1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 There are 50 million commercial flights every year around the world. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Most are routine, but a few have reported very strange phenomena. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Two traffic, one mile. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:20,000 1986, a 747 encounters something unexplainable, 35,000 feet above Alaska. 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Twice the size of an aircraft carrier. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:30,000 1995, a flight crew reports strange lights over Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in 2007. 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,000 The object is now plain to see without any binoculars. 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:39,000 A commuter plane over the English Channel reports a UFO in broad daylight. 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Government reports reveal the inner workings of their investigations. 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,000 The report was secret, UKIs only. 11 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Sightings from pilots are rare, but they are riveting, and they often throw officials off guard. 12 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000 We are not in the UFO business. 13 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:58,000 Are we sharing our friendly skies with something we don't understand? 14 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Unidentified flying objects. 15 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:04,000 They've been reported in our skies for decades. 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Thousands of UFO sightings have been documented in official government files. 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Most have logical, scientific explanations, yet some cases remain unexplained, classified, unidentified. 18 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:21,000 Can newly released files reveal the truth behind these UFO encounters? 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Yes. 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:33,000 November 1986, soaring through dark, fall skies above Alaska, is Japan Airlines Flight 1628. 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:42,000 A 747 cargo plane en route from Paris to Tokyo with a scheduled stop in Anchorage. 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:50,000 At the controls is Captain Kenjū Terauchi, also in the cockpit, a first officer and flight engineer. 23 00:01:50,000 --> 00:02:00,000 He's cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, when suddenly Captain Terauchi reports unusual lights dead ahead. 24 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:08,000 They were flying over the Fairbanks area around 5.15 in the afternoon when some strange things started to happen. 25 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:14,000 Investigative reporter and author Leslie Kane has written extensively on UFO phenomena. 26 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:21,000 At first, Captain Terauchi looked out and saw some lights in the distance, and the co-pilot and the engineer saw them as well. 27 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:27,000 He wasn't sure what they were, so he radioed in to ask whether there was any traffic in the area that he should know about. 28 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,000 Japan Air 1628. 29 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Captain Terauchi contacts Anchorage air traffic controller, Carl Henley. 30 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Do you have any traffic? 31 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:42,000 Do you have any traffic? It's a question no air traffic controller wants to hear. 32 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:51,000 And when a controller hears these magic words, you have traffic for me, usually cold sweat breaks out because it means he's missed something. 33 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:59,000 In 1986, John Callahan was the Federal Aviation Administration's division chief of accidents and investigations. 34 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:05,000 The pilot's asking, is there somebody out here in front of me that I should know about or you know about? 35 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,000 He's in positive airspace, which means nobody else can fly unless air traffic approves it. 36 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Captain Terauchi believes something is in his airspace. 37 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,000 Japan Air 1628. 38 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:28,000 This is the actual Anchorage air traffic control recordings that document the unusual events of the night. 39 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Anchorage air, Japan Air 1628. 40 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,000 Do you have any traffic? 41 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,000 Do you have any traffic? 42 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:43,000 The controller checks the scope real fast, he sees no traffic and he says negative. 43 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Japan Air 1628, every negative. 44 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Henley can see the JAL 1628 transponder signal on his radar screen, but sees no other aircraft. 45 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:02,000 The transponder is just another radio that the aircraft sends out a signal, says this is May, and it's where I am. 46 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Japan Air 1628, Roger, and we set two traffic, from the bus, one mile south. 47 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:21,000 The JAL pilot now reports two objects that appear to be only a mile away, dangerously close when traveling 600 miles per hour. 48 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Japan Air 1628, do you identify the aircraft? 49 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 No, we're the control. 50 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:33,000 The next thing the controller says, can you see any markings on it? 51 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,000 Sir, if you're able to identify the type of aircraft and... 52 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Can you tell me if it's military, if it's civilian, can you see any numbers on it, anything at all to identify it? 53 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 Yes, sir, we can identify the aircraft. 54 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Captain Teruuchi cannot identify the aircraft, but reports what he calls navigation and strobe lights in the distance. 55 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:59,000 When a pilot encounters the unknown, and if that unknown presents a threat to that pilot, seconds count. 56 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:03,000 Dr. Todd Curtis is an aviation safety analyst and author. 57 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,000 Every day there are over 50,000 takeoffs and landings. 58 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,000 Just about every one of those takeoffs and landings are perfectly routine. 59 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,000 But on occasion, they're extraordinary. 60 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:25,000 There's something that happens in that flight that could be never before seen by that pilot, and sometimes could represent a danger to the aircraft and everyone on it. 61 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:31,000 If that pilot reacts in a way that puts that aircraft in danger, it's a concern to all of us. 62 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Teruuchi reports an unidentified aircraft dangerously close to his 747, but Henley cannot see them on his radar. 