Alien Spacecraft - Fact, Hoax or Imagination

This close encounter near a London airport suggests we are not alone. But the truth about what is actually out there is still up for debate.

The term UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) was created by the United States Air Force in 1952, but before that, these strange phenomena were known as "flying saucers" due to their disc-like shape. While some of the so-called "sightings" are attributable to hoaxes, a percentage are not. Up to thirty percent are truly UFOs since experts are unable to identify them as belonging to the known world. This is not the same as saying they are aliens from another world or planet – that fascinating question is still up for debate.

Now a new - and rather more convincing sighting - has been reported in one of the UK's more serious newspapers, i, sister-paper to The Independent. The claim is made by a regular BBC sports’ journalist.

Freaked Out by a Close Encounter

Mike Sewell works for Radio 5 Live and as he drove into work he encountered an amazing spectacle: He was about 15 or 20 miles from London’s Stansted Airport at 4.15 in the morning. “There was this big bright light in the sky descending towards the road. As it got closer, it then banked to the left, and as it banked to the left and went across the countryside, I could see underneath it,” said Mr. Sewell. He insisted it was not an airplane or a helicopter and it was shaped like a disc. “It had several lights flashing all around it.” Beneath the “craft” there were also two large, soft, white panel lights.

According to Mr. Sewell, the craft remained there for a few moments, but then, as he began to descend a dip in the narrow country lane, he lost sight of it.
A Potential Threat?

Back in 2007, the Brighton Argus, 10 October 2007, reported that the Ministry of Defence is required to investigate all cases of possible UFO sightings in case of unauthorized military or hostile activity. A spokesperson told the paper: “If required, sighting reports are examined with the assistance of the department’s air defence experts. Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”

More recently, according to BBC news reports on 5 August 2010, the British Government released eighteen files, altogether containing 5000 words on sightings between 1995 and 2003. These files confirm that, several decades ago, Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was aware of the UFO phenomena, but because he was afraid of causing general panic, had hushed up the whole thing.

Again, some incidents were considered to be hoaxes, but harder to explain were the accounts where UFOs were trapped by radar or reported by police officers and those of similar standing. One near-collision between an aircraft and a UFO in 1995 was eye-witnessed by both the pilot and first officer.

Labelled “Potty” for Reporting UFO Sighting

The BBC newsreader suggested that the popularity of the television drama The X-Files may have caused the rise in UFO sightings – and yet, rather than encouraging fantasies, it may simply have helped people feel more comfortable about discussing their experiences. Witnesses often express their anxiety that in sharing their experiences they might be labelled “potty.”

Radio journalist, Mike Sewell, who witnessed the Stansted incident, said that the VW driver in front of him must have also seen the phenomenon and he hoped the man would contact either the police or the radio station and corroborate his own evidence. “I was wide-awake and of sound mind,” he asserted.

One UFO eye-witness on the website www.lapisufo.com commented: “The annoying thing is people don’t understand the impact this has on you until you witness it yourself. You truly have to see it to believe it – but we can’t be all imagining the same thing.” One of a group of young men who saw brightly-lit UFOs near Eastbourne in Sussex while they were fishing on the pier, said: “All were moving at speed. But the lads didn’t want to tell anyone else – they said it would just get them laughed at.”

A more sober comment from another poster speculated that the aliens might be annoyed with what we are doing to our planet, and that we need to make big changes – and quick!

Mike Sewell of Radio 5 Live spoke to the BBC. To see the video recording this conversation please go to: Disc-shaped craft is spotted circling near Stansted.

Sources:

"BBC journalist "freaked out" after close encounter" by Chris Stevenson, i,(sister paper to The Independent) 6 August, 2011
Brighton Argus, 10 October 2007
BBC Television News, 6.00pm/10.00pm
www.lapisufo.com

Adapted from:

Paranormal Brighton and Hove, Janet Cameron, Amberley Publishing, 2009
Paranormal Eastbourne, Janet Cameron, Amberley Publishing, 2010

First published on http.janetcameron.Suite.101, 6 April, 2011.