Search for crashed 'UFO' on hold

The search for an unidentified object which crashed into the sea at Port Shepstone on Saturday has been put on hold because of rough weather conditions, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on Monday.
"The search was called off on Sunday and will only resume once the sea is calm. At the moment the sea is not conducive to diving," said NSRI Shelley Beach Station Commander Eddie Noyons.
"Rescue workers were unable to find oil slicks or petrol or any signs of a wreckage. We are not yet sure what it was that crashed into the sea."
The search for the unidentified object began on Saturday after witnesses reported that an object, possibly an aircraft, had crashed into the sea behind the breaker line off-shore of the Port Shepstone High School, said Noyons.
Police, rescue craft and a fixed wing aircraft were alerted to the scene to investigate.
Full-scale search
"Following a full-scale search of the area covering 12 square nautical miles nothing had been found.
"There are no reports of activity in the area that may be related to this incident and there are no aircraft reported to be overdue or missing," said Noyons.
He said numerous witnesses — including teachers and pupils attending a sports event at the high school, and other bystanders including local fishermen — were convinced they had seen an aircraft go into the water, including seeing smoke and a water plume.
Interviews with the witnesses revealed that some also reported seeing flames.
"Some reported seeing something, an unidentified object, splash into the sea causing a ripple effect of waves, " Noyons said.
Was it just the weather?
Due to the number of witnesses with similar reports, it was presumed that weather activity in the area at the time might have given the impression of something falling into the sea.
"We are not sure what it was as we are still unaware of any missing aircraft, but will continue the search for the unidentified object in about two or three days. The sea was upside down yesterday (Sunday) and is still not conducive today (Monday)," said Noyons.

Mystery: Pilot Crashes While Pursuing UFO

It's a mystery dating back to 1947. A UFO allegedly crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. That story is well documented, but equally puzzling was this mystery regarding a UFO in the skies above Kentucky just a few months after the Roswell incident.
In 1956, a government film addressed this case, a case that'll never be solved because Captain Thomas Mantell from Simpson County, Kentucky, an experienced pilot and World WarII Ace, took the answer to his grave.

It made headlines across the country. January 7th, 1948, 1:30 pm, Kentucky State Police receive reports of a UFO near Godman Air Force Base. The unidentified object is described as a big, bright, shiny star.
Four F-51 Mustangs, on their way to Standiford Air Force Base in Kentucky, are contacted by the tower. They're ordered to investigate a white object, some 300 feet in diameter. One plane returns for fuel and oxygen, the other three approached the object.
Pilot Thomas Mantell says he sees it ahead of him. The planes climbed to 22,000 feet, too high for WWII fighters without oxygen. Two returned to the base, leaving Captain Mantell in sole pursuit of the unknown.
Minutes later, Mantell with another transmission states, "Mantell to tower: it appears to be a metallic object, and it's of tremendous size."
Captain Mantell kept climbing, most likely past 30,000 feet. Radio contact was lost.
Minutes later, less than two hours from the initial sightings, Mantell's F-51 crashed on a farm in Franklin, Kentucky. His watch stopped at 3:16 p.m. His body, still strapped in his plane. By all accounts, he passed out from a lack of oxygen, forcing his plane to plunge to the ground.
Today, a historical marker sits near the site where Mantell's plane went down in Franklin, Kentucky. In fact, it went down on a farm nearby Joe Phillips farm. His son, a school child then, was one of the first on the scene.
William Phillips Jr. recalls, "We heard this real loud boom, you know. It actually shook the house. In fact, the best I remember it was two of them, like an explosion."
Phillips Jr. was six years old and home sick with his younger sister when the crash occurred.
He says, "We ran to the window, and just happened to pick the right window, and see it hit the ground, as it hit the ground."
The news of the incident immediately made headlines. Newspapers reported Mantell had been shot down by a magnetic ray from a flying saucer. The story took on a life of its own.
Mantell was the first person ever to die while pursuing an unidentified flying object.
The military's response - it was most likely a weather balloon.
Phillips Jr. argues, "I can't see that a balloon could move and out run a P-51. The P-51 was the fastest thing the military virtually had in '47."
It's a story that, almost 60 years later, is still talked about in Franklin, Kentucky where Mantell was born and, oddly enough, died, just a few miles from the Simpson County tourism building where he's honored.
Dan Ware, Simpson County Tourism, says, "There are many UFO buffs who stop by to ask and see what we've got, and want to know as much as they can about the story. It continues to fascinate people, even after 50 years."
To this day, people still wonder what Captain Mantell was chasing.