63 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:46,000 He contacts the military controllers at nearby Elmendorf Air Force Base. 64 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:47,000 Uh, yeah. 65 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Air traffic control and anchorage ask the people at the military base. 66 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Verify that you do not have any military aircraft in the area. 67 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:00,000 Do you have anything up there? Could this be some kind of unusual experimental craft of yours or something? 68 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,000 That is a firm. We do not have anybody up there right now. 69 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:11,000 ATC Anchorage asks Elmendorf controllers if the objects appear on their more sensitive radar scope. 70 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:17,000 Yeah, could you look approximately 40 miles south for Yukon? 71 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Elmendorf radar spots JAL 1628 on their scope, and then something else. 72 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,000 It looks like I'm getting a primary return. 73 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:34,000 The military controller can see something on his radar, but can't confirm it's another aircraft. 74 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,000 I don't know if it's erroneous. 75 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Anchorage ATC now adjusts their radar to a more sensitive setting. 76 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:50,000 And air traffic controller Henley picks up a second object on radar, flying behind the 747. 77 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Japan Air 1628 heavy. 78 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:59,000 Stopping at the hit on the radar approximately 5 miles intro of your 6-part position. Do you concur? 79 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,000 Negative. 11 o'clock. 8 miles. 80 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:11,000 The Anchorage readings contradict Captain Teruji. Radar shows something behind him, not in front of him. 81 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,000 Now, radars are pretty good evidence. I mean, that's measurable evidence. 82 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:20,000 But on the other hand, radars are also subject to uncertainties. 83 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,000 Is the radar reading accurate, or is it all an illusion? 84 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:32,000 As Captain Teruji considers his next move, he reports an intense light bursting right in front of him. 85 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:41,000 In fact, he described being able to feel the heat on his face, literally feel the heat physically from these objects. 86 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:51,000 In Captain Teruji's FAA statement, he claims the bright light fades and drops off to the left of the 747, leaving behind a pale, white light. 87 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:56,000 But the Anchorage radar still shows something not beside, but behind him. 88 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:01,000 Japan Air 1628 heavy. Sir, does your traffic appear to be staying with you? 89 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Captain Teruji now looks to his left and reports seeing something unlike anything he has ever seen. 90 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,000 The silhouette of a giant mysterious craft, twice the size of an aircraft carrier. 91 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,000 Japan Air 1628. 92 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:21,000 The frightened Captain requests an altitude change to put some distance between his 747 and the object. 93 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,000 We first 310. 94 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:31,000 Japan Air 1628 heavy. Understand requesting flight level 310. 95 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:38,000 The pilot goes from 35 down to 31,000 thinking that maybe he can lose this guy and it's descent. 96 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:44,000 Anchorage air traffic control waits for the altitude change and then checks in. 97 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:48,000 Japan Air 1628 heavy. Do you still have your traffic? 98 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:55,000 The UFO ends up chasing the 747. It's always within six or eight miles of them. 99 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:02,000 Then Anchorage air traffic controller Carl Henley asks Captain Teruji to do something extraordinary. 100 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,000 I'm going to request that you make a right turn. 101 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,000 You right turn three, six, four, three, six, three, three, four. 102 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,000 This is a highly unusual maneuver. 103 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:17,000 When a 747 makes a 360 degree turn, it's not like you're turning around in the parking lot. 104 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,000 He takes up a lot of airspace making this great big circle. 105 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Henley wants Teruji to double back on the object to get a better look. 106 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:36,000 The Japanese pilots thinking, well, it's all right because why would this guy following me make a 360? 107 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,000 Right turn 360. 108 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:44,000 They initiated the turn and part way through it, Teruji was looking out the window and he didn't see the lights anymore. 109 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,000 He didn't see the object. 110 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:52,000 So he sort of breathed the sigh of relief and thought maybe it was gone, kept going around the turn. 111 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:53,000 It disappeared. 112 00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:00,000 Then as Teruji continues his 360 degree turn, he reports seeing something beyond belief. 113 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:07,000 He describes it as a silhouette of a giant spaceship. 114 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,000 Okay, and is he following him? 115 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:17,000 For the first time, radar appears to confirm Teruji's experience. 116 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:19,000 Japan Air 1628. 117 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Sir, the military radio advises they do have a primary target in trail of view at this time. 118 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:33,000 Connected only by the crackle of radio, nobody really knows what is real, what is not, and what to do next. 119 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:52,000 The Japan Air Line 1628 incident is one of the most debated encounters between a commercial airliner and unidentified phenomena. 120 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:58,000 But with 13,000 aircraft in the sky at any given moment, there are bound to be others. 121 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:07,000 So when it comes to unusual phenomena in the sky, it makes sense that airline pilots are often the people who see these things. 122 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Some objects reported as UFOs over the years include the space shuttle, military planes, rocket launches, weather balloons, birds, lightning storms, even wayward helium balloons that escape the child's grasp. 123 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:35,000 In imperfect conditions, while moving at terrific speed, pilots can be excused for not recognizing what something might really be. 124 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,000 Pilot sightings are interesting for a couple of reasons. 