekn polaf cteh,e hroewpoervteerd, loon. One member thought it morc
possible that rhis was an adverlising
visibility of 50 km. The FO noticing the object.
balloon that had broken away from its
object first, quickly brought the con- Enquiries made with the Meteoro-
tether, even though none had been
fliction to his attention. He then saw the logical Office at Bracknell have
reported. One member wondered what
oabnjde citt inthiteianl ldyi stahpropuegarhe dth ev ewrinyd rsacpreidelny cboalnlofiormnse dfr othma t Btheeayu fdoirdt nPoatr kre olena sthee a lnsyt would happen if an engine ingested
down the port side. He estimated that I|:lr]Le:. rhey are 99 ,9Vo sure that met. bal- such a balloon. No aircrew member of
the FO saw the object for a maximum loons could be ruled out. The CAA the Group had encountered this actual
of 2 sec while he himself saw it for less have not received any reports of the problem, but most thought it would
than 1 sec. The FO's assessment ofthe accidental release of any tethered bal- seriousiy affect the performance of the
object was: colour yellow/orange, loons. The Meteorological Office, at engine just as does a polythene bag
cylindrical in cross-section with a pos- the request ofthe JAS, have studied the ingested on the ground. Members
sible'wrinkled appearance'. It was met. charts and such information as agreed that this incident was best
impossible to estimate its actual size was available to ascertain the condi- described as a confliction with an
because ofthe short pedod of time that lions penaining to the lsr June. Their unidentified object. Members consid-
it was in view and there being no per- considered opinion was that the N- ered that there had been a possible risk
spective available. However, based on NE'ly airflow was very unstable in the of collision with the object.
the 8737's speed, assuming the object lower layers up to about 4,500'. It was
Lo be stationary and sighted at a mini. considered to have been quite feasible
mum of 500'. he would estimate its size that a'polybag', or similar, could have PART C: ASSESSMENT OF RISK
at about 10'. He wondered whethel due been conveyed up to about this altitude. AND CAUSE
to their proximity to Bracknell and a However, there was also a very strong Degree ofrisk B
NNE 15 kt wind, it may have been a inyersion above this level with a tem-
weather balloon. However, the closure perature difference in the region of Cause: Confliction with an unidenti-
rate seemed very rapid for a station- 5-6'. It was considered improbable fied object
ary obj€ct. He estimated the miss that anything could have been lifted The conclasion of this report will be
distance as 50-100'range at the same through this inversion layer. It is published in UFO Times 25.
UFO Times
CAPTAIN SCHAFER'S
LAST FLIGHT
by Pat Otten
The following is an account of the events leading up to the ditching in the North Sea of'lightning Foxtrot 9{'. a single-seat
fighter from 5 Squadron at Binbrook, whose final flight is at the centre of one cf the most puzzling aviation stories since
the war. Just what was it that its pilot, American, William Schafer, was sent to intercept out over the North Sea 22 Iears
ago and why was he eventually ordered to ditch his aircraft off Flamborough Head rather than return to :{orth
I-incclnshire?
The chain of events which led to the were able to pick up the mvstery con-
crash of Lightning XS894 from 5 tact themselves.
Squadron at RAF Binbrook and the dis- But when they, too, tried to get close
appearance of its pilot began at 20.17 enough to identify what s.as by now
on rhe nighl of Sepiember 8th. I 970. in beginning to cause some alarm to
an isolated building on the Shetland
NATO commanders, they found they
Islands.
werejust as irnpotent as the Lightnings.
Saxa Vord was one of the chain of
The alert had reached such a level
radar stations whose task it was to spot
that the coniact was being monitored
unidentified aircraft approaching the
North Sea or the sensitive 'lceland by the Ballistic Missile Early Warning
System at Fylingdales Moor, near
Gap'. Remember, this was 1970 when
lVhitby, along with a second BMEWS
the Cold War was at its height and Rus-
in Greenland.
sian long-range aircraft made regular
sorties into the North Atlantic and The information they were collect-
along the British coast to test the reac- ing was relayed to the North Amedcan
lion of NATO fighters. On this Pat Otter Air Defence Command at Cheyenne
particular night, a radar operator at Mountain and the US Detection and
Saxa Vord picked up the blip of an Badger, the long-range reconnaissance Tracking Centre at Colorado Springs.
aircraft used to test the nerves of the
uhnaildfwenatyif iebde tawireceranf tt hovee rS thheet lNanodflsh aSneda RAF. But it was then that the radar In the meantime, the cat-and-mouse
plofters on the Shetland Islands saw game over the North Sea between the
Alesund in Norway.
something on fheir screens which they Lightnings and Phantoms on one hand
The contact was monitored for sev- found impossible to believe. and the mysiery contact on the other,
eral minutes at a steady speed of 630 The contact they had been tacking was still going on. Then, at 21.05, after
nap sho, uatht -3w7e,0s0te0r'lhyo lhdeinagd inaglt.i tuTdhee na nSda oxna mat osdpeeerdns i{aunsds aialtnitu dweasr pcloannseisst,e nttu rwniethd tthivee f igahttteemrsp ht atdo mgaedt ec lyoeste a, ntohteh ecro anbtaocr-t
Vord noted the contact was tuming
through 30'to head due south. It through 180' on a due north heading, vanished off the radar screens.