UFO 'explodes' in China

Beijing - An unidentified flying object, or UFO, passed across the large north-western Chinese city of Lanzhou and apparently exploded in the suburbs, state media said on Monday.
The unusual sighting of two bright trails of light, reported by several witnesses, took place on Saturday shortly before midnight, the China Times reported.
Police, working on the theory that it was a meteorite, went to investigate the matter, but as of early Monday they had found no evidence of what caused the nightly phenomenon, an officer said by telephone.
A taxi driver told the paper he was in his car when everything suddenly became "as bright as day." When he pulled over, he saw a fireball with a tail of about three metres darting across the sky, he said.
One witness who was on the late shift at his company reported the courtyard outside his office was suddenly bathed in a ghostly red light as the object passed overhead, the paper said. Others said they heard a huge explosion and felt as if an earthquake had struck. China has been hit by several waves of UFO sighting in recent years, and the country has a research association devoted to the study of possible extraterrestrial visits.

UFOs spotted over Iran

Tehran - Inhabitants of several towns in northern Iran have reported a string of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) moving at low altitudes and emitting different colours, the state news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.
A resident of the northwestern city of Tabriz, Saina Haghkish, was quoted as saying she saw one object flashing red, green and blue moving slowly from the east to west late on Wednesday.
Identical sightings were also reported on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday over the northeastern town of Ghonbad-Kavous, situated on the opposite southeastern edge of the Caspian Sea.
But astronomy professor Ajab Shirizadeh told IRNA that while the presence over the Islamic republic of extra-planetary craft could not be ruled out, the sightings could also be attributed to spy or communications satellites.

UFO 'crashes' into KZN sea

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is monitoring a mysterious situation on the KZN south coast.
"Numerous" eye-witnesses reported an unidentified flying object crashing into the sea on Saturday.
NSRI Shelley Beach station commander, Eddie Noyons, said eye-witnesses had reported an unidentified object - possibly an aircraft - crashing into the sea behind the breaker line off-shore of the Port Shepstone High School.
Police, rescue craft and a fixed wing aircraft were alerted to the scene to investigate.
Noyons said: "Following a full-scale search of the area covering 12 square nautical miles nothing has been found.
"There are no reports of activity in the area that may be related to this incident and there are no aircraft reported overdue or missing."
He said numerous eye-witnesses - including teachers and pupils attending a sports event at the high school, by-standers and local fishermen - were convinced they had seen an aircraft go into the water.
They said they saw smoke and described "water exploding".
Some also reported seeing flames.
Noyons said: "Some reported seeing something, an unidentified object, splash into the sea causing a ripple effect of waves."
Noyons said it was being presumed that weather activity in the area at the time might have given the impression of something falling into the sea.
" We will continue to monitor the situation, which remains a mystery," he said.

UK skies 'UFO free for the past 30 years'

London - None of the numerous UFOs reported over Britain in the last 30 years was a flying saucer, the government said Monday as it released previously secret defence files probing mysterious aerial sightings.The declassified study - "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in the UK Air Defence Region" - concluded that such UAP do exist and are "usually described as coloured lights and sometimes as shapes"."Very occasionally they are reported with sound and even with smell," it added.But it noted that "reports occur because they comprise unfamiliar and unexpected lights, shapes and patterns, in the context in which the observer sees them. The phenomena occur on a daily, worldwide basis".

Man-made objects, such as airplanes, are also often mis-seen or are actually meteors re-entering the Earth's atmosphere causing "bouyant plasmas".Rare weather, atmospheric conditions or other "barely understood" natural events could also be causes."There is no evidence that any UAP seen in the UKADR are incursions by objects of any intelligent (extra-terrestrial or foreign) origin, or that they represent any hostile intent," the unnamed author of the report said."There is no evidence that 'solid' objects exist which could cause a collision hazard."The study, which aimed to assess whether Britain was threatened by UAPs and "should the opportunity arise, to identify any potential military technologies of interest", concluded there was "nothing of defence intelligence value".But it warned Royal Air Force pilots, who are most likely to encounter such phenomena, not to try to intercept UAPs because of the threat of collision.The report, marked "Secret. For UK Eyes Only", was made public following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

UFO report reveals Lancs sightings

Bright green lights above the M6 and a moon-like object hovering in the Preston skies are just two of the 'UFO' sightings to have been reported in Lancashire.
The Ministry of Defence has revealed details of 'sightings' which, it says, proves that UFOs cannot be proved to be alien craft.They say most of the sightings are explicable... the rest 'plasma'.Now the formerly top secret lists of all the sightings that have happened across the country have been made public and Lancashire has had its fair share.In the last four years there have been five cases which would have suited X-File heroes Mulder and Scully.The study, called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in the UK Air Defence Region, set out to investigate UFOs, but the body of evidence it collected was nothing short of phenomenal.DC Gary Heseltine, who works for British Transport Police and is a UFO enthusiast, has been keeping an unofficial database of sightings dating back to 1901.

He said: "I've had two experiences with objects that I cannot explain in my life and UFOs are fascinating."There have been a number of recorded sightings in Lancashire."These reports that have been released are really interesting, and far from putting people people off the subject I think it will actually raise more questions than it answers. I believe that all these reports are coming from high quality witnesses and at least a percentage of these must prove that extraterrestrial life exists."Under secretary of state for defence, Tom Watson, said: "I am delighted that the Freedom of Information Act has meant that this once secret report has been declassified and made public.