125 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:45,000 One, we think that they're going to be better perceivers of lights in the sky because this is what they do for a living. 126 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,000 They fly up there and they see stuff. 127 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:52,000 Michael Schurmer is a science author and publisher of Skeptic Magazine. 128 00:11:52,000 --> 00:12:05,000 But in fact, they're not trained to look at lights any differently than you and I would be because the point of flying an airplane commercially or militarily isn't to look for UFOs. 129 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:13,000 Yet pilots may be hesitant to report strange incidents for fear of being ridiculed or even losing their jobs. 130 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:21,000 Generally speaking, both commercial and military pilots are extremely reluctant to make a UFO report. 131 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:26,000 Nick Pope was a UFO investigator for the UK Ministry of Defense. 132 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,000 This is not career enhancing, quite the opposite. It can kill careers. 133 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:38,000 You're a commercial airline pilot, a military pilot, whatever, and you see something you don't understand, you might have some reluctance to report that. 134 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Seth Schaustach looks for aliens for a living at SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. 135 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:50,000 But he knows that it takes a certain amount of bravery to make a UFO claim. 136 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 Because people will start laughing, oh yeah, you saw the aliens, you know, that kind of thing. 137 00:12:54,000 --> 00:13:00,000 I mean, there's certainly a giggle factor associated with some reports and I suspect that that does bias the reporting. 138 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:05,000 But Ray Beaure saw something he couldn't explain and came forward. 139 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:10,000 I started commercially flying in 1989. 140 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:19,000 In 2007, Beaure pilots Orrany Airlines Flight 544 from Southampton to the British island of Alderney. 141 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:25,000 This day, he has eight passengers aboard his small commuter plane. 142 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:34,000 A senior pilot for 18 years, Beaure has flown this route from the mainland to the Channel Islands thousands of times. 143 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Weather is fine, smooth conditions, overcast around about 12,000 feet, so no direct sunshine, but very clear conditions. 144 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:50,000 Visibility is so good, Captain Beaure can see his island destination. 145 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Then, he spots something else. 146 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Well, the first thing I saw really was effectively a yellow line in the air, which I considered to be dead ahead. 147 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:10,000 Following protocol, he contacts Jersey Tower, the Air Traffic Control Center for the Channel Islands. 148 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,000 I chose the zone's A9-544. 149 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Do you have any traffic? I can't really say how far, but my 12 o'clock level. 150 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:26,000 On duty is Paul Kelly, the controller responsible to keep Flight 544's airspace safe. 151 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,000 I'm looking at a piece of airspace which is approximately 100 miles by 100 miles. 152 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,000 No traffic at all at your 12 o'clock. 153 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,000 Ahead of Ray's aircraft, there was nothing for 40 miles. 154 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:46,000 But Captain Beaure still thinks he sees something out of the ordinary dead ahead of his aircraft. 155 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,000 Very flat form, looking at it through binoculars as we speak. 156 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:56,000 He came straight back to say that he was observing an object. 157 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,000 I've got a very bright object. 158 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:05,000 Extremely bright, yellow, orange object straight ahead. 159 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:12,000 He started describing the object as a flat cigar shaped object. 160 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:18,000 A very bright yellow object looking well, like a cigar. 161 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:24,000 There was no indication to me that there was an aircraft in the area. 162 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:33,000 Baffled and concerned for safety, Kelly contacts a jet flying overhead to see if its crew can see the object Beaure is reporting. 163 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:39,000 This other aircraft was climbing way above, but it did pass directly over the area. 164 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,000 But they looked down, they couldn't see anything at all. 165 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,000 But Beaure still sees it and asks his own passengers to confirm. 166 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,000 All the A544 to confirm, all the passengers can see this. 167 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:59,000 I noticed that the pilot was turning and talking to the passenger just behind him, and he passed binoculars back. 168 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:07,000 Well, of course, this meant there was something interesting, so I looked out the window and I saw a very, very bright light. 169 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:12,000 The light didn't vary, it was quite steady, that was quite unusual. 170 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Then Captain Beaure radio's back with stunning news. 171 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,000 I'm looking through binoculars as I am now. 172 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,000 This is second one that's just appeared behind the first one. 173 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Well, about five minutes into the sighting, a second object, absolutely identical, appeared beyond it and slightly above to the left. 174 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:41,000 It's fully visible, there it is, there's the other one beyond it, further away. 175 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,000 Surely there must be something on radar now. 176 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:50,000 Then Jersey Tower controller Paul Kelly sees something on his radar. 177 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Hello A544, I do have a primary contact now, a very faint primary contact. 178 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:05,000 The only indication I had on the radar was this solitary primary contact that seemed to be in the area that Ray was describing. 179 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:13,000 The second one appears to be beyond the first from where I am, exactly the same cylindrical object, very bright yellow, 180 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,000 and there's a gap in the light about two-thirds away along it. 181 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:24,000 Faced with something unknown, Beaure must decide if it's a threat to the safety of Flight A544. 