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[Merged] Pilot / UFO encounters


NatureBoff

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Mantell UFO incident (1948)

At about 1:45 p.m., Sgt Quinton Blackwell saw an object from his position in the control tower at Fort Knox. Two other witnesses in the tower also reported a white object in the distance. Base commander Colonel Guy Hix reported an object he described as "very white," and "about one fourth the size of the full moon ... Through binoculars it appeared to have a red border at the bottom ... It remained stationary, seemingly, for one and a half hours." Observers at Clinton County Army Air Field in Ohio described the object "as having the appearance of a flaming red cone trailing a gaseous green mist" and observed the object for around 35 minutes. Another observer at Lockbourne Army Air Field in Ohio noted, "Just before leaving it came to very near the ground, staying down for about ten seconds, then climbed at a very fast rate back to its original altitude, 10,000 feet, leveling off and disappearing into the overcast heading 120 degrees. Its speed was greater than 500 mph in level flight."

Four P-51 Mustangs of C Flight, 165th Fighter Squadron Kentucky Air National Guard already in the air—one piloted by Mantell—were told to approach the object. Blackwell was in radio communication with the pilots throughout the event.

FYI. The old ones are often the best source of information imv.

Bott4.jpg

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Gorman UFO dogfight (1948)

Gorman told the tower that he was going to pursue the object to determine its identity. He moved his Mustang to full power (350 to 400 MPH), but soon realized that the object was going too fast for him to catch it in a straight run. Instead, he tried cutting the object off by turns. He made a right turn and approached the object head-on at 5,000 feet; the object flew over his plane at a distance of about 500 feet. Gorman described the object as a simple "ball of light" about six to eight inches in diameter. He also noted later that when the object increased its speed, it stopped blinking and grew brighter.

After his near-collision, Gorman lost sight of the object; when he saw it again it appeared to have made a 180-degree turn and was coming at him again. The object then made a sudden vertical climb; Gorman followed the object in his own steep climb. At 14,000 feet his P-51 stalled; the object was still 2,000 feet above him. Gorman made two further attempts to get closer to the object, with no success. It seemed to make another head-on pass, but broke off before coming close to his fighter. By this point the object had moved over the Fargo Airport, in the control tower the air traffic controller, L.D. Jensen, viewed the object through binoculars but could see no form or shape around the light. He was joined by Cannon and his passenger from the Piper Cub; they had landed and walked to the control tower to get a better view of the object.

Gorman continued to follow the object until he was approximately 25 miles southwest of Fargo. At 14,000 feet he observed the light at 11,000 feet; he then dived on the object at full power. However, the object made a vertical climb. Gorman tried to pursue but watched as the object passed out of visual range. At this point he broke off the chase; it was 9:27 PM. He flew back to Fargo's Hector Airport.

On October 23, 1948 Gorman gave a sworn account of the incident to investigators. His statement was often reprinted in future years in numerous books and documentaries about UFOs. The statement read:

I am convinced that there was definite thought behind its maneuvers. I am further convinced that the object was governed by the laws of inertia because its acceleration was rapid but not immediate and although it was able to turn fairly tight at considerable speed, it still followed a natural curve. When I attempted to turn with the object I blacked out temporarily due to excessive speed. I am in fairly good physical condition and I do not believe that there are many if any pilots who could withstand the turn and speed effected by the object, and remain conscious. The object was not only able to out turn and out speed my aircraft...but was able to attain a far steeper climb and was able to maintain a constant rate of climb far in excess of my aircraft.

P-51_Mustang_edit1.jpg

FYI. Incredible details and multiple witnesses.

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Chiles-Whitted UFO encounter (1948)

In the early morning hours of July 24, 1948, Pilot Clarence Chiles and co-pilot John Whitted were flying an Eastern Airlines Douglas DC-3 from Mobile, Alabama to Montgomery, at about 5000 feet in altitude.

At about 2:45 a.m., Chiles spotted a hazy red cloud, somewhat similar to aircraft exhaust. It was slightly above them, and to the front-right of the DC-3 by about half a mile. Chiles saw an aircraft, and, thinking it the source of the exhaust, pointed it out to Whitted and said, "Look, here comes a new Army jet job." However, they quickly realized that the object was unlike a jet plane, and was moving towards them at very high speed. Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt would write that within a matter of seconds,

"he was now almost on top of them. Chiles racked the DC-3 into a tight left turn. Just as the UFO flashed by about 700 feet to the right, the DC-3 hit turbulent air. Whitted looked back just as the UFO pulled up in a steep climb."

Both the pilots had gotten a good look at the UFO and were able to give a good description to the Air Force intelligence people. They had seen the object for about 10 to 15 seconds. Both men described the object as ******************, about 100 feet in length, and about three times the diameter of a B-29 bomber. The *********** was entirely smooth, with no wings, projections or fins. A bright red-orange exhaust was emanating from the object's rear, and was more orange at the outer edges of the exhaust, but grew redder when it rose in altitude. The exhaust extended approximately 30 to 50 feet behind the object. They heard no sound from the object as it sped past the DC-3.