increased speed to 900 mph (Mach and within seconds disappeared off The Lightnings were ordered to
1.25) and climbed to 44,000'. their screens. Later, they calculated that retum to Leuchars while the Phantoms
to do lhis its speed must have been in were instructed to caJry out a Combat
Following laid-down procedures. the region of 17,400 mph. Air Patrol to the east of Iceland.
radar controllers at Saxa Vord flashed a
scramble message to the Quick Reac- With the contact now gone, the Then, at 21.39, radar controllers
tion Alert Flight IQRAF] at the nearest Lightnings were vectorcd south to ren- picked up the contact again. This time
NATO airfield, RAF Leuchars, on the dezvous with the tanker and remained its speed was decelerating to 1,300 mph
east coast of Scotland not far from airbome on Combat Air Patrol. almost the limit of both the Light-
Dundee. During the next hour, the mystery nings and Phantoms - at a holding
There, two Lightning interceptors, contact reappeared several times altitude of 18,000'. It was on a south-
which had been ready on the flight line approaching from the north. Each time westerly heading coming from the
for just such an alert, were scrambled, the Lightnings were sent nonh to inter- direction of the Skagerrak, off the
and within minutes were airbome and cept, it [the contact] turned and northem tip of Denmark.
heading out over the North Sea. disappeared again. Two more Lightnings were scrarn-
After checking the position of their By now two F4 Phantoms of the US bled from Leuchars and were ordered
tanker, a Victor K I A, the two fighrers Air Force had been scrambled from the to rendezvous with a Victor tanker and
were guided nonh by Saxa Vord. So far. American base at Keflavik in Iceland. then maintain a CAPon a 50-mile. east-
it was a routine scramble lor what was They had much more sophisticated west front, 200 miles north-east of
then assumed to be a Russian Bear or radar than the British Lightnings and Aberdeen.
tJFO Times
any unidentified aircraft appear on the
7
radar screens; but there was something
different about this scramble.
For a start, it was normal for QRAF
aircraft to take offin pairs. Two aircraft
werc kept at a state of instant readiness
at all times ready for just such an emer-
gency. But on this occasion, only one
aircraft took off. And it wasn't one of
the QRAF aircraft. Then there was the
manner of the take-off: the pilot had
raced out from the 5 Squadron crew
room, adjacent to the apron, and had
climbed aboard while the Lightning
was was in the process of being
refuelled. He angrily waved away
ground staff who asked him to sign the
appropriate fbrm, required before all
military aircraft leave the ground, and
ordered the refuelling lines to be disen-
gaged.
w
And this was no ordinary piiot
strapped into the cockpit ofthe Mach 2
interceptor. This was Capt. William
Schafer o[ the USAE who was on his
second tour as an exchange pilot with
the RAF. Schafer was a vastly experi
encedjet fighter pilot with combat time
behind him in Viemam. He had been at
Binbrook for some time and his wife
was living on the base with him.
No pre-flight checks were made and,
As a precaution, two further Light- NORAD, through Strike Command's as bemused ground crew looked on, the
nings were ordered into the air from UK Headquaners at High Wycombe, Lightning taxied out to the end of the
runway, tumed and immediately took
Coltishall in Norfolk and, with another for RAF Binbrook to send Capt. Wil-
tanker, to form a CAP 170 miles east of liam Schaler "iI at all possible" to join off, using re-heat to gain speed and
Great Yarmouth. The contact was the QRAF Lightnings looking for the height as quickly as possible.
somewhere between these two lines of mystery contact. The aircraft, XS894, a Lightning F6
supersonic fighters. By this time, four Lightnings, two of 5 Squadron, whose call-sign that
While all this was going on, RAF Phantoms and three tankers were night was Foxtrot 94, tumed out over
staff at Fyiingdales, which was in con- already airbome and they were joined the North Sea - and disappeared into
stant contact with NORAD at by a Shackleton Mk3 from Kinloss, what is fast becoming one of the great
Cheyenne Mountain, heard. omi- which was ordered to pahol on a north- aviation puzzles of recent times. Early
nously, that the Strategic AirCommand south heading at 3,000', l0 miles out the following moming, XS894 ditched
HQ at Omaha, Nebraska, was ordering from the east coast. in the sea off Flamborough Head. The
ditching was yitnessed by the crew of
two B52 bombers into the air. It was an Binbrook's QRAF Lightnings were a Shackleton reconnaissance aircraft.
order which could only have come being held in reserve, but it was Flares were spotted by the Grimsby
from the highest level: what had started decided to send out a single aircraft
as a routine sighting of what was Irom the North Lincolnshire airfield - tHrauwlll eDr,a Rilyo sMs Kaiel,s tbreul,t naso rterapcoert eodf iCna tphte.
believed to be a Russian aircraft, had flown by Capt. Sihafer. The Americans
Schafer was ever found.