"Download and read the report at http://www.direct.gov.uk/.

Mystery of stone circle

A man who claims to be able to sense energy fields believes a stone circle and mound close to Preston city centre could be of major historical significance.
David Boyle, 57, who has researched ley lines and stone circles for many years, says the site, close to Lancaster Road, could hide mysteries beneath.
Six concrete stones, around two feet in height, protrude from the mound, and David, who runs the Alien, UFO and Conspiracy Museum in Blackpool is calling for help in finding out the secrets of the site.
He said: "I was walking with friends in Preston when I felt an increasing amount of energy being transferred through me as I approached the site.

"I'm a clairsentient person which means I'm able to perceive energy fields through physical sensations and when I found the stone circle, which I did not know was there, I realised why the feelings were so intense.
"I'm certain the site is at the junction of two or more ley lines and when I stood there, the church spires of Preston in view are in alignment, which lends weight to the idea that the site is significant."
David, who has researched similar phenomena at Stonehenge and Glastonbury, acknowledges the stones on the mound are a relatively recent construction but thinks the mound might have once been the location of a ancient circle or church crypt.
"Why didn't the builders use this area when they built nearby houses? I'm certain the new stones were put there to mark the location of a site a genuine historical interest," he said.

UFO hacker faces extradition to US

A UK court has approved a US request to extradite an unemployed systems administrator who allegedly caused $700,000 in damage by hacking into US military and government computers.
The hacker claims he was simply looking for data about UFO sitings.
Gary McKinnon, 40, of London, is accused of deleting data and illegally accessing information on US government computers between February 2001 and March 2002. Prosecutors allege McKinnon significantly disrupted government computers, causing damage that threatened US military networks.
British investigators seized McKinnon's computers in March 2002. McKinnon admitted to installing remote-access software on computers he targeted in the US.
The US filed an extradition request after British officials decided not to prosecute McKinnon because the alleged crimes occurred within the US.
McKinnon's attorneys fought extradition, fearing that he could be classed as an enemy combatant and be held indefinitely, awaiting trial by a military court.
UK Trial judge Nicholas Evans rejected arguments that McKinnon could be subjected to torture and inhuman treatment in the US. The US says McKinnon will not be held as an enemy combatant.
Evans referred the case to the UK Secretary of State to decide whether McKinnon will be extradited.
McKinnon will appeal the verdict and remains free on bail. Before leaving the court, he hugged friends and relatives attending the hearing.

Max Headroom creator claims he made Roswell alien autopsy film

By Marc Horne - The Sunday Times - April 16, 2006
The creator of Max Headroom, a 1980s television cyber-presenter, has claimed he was one of the hoaxers behind the Roswell film, the grainy black and white footage supposedly showing a dead alien being dissected by American government scientists after a UFO crash.
Alien Autopsy, a movie about the footage, is currently on release across Britain. It stars real-life television presenters Ant and Dec. John Humphreys, a sculptor and consultant on Alien Autopsy who has also worked on special effects for Doctor Who, said it was he who made the models for the alien dissected in the original fake footage.
His confession, 11 years after the Roswell footage was first shown, will raise questions about the role of Channel 4, which unleashed Max Headroom on the world in the 1980s and bought the UK rights to screen the Roswell footage in Britain.
The footage was first exposed as a fake by The Sunday Times, but an estimated billion people still watched it around the world.
Rather than being shot in 1947 near Roswell in the New Mexico desert as previously claimed, the film was actually made at a flat in Camden, north London, in 1995. Philip Mantle, a UFO researcher and author who has been investigating the Roswell hoax for 10 years, said Humphreys had been a prime suspect but had never before admitted involvement.
Mantle, who next month will deliver a lecture at Glasgow University on the Roswell story, said: “I didn’t think it would take so long, but I am delighted this hoax has finally been exposed and the mystery has been solved.”
Humphreys, who is based in Manchester, says he also appeared in the Roswell film as the chief surgeon. The bug-eyed alien models were filled with sheep brains, chicken entrails and knuckle joints bought from Smithfield meat market. After filming, the dummies were cut up and dumped in bins across London.
For a few short weeks the world held its breath after the 91-minute silent film was unveiled by Ray Santilli, a London-based video distributor. He claimed to have bought the footage, shot on 14 reels, from a retired American military cameraman.
Humphreys said the Roswell film was shot by himself, Santilli and three others. He said he spent four weeks fashioning the models from latex using clay sculptures. Humphreys, a graduate of the Royal Academy who has also created special effects for the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp, says he only told his wife about the hoax when he was hired to work on Alien Autopsy.
“It was a very, very strange feeling to know that I had played a key part in it,” he said.
Santilli, who is played by Declan Donnelly in Alien Autopsy, insists he was trying to “re-create” a real Roswell incident. He claims he bought genuine footage that was badly damaged when it was exposed to the air after 48 years in a can. “John was given very precise images to work with and what he did was sheer genius,” he said.