From inside ********** a very bright light was glowing. Underneath the ship there was a blue glow of light." The light from the object was so bright that both men were blinded by its intensity for a few seconds.

Given the early hour of the flight, most of the passengers were asleep. One of them, Clarence L. McKelvie, would later offer corroborative eyewitness testimony. He asserted that he saw an extraordinarily bright light from his window seat in the aircraft, describing it as unlike lightning. He later told Project Sign investigators that the light seemed to have moved parallel to the plane, but at a higher altitude.

Within seconds of the close encounter, Chiles asked Eastern Airlines flight controllers, via two-way-radio, if any known experimental aircraft were being flown in the region. There was none.

One of the witnesses was Walter Massey, a ground-crew chief at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia, about 150 miles from Montgomery; he claimed to have seen a very similar object about an hour before Chiles and Whitted's encounter. Like the pilots, he said it was a ************** that seemed to be two or three times larger than a B-29 "with a long stream of fire coming out the tail end … I noticed a faint glow on the belly of the wingless object." Massey was certain the object was not a meteor.

dc3.jpg

Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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Even though the pilot, Gorman, seems credible, a lack of photographic evidence sorta negates the entire incident..

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Even though the pilot, Gorman, seems credible, a lack of photographic evidence sorta negates the entire incident..

What? Who are you to say that? There was another two highly credible witnesses too, as well as the WWII vet:
He noticed a small Piper Cub plane flying some 500 feet below him; otherwise the skies appeared clear.

Shortly after he noticed the Piper Cub, Gorman saw another object to his west. When he looked for the outline of a wing or fuselage he could see none; this contrasted with the Piper Cub, whose outline was clearly visible. The object appeared to be a blinking light. At 9:07 PM Gorman contacted the control tower at Fargo's Hector Airport and asked if they had any air traffic in the area other than his P-51 and the Piper Cub. The tower answered that they did not, and they contacted the Piper Cub pilot, Dr. A.D. Cannon. Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west.

Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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"Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west."

However, no one but the pilot (Gorman) reported seeing it doing any kind of manoeuvres. That, in itself, lends a certain credibility to the conclusions of the original investigation. Several people saw the light, but (unless you can provide evidence to the contrary) only Gorman saw it doing aerobatics.

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"Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west."

However, no one but the pilot (Gorman) reported seeing it doing any kind of manoeuvres. That, in itself, lends a certain credibility to the conclusions of the original investigation. Several people saw the light, but (unless you can provide evidence to the contrary) only Gorman saw it doing aerobatics.

Who are you to discredit the word of a WWII jet pilot veteran with a professional military career? There's no reason whatsoever that he would make anything like this up in the slightest. You've got the privilege of hiding behind a computer screen and posting whatever non-sensical flimsical thought comes into your head, haven't you? Not even a moderator is going to question your ridiculous comments, are they? These are people with families and reputation at stake. Why would they lie? Why would they be so mistaken?

You could be 11 years old for all anyone knows. You're talking like an uneducated non-professional. Your comments are that of a knee-jerk naysayer. I can't wait until laws come into place to stop this undisciplined defamation of people's character.

Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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Who are you to discredit the word of a WWII jet pilot veteran with a professional military career? There's no reason whatsoever that he would make anything like this up in the slightest. You've got the privilege of hiding behind a computer screen and posting whatever non-sensical flimsical thought comes into your head, haven't you? Not even a moderator is going to question your ridiculous comments, are they? These are people with families and reputation at stake. Why would they lie? Why would they be so mistaken?

You could be 11 years old for all anyone knows. You're talking like an uneducated non-professional. Your comments are that of a knee-jerk naysayer. I can't wait until laws come into place to stop this undisciplined deformation of people's character.

So you can't provide any further evidence. That's all you needed to say.

It's "defamation", not "deformation".

You're talking like an uneducated non-professional

Oh, the irony.

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So you can't provide any further evidence. That's all you needed to say.

So what qualifications have you got? What professional career have you had? What experience of flying do you have? What credibility do you have to even consider questioning this WWII vet's testimony?

You can have all the agreement from 11 year olds from around the world who press the 'LIKE' button, but you're still a disrespectful knee-jerk poster.

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Who are you to discredit the word of a WWII jet pilot veteran with a professional military career? There's no reason whatsoever that he would make anything like this up in the slightest. You've got the privilege of hiding behind a computer screen and posting whatever non-sensical flimsical thought comes into your head, haven't you? Not even a moderator is going to question your ridiculous comments, are they? These are people with families and reputation at stake. Why would they lie? Why would they be so mistaken?

You could be 11 years old for all anyone knows. You're talking like an uneducated non-professional. Your comments are that of a knee-jerk naysayer. I can't wait until laws come into place to stop this undisciplined deformation of people's character.