182 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,000 This is not the first report of something strange in the skies over Britain. 183 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,000 For decades, a small but consistent number of sightings piled up. 184 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:39,000 The British government finally conducted a secret three-year study to analyze them. 185 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,000 It was called Project Condine, a military investigation into these phenomena. 186 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:54,000 For many years, we never acknowledged to the public that there was any military intelligence interest in UFOs at all. 187 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Clearly as these documents show, there was. 188 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:06,000 Nick Pope worked for the Ministry of Defense in the 1990s, conducting investigations of UFO incidents. 189 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:16,000 The Condine report took a sober and scientific look at these sightings, casting aside the moniker UFO, 190 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:21,000 which had become synonymous with flying saucers and replacing it with UAP. 191 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,000 UAP, as we called it, unidentified aerial phenomena. 192 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:35,000 Researchers reviewed over 10,000 UAP incidents and gave earthly explanations for all but a handful. 193 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:40,000 But that handful remained mysteries to this day. 194 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:45,000 Seven of them are airliner sightings classified as near-missings. 195 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:54,000 January 1995, an airliner is on descent into Manchester Airport. 196 00:18:54,000 --> 00:19:01,000 When the pilot describes a small, black, wedge-shaped fast-moving object flying within a few meters of the aircraft. 197 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,000 So close, the first officer instinctively ducks. 198 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:13,000 An object nearly grazing the plane's hull would pose a huge threat to the passengers and crew. 199 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:22,000 Ministry of Defense investigators concluded that it was not a stealth aircraft or any known experimental plane. 200 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,000 They declared the incident unresolved. 201 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Overall, Project Condine's mission was to find out what, if anything, was penetrating British airspace. 202 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,000 So as investigations continued, military secrecy was in order. 203 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,000 The final report was completed in the year 2000. 204 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,000 The report was secret, UKIs only. 205 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:53,000 Only a handful of copies of the final report of Project Condine were ever produced. 206 00:19:53,000 --> 00:20:00,000 And it was on an extremely limited circulation in the Ministry of Defense at a very high level of classification. 207 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:06,000 Project Condine only became known to the public when it was declassified in 2006. 208 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:14,000 The authors write that UAP exists is indisputable and some sightings were unexplainable. 209 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:19,000 In the case of one American jet, it was unforgettable. 210 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,000 May 25, 1995. 211 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:34,000 America West Flight 564 is a Boeing 757 en route from Dallas, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada with a full cabin of passengers. 212 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:41,000 Captain Eugene Tollison is at cruising altitude when a flight attendant sees something strange. 213 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,000 There's some of those lights at our three o'clock. 214 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,000 They've been following them for a while. 215 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:53,000 In the morning of the morning of clouds, the crew reports strange lights in the distance. 216 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:58,000 Concerned co-pilot John Waller contacts the ATC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 217 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,000 Yeah, on to our three o'clock. 218 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:03,000 Stroke's up there. 219 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,000 Can you see off what it is? 220 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:13,000 The following transcript is the audio recording between First Officer Waller and Albuquerque Control. 221 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,000 What's the data? What? That's something right now. I don't know what it is right now. 222 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Yeah, thank God. 223 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Hold on, let me see if anybody else knows around here. 224 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:28,000 None of the controllers see anything on radar, but they take the pilot's report seriously. 225 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Anything out of the ordinary is reason for caution. 226 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Cactus 564. 227 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,000 Talking to the three or four guys around here, no one knows what that is. We've never heard about that. 228 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,000 Air Traffic Control asks the pilot for any details about what he sees. 229 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,000 Uh, nothing here. 230 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,000 A moment. 231 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 What's the altitude about? 232 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:58,000 I don't know, probably right around 30,000 or so. 233 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,000 There's a strobe and it's going counterclockwise. 234 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,000 Then a flash of lightning. 235 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:11,000 And Waller says the object he sees is massive. 236 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:19,000 He says the object appears to be as big as a jumbo jet, but there are none in the area according to Air Traffic Control. 237 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:25,000 If it is an aircraft undetected by radar, it is a dangerous situation. 238 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:31,000 When a flight crew reports a possible UFO over the radio in real time, 239 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:36,000 their colleagues on the ground are often skeptical but diligent. 240 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:42,000 So at 9.30 p.m., Albuquerque contacts the control tower at nearby Cannon Air Force Base 241 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,000 to see if they have any military aircraft in the skies. 242 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000 Cannon 21. 243 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,000 Cannon, go ahead. 244 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,000 The guy at 39,000 says he's seen something at 30,000. 245 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:54,000 The length is unbelievable and it has a strobe on it. 246 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,000 Uh-huh. What does that mean? 247 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,000 I don't know. It's a UFO or something. 