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- INQUIRY FAILS TO EXPLAIN JET'S UFO NEAR MISS 03/02/96
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- The Weekend Australian, February 3-4, 1996
-
- By HARVEY ELLIOTT in London
-
- A BRITISH Airways passenger jet had a close encounter with an unidentified
- flying object while landing at Manchester airport, an official report disclosed
- yesterday.
-
- The Boeing 737 with 60 people on board was overtaken at high speed by a
- wedge-shaped craft as the aircraft descended through 1220m on the final stages
- of a journey from Milan.
-
- Captain Roger Wills reported that the UFO. which was emblazoned with small
- white lights and possibly a black stripe down its side, flashed silently down
- the side of the jet so close that his co-pilot, First Officer Mark Stuart,
- involuntarily ducked as it went by.
-
- There was no sound and no wake but both pilots were so concerned that they
- filed a formal "air-miss" report.
-
- The Civil Aviation Authority launched all investigation into the fourth such
- incident since 1987. After a year-long inquiry, it concluded yesterday that
- they could find no likely explanation. The three previous reported sightings
- also baffled the CAA experts.
-
- The incident happened at 6.48pm on January 6 last year with the aircraft just
- above the clouds and visibility of at least 16km. Then air traffic controllers
- had the following conversation with Flight 5061:
-
- B737: "We just had something go down the right-hand side, just above us very
- fast."
-
- Manchester: "Well there's nothing seen on radar. Was it an aircraft?"
-
- B737: "Well, it had lights. It went down the starboard side very quick*"
-
- Captain Wills and First Officer Stuart were certain the object was solid and
- not a balloon, a model aircraft or even a military Stealth aircraft, which the
- captain would have recognised.
-
- Both pilots should be commended for their courage in submitting a report,
- investigators said.
-
- -The Times
-
-
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