Wow!

By all means of respect, but it is rare to see such a pathetic appeal to authority. You really need to practice your debating skills.

Cheers,

Badeskov

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By all means of respect, but it is rare to see such a pathetic appeal to authority. You really need to practice your debating skills.

Cheers,

Badeskov

Knee-jerk comment. Are you in agreement with the knee-jerker who's questioning the character of a professional WWII jet pilot too? Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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Knee-jerk comment. Are you in agreement with the knee-jerker who's questioning the character of a professional WWII jet pilot too?

Nobody is questioning his character, merely what he think he saw.

Cheers,

Badeskov

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Nobody is questioning his character, merely what he think he saw.

It's much the same thing and you know it. You and the first knee-jerker have no experience what-so-ever in piloting aircraft or the ability to identify other aerial phenomena from the sky do you? What makes you think that anything you say can discredit the testimony of this professional pilot? Why should you, or anyone like you, be able to hide behind a computer screen, say what you like, without any come-back what-so-ever? Not even the moderators have the gumption to protect the character of professionals from the off-hand comments from unqualified who-knows-whos. Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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So what qualifications have you got? What professional career have you had? What experience of flying do you have? What credibility do you have to even consider questioning this WWII vet's testimony?

You can have all the agreement from 11 year olds from around the world who press the 'LIKE' button, but you're still a disrespectful knee-jerk poster.

Still nothing?

You don't argue your point too well. My question was in reference to your comment that there were several witnesses. It seems there was one. Your personal attack is a weak attempt to cover and distract from the inaccuracy of your statement. You've been called on it and have no way to answer it - so abuse is your final option. Not very clever.

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You don't argue your point too well. My question was in reference to your comment that there were several witnesses. It seems there was one. Your personal attack is a weak attempt to cover and distract from the inaccuracy of your statement. You've been called on it and have no way to answer it - so abuse is your final option. Not very clever.

What are your non-professional, non-experienced thoughts on the third UFO/pilot reported encounter of 1948 given above, which had two pilot testimonies, which tie extremely well with the testimony of Gorman? Edited by RingFenceTheCity
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What are your non-professional, non-experienced thoughts on the third UFO/pilot reported encounter of 1948 given above, which had two pilot testimonies, which tie extremely well with the testimony of Gorman?

Still avoiding the topic, aren't you?

If you don't want to (or can't) answer, then just say so. If you continue in your attempts to muddy the waters, I'll keep asking.

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RingFence, people are entitled to disagree with your opinions and conclusions without being subjected to insults, if you are going to make derogatory personal remarks about anyone who doesn't agree with you then this thread is going to end up closed very quickly.

Not even the moderators have the gumption to protect the character of professionals from the off-hand comments from unqualified who-knows-whos.

Disagreeing with an interpretation of a pilot's testimony does not constitute defamation of character.

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This was in 1948 FCS.

We also have this from the article:

One pilot's Mustang was low on fuel, and he quickly abandoned his efforts. Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt (the first head of Project Blue Book) notes that there was some disagreement amongst the air traffic controllers as to Mantell's words as he communicated with the tower: some sources[6] reported that Mantell had described an object "[which] looks metallic and of tremendous size," but, according to Ruppelt in The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, others disputed whether or not Mantell actually said this.

You seem to be creating arguments with people on here and yet they did not even agree with each other back then!

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Still avoiding the topic, aren't you?

If you don't want to (or can't) answer, then just say so. If you continue in your attempts to muddy the waters, I'll keep asking.

It's obvious that he was the only witness, otherwise it would have been stated in the Wikipedia entry, wouldn't it?
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It's obvious that he was the only witness, otherwise it would have been stated in the Wikipedia entry, wouldn't it?

Apparently, not obvious to you.

You wrote:

FYI. Incredible details and multiple witnesses.

and

There was another two highly credible witnesses too, as well as the WWII vet:

These comments were both in reference to the 'Gorman' incident.

But at least you now acknowledge that fact. That was the only point I was making - the one that seemed to get you all riled up.

Edited by Arbenol68
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...

There were two additional witnesses who saw the bright light. The pilot of the P-51 chased the UFO and was the only witness of the maneuvers.
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There were two additional witnesses who saw the bright light. The pilot of the P-51 chased the UFO and was the only witness of the maneuvers.

That's what I said.

"Cannon and his passenger answered that they could also see a lighted object to the west."

However, no one but the pilot (Gorman) reported seeing it doing any kind of manoeuvres. That, in itself, lends a certain credibility to the conclusions of the original investigation. Several people saw the light, but (unless you can provide evidence to the contrary) only Gorman saw it doing aerobatics.

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What are your non-professional, non-experienced thoughts on the third UFO/pilot reported encounter of 1948 given above, which had two pilot testimonies, which tie extremely well with the testimony of Gorman?

So what about answering this question now we've cleared that up?
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This is an internet forum, not the Spanish Inquisition, everyone is entitled to their opinion

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