248 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,000 No, we haven't seen something like that. 249 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Okay, keep your eyes open. 250 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:07,000 The operator at Cannon Air Force Base sees only one signal, America West 564. 251 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:14,000 Okay, it's 564. We checked with Cannon and they don't have any weather balloons or anything up there tonight. 252 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,000 Nobody up front knows any idea about that. 253 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,000 You still see it? 254 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,000 They look again and don't see it. 255 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:29,000 Negative, it was between the weather and the wind as lightning, G48 starts off 6. 256 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,000 It's pretty eerie looking. 257 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:36,000 The incident remains a mystery. 258 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:42,000 Flight 564's experience bears comparison to that of Japan Airlines 1628, 259 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:48,000 whose crew reported the strange lights of a possible UFO in 1986. 260 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Captain Kenjū Teruji. 261 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,000 Japan Air 1628. 262 00:23:53,000 --> 00:24:00,000 With 10,000 career flight hours, reported something completely outside of his experience. 263 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:08,000 Sir, if you are able to identify the type of aircraft, can you tell, is it military or civilian? 264 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,000 I think it's a... 265 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,000 He's having a hard time saying it's something from outer space. 266 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,000 It's not one of us, never seen it before. It's not a military. 267 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:24,000 The Japanese Air Traffic Controller, Carl Henley, enlisted another nearby airliner to have a look. 268 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,000 They have a United 69 coming in from the south. 269 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:38,000 And they asked the United 69 if they could swing them over to the left a little bit so we can see if there's anything following this 747. 270 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:46,000 Japan Air 1628. Roger, I'm going to have a United Aircraft get close to you and take a look, see if you can identify the traffic. 271 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,000 Roger that. Thank you. 272 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:54,000 Sometimes the pilot's eyes are the only way that that Air Traffic Controller can know if there's traffic in the area. 273 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,000 United 69 heavy. Turn. 10 degrees left. 274 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Now when they get close enough, the United says the weather is so clear up here, the United says you can see till next Tuesday. 275 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,000 I don't see anybody around here, but I'll send you the number. 276 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,000 I'm sure I'll see you on the other airplane. 277 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:26,000 JAL Flight 1628 landed at Anchorage and the pilot filed a report with the FAA. 278 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,000 Following its own protocol, it did not publicize the incident. 279 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:37,000 But within a few weeks, Terauchi told his story to the media against JAL's orders. 280 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:47,000 Papers around the world picked it up, publishing details not found anywhere in Terauchi's own radio transmissions to air traffic control. 281 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:52,000 With the media clamoring for answers, the FAA opened an investigation. 282 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:57,000 I got a call from the Alaskan Ranch that said they had a problem and they did not handle it. 283 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:04,000 And I asked him what the problem was. He says the halls are full of reporters. He needs to know what to tell them. 284 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:08,000 I said, what are they there for? He says, for the UFO thing. 285 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:14,000 I said, what UFO thing? Oh, he says, I mean, who believes in UFOs? 286 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:24,000 On January 2nd, six weeks after the sighting, FAA area manager Richard Gordon interviewed the flight crew of Japan Air 1628. 287 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:29,000 They were eyewitnesses who gave very detailed responses about what they saw. 288 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:35,000 With the help of an interpreter, Terauchi told his story with greater detail. 289 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:47,000 Terauchi said the objects in front of his plane released an energy as bright as a space shuttle lipped off. 290 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,000 He claimed the lights then split and moved behind the plane. 291 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:02,000 During those interviews, he drew a series of drawings of what he had seen. We have copies of them here. 292 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000 Terauchi's drawing shows an immense craft. 293 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:14,000 He saw something that looked to him like a gigantic walnut-shaped ship of some sort. 294 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:23,000 It was suspended in the sky with rotating lights around the perimeter. And he described it as really, really large. 295 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:28,000 He says, well, it's twice the size of an aircraft carrier. 296 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:35,000 Then, Terauchi made a startling statement. He referred to the giant object as a mother ship. 297 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:43,000 And he said that the two lights seen in front of the plane returned to the ship as if they were reconnaissance craft. 298 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:51,000 With this description, plus an intermittent radar blip detected from the ground. 299 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,000 I'm picking up a hit on the radar. 300 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:59,000 The JAL-1628 mystery was growing and getting top-level attention. 301 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:04,000 He said, don't talk to anybody about this until I get back to you. I gotta go see President Reagan. 302 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:15,000 In January 1987, two months after the Japan Air Incident, 303 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:21,000 the Federal Aviation Administration assigned investigator John Callahan to the case. 304 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:32,000 I requested all the data, the computer data, voice data, the tapes, the video data, everything that they had 305 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:38,000 to be packed up and shipped to the FAA Tech Center in Alang City, New Jersey. 306 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,000 And I wanted it there by 8 o'clock in the morning. 307 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,000 Callahan's team had plenty to work with. 308 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:52,000 All the dialogue was being recorded between the pilots, the air traffic controllers, the military controllers, 309 00:28:54,000 --> 00:29:03,000 anybody else that the controller talked to at the time, all the other pilots that were involved that were going to fly up there to check out this 747. 