Aliens On Earth.com Resources for those who are stranded here UFOs | Paranormal | Area 51 People | Places | Random Top 100 | What's New Catalog | New Books Search... for keyword(s)   in Page Titles in Book Title/Author in Contents of Pages ---other searches--- Metacrawler Yahoo FAST Search Google Altavista Dogpile Inference Find Northern Light IWon.com MSN Search Las Vegas Sun Our Bookstore is OPEN Mothership -> UFO -> Updates -> 1999 -> Jul -> Here

From: David Clarke <David.Clarke@rim.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 13:53:04 +0100
Fwd Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 15:39:45 -0400
Subject: New UK Peak District Aircrash Mystery


Post redirected from
David Clarke crazydiamonds@compuserve.com

A FRESH "mystery aircrash" scenario unfolded today as police and
search and rescue teams scoured the Peak District Moors after
reports of a plane disaster.

Two helicopters, more than one hundred Mountain Rescue Team
staff, police and dog teams spent more than six hours searching
moors after two people reported hearing a plane in trouble on
Tuesday (July 13, 1999).

One of the witnesses - an airline pilot - reported hearing what
he thought was a light aircraft in difficulties and another
heard an bang like an explosion in the air at 5pm.

They said the mystery aircraft appeared to be travelling from
Chapel across the High Peaks eastwards towards Mam Tor mountain
and the Hope Valley during heavy cloud.

Search and rescue teams from Edale, Buxton and Kinder searched
the 2,000 foot ridge of Mam Tor and Hollins Cross in driving
rain with sniffer dogs in the early hours.

Checks were carried out with glider clubs in the area, and with
Manchester airport which reported no planes missing or distress
calls received. The search was called off in the early hours of
Wednesday morning after more than 25 square miles of moor had
been searched without finding any trace of the aircraft.

Today police and Mountain Rescue leaders added the mystery to
their growing file of mystery aircrash reports from the same
region of the Peak District. At one stage during the search
Manchester Airport alerted the RAF's Distress and Diversion Cell
at West Drayton Command Centre who used their sophisticated
equipment to search for radio signals.

Air Traffic Controllers at Manchester said they had not received
any distress calls or picked up anything unusual on radar.

But a senior ATC admitted the reports came from a region within
a short distance of the approach to Ringway's terminal 214 above
Whaley Bridge. A spokesman said the radar tapes for the period
had been retained and a decision was to be taken whether to
reconstruct the incident on radar.

"We received a report from Derbyshire police that a member of
the public had reported an aircraft accident and we passed
details to the RAF West Drayton," he said.

"The Distress and Diversion Cell have a number of facilities
available to them including the ability to locate missing
aircraft and are the body responsible for following up reports
of this kind."

But Peak District Mountain Rescue Team Leader Mike France - who
co-ordinated the search operation -  revealed the Hope Valley
region lay on a radar "blackspot" for Manchester.

He said: "We received several reports via the police describing
an aircraft in difficulties and we had to take it seriously
because these were independent witnesses.

"If there had have been a light plane downed on the moors we
could have had been two and 20 casualties so we brought in more
than one hundred volunteers to search.

"At one stage we had both the Derbyshire and South Yorkshire
Police helicopters airborne but the weather was so bad most of
the search had to be done from the ground.

"The search went on for more than six hours but we found nothing
and there were no reports of missing aircraft.

"We remain on standby to go out again if any other evidence
comes to hand, for example if a private pilot comes forward and
says it was his plane."

A spokesman for Buxton Police said the report was just the
latest of a series of sightings of phantom planes from the Hope
Valley-Derwent Dams area.

"We receive three or four of these kinds of sightings every
year, including sightings of a phantom bomber in the Derwent
Dams area.

"We have to respond to each one individually and on its own
merits. Usually if it is a light plane which has crashed it can
be located relatively quickly.

"But in this case we have carried out a fairly comprehensive
search and are fairly satisfied that nothing has crashed.

"The witnesses were sincere in their reports but we have drawn a
blank. "It could have been anything, including a light plane
whose engine misfired, or a bang caused by a thunderclap or an
explosion in a quarry as the weather conditions were right for
that last night."

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: "Pilots of light civil
aircraft do not have to file a flight plan if on and individual
flight in unrestricted airspace.

"There are many private airstrips in use and there is nothing to
stop a pilot taking off and landing without informing air
traffic control.

"Unless they enter controlled airspace they would not need to
notify us and it is quite possible this explains what has
happened."