now reached the White House and, pre- wanted one of their own at the shary
sumably, President Richard Nixon. end when it came to comering the mys- More than a month later. the wreck-
NORAD was told by officials at the tery contact. age of the aircraft was found on the sea
Pentagon that a USAF pilot of great At precisely six minutes past 10 on bed by Royal Navy divers. Despite ear-
experience was presently on an the night of September 8th 1970, a wliears r eepmonpsty t oa tnhde cthoenl rcaaryn.o tphye ccolocskepdil.
exchange visit with the RAF and was single Lightning jet fighter took off
stationed at Binbrook. the North Capt. Schafer had vanished - com-
from RAF Binbrook. Ground crew on
Lincolnshire fighter base a few miles the flight line were accustomed to pletely and utterly.
from Grimsby. Lightnings being scrambled in a hurry Later the aircraft was recovered and
Rapid inquiries were made and it at any time of night or day. Binbrook, taken, unusually, to RAF Binbrook.
was discovered the pilot was on the after all, was a frontline fighter station There it was kept under wraps in the
station and was, by coincidence, 'flight and its aircraft shared QRAF - Quick comer of a hangar.
available'. At around 21.45, a request Reaction Alert - duty with other East When a team from the MOD's Crash
was made from a very high level within Coast airfields to provide cover should Investigation Branch arrived from
UFO Times'
Famborough, they were permitted to USAF. Bob was to spend weeks check- lo lhe t 0ia:- : :a: a:..::-_\ (rnce and
spend only a very bdef time examining ing out a story he found more intriguing tbr alL.
the wreckage ofXS894. What they did by the hour. He paid numerous visits to Norr. t..-: .::-. .. :.i r3lie\es he
discover disturbed them. And what the MOD and spent hours on the tele- has peeLeJ 1..i.. . r:: . ::: :r..re of the
happened later disturbed them even phone to contacts in the USA. But myster) \u:i-:.1:.: \S'-l lnd the
more. everywhere he heard the ominous disappearan:t :: C.:: S-,-,ier I now
I first came across the mystery story sound of doors being slammed: he have a coF\ r: :.. ,,- -:: ,ri rihat he
of XS894 six years ago. An outline of finally admitted defeat. But Bob was believes happt-.: ::.:: : r:::. Srrme has
the story was related to me by Barry absolutely cenain there was an official come iiom h:i : ::.: ..'.:.llgaliol'rs,
Halpenny, an aviation enthusiast and blanket of secrecy over the events sur- some tionl !.i:ra:,. : ,-:-r':i. he has
author who lived at the time in Market rounding the crash of rhar Lighrning in obtained and :l::: :: -:::..islr.from
Rasen, and who was researching for a the North Sea all those yea6 ago. what he maini.lr:. .. . ::::.::ipt of the
tbHhoeeo ksc ruaogsngh e aasvtnieadd ti looI nod kimg f yuosrutthet retierh sein actotu ttihtti.en T gthisme oeren. abrBidagreryd Hvaelrpseionnn yo ff itnhael lsyt opruyb ilnis hae bdo oank fSinchaalf ecro. nar rerrd.l:r: .,a:,: :.-: :: :::.r:.: :i-: :ni S lCr\atopnt.
was more to the story of XS894 than which appeared in September 1988. Wold, near ScarL,r: --:_:::: . rhe crew
met the eye, he told me. Subsequently, we were contacted by of the Shacklettn .i .,.:::r:.'ed the
I anticipated dilficulties in investi- two fomer airmen who had both been crash.
gating a 16-year-old ditching incident at Binbrook at the time and added fur- Our source h;r' i.. ::::::a :irrn\ mous
in the North Sea, but not on the scale I ther fuel to the mystery by recalling and we cannot !orr!.:"...:: .-l the intbr-
was to encounter over the next few their own memories of that night. mation in this reFrr. \\ .:: :iri(rmralion
weeks. Normally helpful press contacts It was a story which puzzled and we can is cen.rinlr :: .::]e rrith the
at the MOD responded initially by intrigued readers but, perhaps most results of ml o*n in;::ri: iour \ears
promising to help, but then became interestingly ofall, it was a story which ago.
very reticent. grabbed the attention of a man spend All we ask )ou ti c. i. i(r read our
Similar enquiries to the US Embassy ing l0 days in a Cleethorpes guest stories carefulir .1ni rrlke up \'our
and to the USAF at Alconbury proved house, Sixteen years earlier, he had own mind
also to be dead-ends. Calls were not been one ofthe crash investigators who Ed's contntenr; l tni :,.;:t'itl ior Pat
reluAmt tehdis. Cstoagneta, cI lse nwlisetreed utnhea vaaidila obfleB.ob wreemnati ntso o Bf XinSbWro8o9k4 t[osi ce].x aHme inwea st hseo Ocattnern' os tstetorriyf wi,ltti,t th'.., ,1:. .t .., -,: '. .t,. . ,"/;tlt
Bryant, then Nonhcliffe Newspapers' puzzled by both what he saw and to the readers' benefit. I slt,r!l , tti, lude his
aviation correspondent and a man with tre atment the investigation team fascinating uttount iti L T:: tlur out
close links with both the RAF and received that he was determined to get in Sept.'93.
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