310 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,000 All that information is recorded. 311 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:12,000 FAA technicians created a virtual reconstruction of the 747's 31-minute encounter. 312 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:22,000 He took the audio tapes, which was all the conversations between Captain Tarachi and Ground Control, which had been saved, 313 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:27,000 and the visual shots of the radar scope. He synchronized them together. 314 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,000 Can you say the opposite of the conference? 315 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:36,000 It shows the radar. Is this the view of sitting there working traffic yourself? 316 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,000 You're looking at the same thing, the controller seen at the time. 317 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:46,000 After I had him play it back three times up there at the Tech Center, I recorded it on the last time. 318 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:54,000 Callahan returned to FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. with a videotape of the radar recording synced with the radio transmissions. 319 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:59,000 He showed it to the head of the FAA, Admiral Donald Engin. 320 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:09,000 And then when it was over, he got up and he said, don't talk to anybody about this until I get back to you. I got to go see President Reagan. 321 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,000 Well, when anybody looks at the tape I have, you'll see the same tape to the Admiral's scene. 322 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:23,000 You should get the same feeling that he did, that there is something there and it's moving too fast to be a regular airplane. 323 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,000 An unidentified radar blip so close to the Soviet border. 324 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:35,000 A confused captain relaying stories of an unknown aircraft. 325 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,000 The FAA administrator took notice and called a meeting. 326 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:48,000 The administrator calls down and says, you're going to have three guys from Reagan's scientific study team. 327 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:53,000 You'll have three guys in the CIA, two or three guys from the FBI. 328 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:58,000 John Callahan claims he had a meeting with senior U.S. intelligence officers at the FAA. 329 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:06,000 So the next morning, I brought up with me all the experts that you could find in the FAA at the time. 330 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,000 I didn't want to be embarrassed and not saying I don't know the answer to any question. 331 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,000 Gordon Callahan, CIA. 332 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,000 John Callahan, the copy. 333 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:22,000 There were about 20 people in the room and he was very taken by how interested the CIA was in this data. 334 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000 So what we've done is we've put a video together. 335 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:33,000 The video is going to show exactly what the air traffic controllers saw that evening in real time. 336 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:42,000 You don't have to know a lot about air traffic, but once we point out that this slash is the airplane and this dot is something that doesn't belong there. 337 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000 Let's roll a video. 338 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:54,000 747 shows up here and then right in front of him is the target, a dot. 339 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,000 He's right here. 340 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,000 Six seconds later, this guy ends up behind him. 341 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,000 He's going 16, 17 miles in the blink of an eye. 342 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,000 That's a pretty fast airplane. 343 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:12,000 But the way radar works leaves it open to interpretation, especially when it comes to speed. 344 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:18,000 Radar works because it sweeps a beam of energy out into the sky. 345 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:26,000 Between two sweeps, there's a certain amount of time and based on the difference in return, they can take those differences and figure out the speed. 346 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:33,000 One thing you certainly have to be careful when you interpret radar data, you know, the kind of false alarms we've actually seen in astronomy too, 347 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:40,000 where you see something in this direction and then you see something in that direction and there's a temptation to assume it's the same thing 348 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:47,000 and it's obviously moving at, you know, half the speed of light or something very fast because to get from here to there, it would have to do that. 349 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,000 But it may be that those are two unrelated phenomena that just happen to light up sequentially. 350 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,000 So, you know, it's easy to make a mistake. 351 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:09,000 So according to this radar data of JAL 1628, either some aircraft was shifting positions with otherworldly velocity or it was a false reading. 352 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,000 Can we see that again, please? 353 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Yes, you can. 354 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:25,000 But as the radar data unfolds with the cockpit recording in real time, it appears very convincing. 355 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,000 So I turned to the guy and I said, what do you think it was? 356 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:32,000 What are we talking? Stealth problem? 357 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,000 He says, oh no, oh no, it was a UFO. 358 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,000 He says it was a UFO. 359 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:46,000 Did the CIA agent mean he thought the incident was truly an extraterrestrial sighting or simply something unidentified? 360 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:55,000 The FAA's final report on the incident will soon reveal the government's official explanation and ignite a debate that continues today. 361 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:06,000 March 5th, 1987, almost four months after Japan Airlines Flight 1628 made headlines around the world. 362 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:09,000 This is a photograph of the flight path which came down here. 363 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:14,000 Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Paul Stoik holds a press conference. 364 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:24,000 You've got something reported at 35,000 feet under our air traffic control and you've got somebody flying an aircraft that size and they report seeing something eight miles away from them. 365 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,000 We take that very seriously. 366 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:32,000 The FAA released their final report on JAL 1628. 367 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:39,000 They conclude that there was no UFO over the skies in Alaska, but that the problem was strictly a technical issue. 368 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:49,000 They believe that the radar picked up a split signal caused by the aircraft and transponders sending separate information appearing as two targets. 369 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:55,000 The radar is interpreting the physical return as one signal and the transponder is coming from a different location. 370 00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:01,000 So it looks to the radar operator as though there are two objects out there, when in fact there are only one. 371 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:05,000 But what about the eyewitness testimony of the flight crew? 372 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:08,000 It turns out their stories did not match up well. 373 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:14,000 According to their interviews with the FAA, two of the three crewmen saw only strange lights. 374 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:18,000 Only Captain Teruuchi claimed to see an actual ship. 375 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:24,000 When shown his drawing of the walnut-shaped aircraft, the co-pilot denied seeing anything like it. 376 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:30,000 Teruuchi's testimony must be put into context. 377 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,000 It turns out he is what is called a UFO repeater. 378 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000 He has reported UFOs five times. 379 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:42,000 That is considered a red flag even for seasoned UFO investigators. 380 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:51,000 Using the term mother ship in his interview seemed to foretell his preconceptions of what the lights were. 381 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:56,000 In his FAA statement, Teruuchi said he felt there was a living creature in it 382 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,000 and he hoped that we humans will meet them in the near future. 383 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:05,000 His employer JAL apparently had enough. 384 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:17,000 The pilot of JAL 1628 was actually grounded for about a year, simply as a result of speaking out about his UFO sighting. 385 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:22,000 He embarrassed the Japanese nation by saying he saw a UFO. 386 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,000 That's the nature of the game at that time. 387 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:33,000 John Callahan still thinks the FAA's final conclusions of what happened that night are off the mark. 388 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,000 The first time we read that report, we kind of laughed. 389 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:46,000 We wondered who could put it together because it can't be a radar control involved saying these things. 390 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:52,000 I have no doubt in my mind after reading the FAA's report from the West Coast 391 00:36:52,000 --> 00:37:00,000 that it was nothing more than a cover-up so that the American public wouldn't be worried about the UFOs visiting our Earth. 392 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:09,000 No one else ever claimed any kind of cover-up and John Callahan is on the record with his beliefs that aliens have visited our planet. 393 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:18,000 He's not alone. One-third of all Americans believe that extraterrestrials have visited and a full three-quarters believe it's at least possible. 394 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:26,000 But in the case of the JAL incident, there are more Earthbound explanations to consider. 395 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,000 For one, the Cold War was a daily reality in 1986. 396 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:36,000 Soviet and American bombers were a constant presence in the skies over the Arctic. 397 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,000 Could the stray radar signal have been a secret Soviet plane? 398 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:45,000 When the Soviets would fly aircraft near Alaska, they wouldn't have transponders on. 399 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,000 They wouldn't announce their presence. 400 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:52,000 They would make the air traffic controllers and make the Air Force work to figure out where they were. 401 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:59,000 But no evidence has ever emerged that the phenomenon reported by JAL 1628 was a Soviet craft. 402 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:05,000 Another theory comes from noted UFO skeptic Phil Klass. 403 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:14,000 He calculated the position of planets during the flight and noted that a very bright Jupiter would have been off to the left where Terra Uchi first reported the UFO. 404 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:20,000 And at just 10 degrees above the horizon at twilight, it would appear roughly at his altitude. 405 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:27,000 The kinds of things that can fool even, I think, trained pilots are, for example, bright planets. 406 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,000 And for people who are not paying attention to the night sky very much, it's a little startling. 407 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:40,000 Celestial bodies could have also played a role in America West Flight 564 over New Mexico in 1995. 408 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:45,000 Off our three o'clock, we've got some strobes going out there. Could you tell us what it is? 409 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:54,000 From 30,000 feet, a distant planet or star can appear to strobe, giving the illusion of a UFO. 410 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:58,000 There's a strobe and it's going counterclockwise. 411 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:03,000 Can this rare stellar anomaly be what America West 564 saw? 412 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:10,000 There are extensive records of military pilots and commercial pilots seeing things in the sky that aren't identified. 413 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:16,000 Dr. Michael D. Robertis is a professor of astronomy at York University in Toronto. 414 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:23,000 Some of the brightest stars can give an illusion that they're strobing, that it's changing brightness really rapidly. 415 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:30,000 D. Robertis believes some pilots simply get fooled by phenomena most people rarely see and have never studied. 416 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:40,000 As much as we respect our commercial and military pilots, part of their training does not include courses in astronomy and astrophysics. 417 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:46,000 The sky is filled with a lot of apparitions and mystery, but not all of them are UFOs. 418 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:52,000 With only eyewitness reports to go on, there is little to investigate or confirm. 419 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:59,000 I've talked to people who claim to have seen things, including astronauts, and you listen to their stories and they're not terribly convincing. 420 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:04,000 And those are stories nonetheless. I mean, those are stories. But it doesn't convince me of the science. 421 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:10,000 Isaac Newton didn't resort to stories to prove his theories of gravity, and that isn't what it takes. 422 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:15,000 But one story does remain firmly in the realm of unsolved mystery. 423 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:21,000 Orney Airlines Flight 544. The encounter was in broad daylight over the English Channel. 424 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:26,000 It was really getting a little late for descent, so we had to go start going down. 425 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:31,000 Frankly, I was quite glad of that, because these things were now fully visible without the use of any binoculars. 426 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:37,000 As Boeier descends, air traffic controller Paul Kelly still sees an object intermittently on his radar. 427 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,000 He contacts other aircraft in the area to take a look. 428 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:49,000 Scala 597 Papa, some previous traffic into Alderney reported seeing some unidentified objects. 429 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,000 Could you advise me if you see anything? 430 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,000 Yeah, we'll do. Sounds very strange. Maybe you're first in the area. 431 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:59,000 Then Paul Kelly's radio crackles. 432 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,000 I'll choose you, B-Liner A32. 433 00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:04,000 Another pilot has seen something. 434 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:11,000 North-North-East towards Alderney, he could see an object matching the description that Ray had given. 435 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,000 We've got something at about eight o'clock resembling the description. 436 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:26,000 Once I'd heard the second pilot apparently confirm the sighting from an opposite direction, that's where it became really quite strange. 437 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:37,000 This was important for Paul Kelly because this eliminated a lot of explanations of an optical illusion or reflection that would have been possible had there only been one person looking at it. 438 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,000 But Kelly's radar wasn't giving him the whole picture. 439 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:46,000 Paul Kelly's radar had a filter that blocked out slow-moving radar returns. 440 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,000 Kelly reexamines the data without the filter. 441 00:41:50,000 --> 00:42:00,000 What we do see on here with the raw data are two definite tracks here of objects slow-moving, but definite contacts. 442 00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:09,000 Now Kelly sees the entire picture. Ray Boyer's aircraft is on the right. The second plane is on the left. 443 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:16,000 So when the pilot said they saw these objects, they were moving slowly, and the radar didn't pick them up, that doesn't surprise me. 444 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:23,000 Kelly's radar would not have picked up the slow-moving but extremely large signal between the planes. 445 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:30,000 When Paul Kelly looked at the radar returns, it indicated that there was something out there reflecting radar energy back to that radar. 446 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:40,000 It only backs up what Ray was describing in terms of the parent scale. He described at one point the object possibly being Boeing 737 sized. 447 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:48,000 Boyer did not shy away from reporting exactly what he saw, and he did so as soon as he landed. 448 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:56,000 I thought this must be reported immediately. I went into our operations department, made an official report. 449 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:03,000 The information Boyer provided is so immediate, it remains one of the most thorough UFO reports ever filed. 450 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:08,000 The report includes drawings of what Boyer says he saw that day. 451 00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:13,000 Was it something in the sky, a natural phenomenon that would be reflecting radar energy? 452 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:19,000 Or was it something that can't really be interpreted or explained by clouds or other natural phenomena? 453 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:25,000 There are no clear answers to this sighting. It remains a well-documented mystery. 454 00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:35,000 Project Condine was Britain's recently declassified three-year investigation into unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs. 455 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:40,000 Amid the thousands of cases reviewed were other sightings from commercial pilots. 456 00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:45,000 Most were scientifically explained, and a few were not. 457 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:51,000 But the report gave all pilots clear direction on how to handle UAPs. 458 00:43:51,000 --> 00:44:06,000 In relation to air safety, Project Condine stated pilots intercepting UFOs should exercise extreme caution, and should not try to engage these objects. 459 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:13,000 The report warns that the biggest safety threat is not the UAP, but how a pilot reacts to the UAP. 460 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:21,000 Sudden maneuvers to avoid or chase something, real or imagined, are far more likely to jeopardize passengers and crew. 461 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:28,000 If a pilot is in a situation where they're dealing with something unknown, they might take some kind of impulsive action. 462 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:35,000 Project Condine discussed extensively the issue of pilot encounters with UFOs. 463 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:43,000 The message seemed clear. Although there was no apparent hostile intent, there was certainly the perception of danger. 464 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:54,000 In America, the FAA's official policy for pilots who want to report a UFO sighting is to contact an unexplained phenomena reporting data collection center. 465 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:05,000 So it is not discouraging reports of unidentified flying objects, but, at least officially, the FAA is out of the UFO investigation business. 466 00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,000 Three aircraft, three experienced crews. 467 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:15,000 First time in 15 years I've ever seen anything like this. 468 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:19,000 Each reporting phenomena beyond their experience and training. 469 00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:25,000 Sometimes with radar, appearing to back them up. 470 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,000 Plain to see now without any binoculars. 471 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,000 But it's not enough to confirm alien spacecraft. 472 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:38,000 If you have an extraordinary explanation for it, you also have to have an extraordinary amount of proof to back that up. 473 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:47,000 UFO sightings by pilots are rare. Most can be explained, but the few that cannot may forever remain unidentified. 474 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:55,000 I think science will have answers for us someday, but I may not live long enough to hear those answers.