uforn
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Post by uforn on Sept 2, 2010 1:42:49 GMT 1
Police chase UFO over Cardiff 2008 A police helicopter crew gave chase to a UFO after it almost collided with their aircraft near a military base. The pilot was forced to bank sharply to avoid being hit by the mystery aircraft as the helicopter was returning to the Ministry of Defence base of St Athan, near Cardiff. The three crew, who described the UFO as 'flying saucer-shaped', then gave chase, getting as far as the North Devon coast before they ran low on fuel, it was reported. The police aircraft was hovering at 500ft and waiting clearance to land on June 7, when those onboard spotted the other craft hurtling towards them from below. A spokesman for South Wales Police said: "We can confirm the Air Support Unit sighted an unusual aircraft. This was reported to the relevant authorities for their investigation." It was reported that the aircraft closed in at great speed, aiming straight for the helicopter which swerved sharply. "They are convinced it was a UFO. It sounds far-fetched, but they know what they saw." The helicopter crew are said to have crossed the Bristol channel in pursuit of the UFO, but lost sight of it and had to turn back due to a fuel shortage. The sighting comes weeks after the most comprehensive Government files on UFO activity are opened to the public for the first time today and they disclose that even air traffic controllers and police officers have seen mysterious craft in the skies over Britain. The sightings range from incredible tales of little green men visiting the Wirral to corroborated accounts from policemen and pilots of Unidentified Flying Objects hovering above towns and cities. All were recorded on official forms, held by air bases and police stations, and compiled by the Ministry of Defence between 1978 and 2002. Source: www.theufochronicles.com/2008/06/police-chase-ufo-over-cardiff.html
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uforn
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Post by uforn on Sept 2, 2010 1:52:33 GMT 1
Confusion and Contradictions The Cardiff UFO sightings Front Page of The Sun newspaper September 22, 2008. by Andrew Russell To be a good liar who have to get your story correct. If several people are telling the same lie then they all have to be singing off the same hymn sheet. So when South Wales Police, the MoD and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) can't get their stories straight, one might be forgiven for being a bit suspicious. When the story revolves around an alleged near-miss with a UFO and a police helicopter, then I could be forgiven for thinking they have something to hide. "UFOs over Cardiff?" screamed the South Wales Echo, with a picture of the 'Independence Day' mothership hovering over the Cardiff city skyline. As the story broke around the world all three of the aforementioned government bodies would spend the next few weeks fighting off a media frenzy and trying to satisfy researchers searching questions. What was interesting from the outset was South Wales Police's initial willingness to discuss the incident then their sudden retraction of certain elements of what allegedly happened. But as we shall see, once you begin to change the story, the more holes that begin to appear. The story began during the early hours of June 8th, where while waiting for clearance to land at RAF St Athan, the crew of the police helicopter spotted a 'flying saucer shaped' object approaching them at speed from below. The crew took evasive action and gave chase over the Bristol channel until they ran low on fuel. I began approaching the MoD, the CAA and the South Wales Police using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to answer some critical questions. Firstly, the MoD claimed to know about the case through the media, but had not received any reports and therefore was not taking it any further. Secondly, the CAA claimed that after checking their database of 'events' they claimed they had no knowledge of the incident. South Wales Police now retracted any notion that a chase took place, citing that the media had reported this inaccurately. Yet, as in time honoured tradition, witnesses started to come forth to contradict the police version of events. Amanda X came forward to say that she saw a UFO being chased by a helicopter from her vantage point in the centre of Cardiff. She claims that the craft and the helicopter flew overhead towards the coast (which would have been towards North Devon). George Witherington, a retired RAF glider pilot reported a similar sighting from St Mellons, near Cardiff. I have been contacted by a number of witnesses who report seeing strange objects in and around the Cardiff area throughout June 7th and June 8th which would also indicate that the object (or objects) were in the area before and after the alleged chase. Further to contradict the claims that no chase took place was Cardiff airports own Air Traffic Control (ATC). ATC claimed via the BBC that they provided "a service" to the police helicopter to "ensure it had enough air space to return to RAF St Athan to refuel". Dave Pavoni, producer with The UFO Hunters TV show, also showed me an email he had received from a commercial airline pilot operating out of Cardiff airport that states his plane was warned to the fact that a police helicopter was "tracking" a UFO. He also claims to have witnessed the police helicopter landed at Cardiff airport. I am quite confident the chase took place. If no chase had taken place the helicopter would simply have needed to land at RAF St Athan after taking evasive action and would be nowhere near Cardiff Airport. Further to this how can the CAA claim they have no knowledge of this incident when ATC were involved throughout the incident? There are some other real issues with this incident. Whether this UFO was of terrestrial origin or something more exotic, a mid-air collision almost took place which could have resulted, potentially, in the loss of life, yet the MoD, the CAA or South Wales Police are un-willing to investigate the matter further. The police are quoted as saying, of the helicopter crew, "They are convinced it was a UFO. It sounds far-fetched, but they know what they saw." This statement was quoted in The Telegraph, The Sun and the South Wales Echo. Philip Mantle sent me a copy of a FOIA request he made, where the South Wales Police made the following statement "The crew is of course capable of making a distinction between a Chinese lantern and an aircraft: it was for this reason it was not so described. The reason the crew now subscribes to the theory that the 'object' was a Chinese lantern is that there appears to be no other rational and plausible explanation." The police claim they can tell what a Chinese lantern looks like, but it evidently wasn't because they are trained observers and it didn't look like a Chinese lantern because "for this reason it was not so described", but according to other previous press reports "they know what they saw". I think initially the South Wales Police rushed to tell what happened in this incident but in retrospect decided they had said too much and were trying to backtrack, in the process contradicting themselves and everyone else involved. Also South Wales Police released a radio transcript of a man misidentifying the moon as a UFO. The story made front page of the Western Mail and the conversations which were recorded by the police were also available online to listen to. This was a few days after the June 8th incident and I believe this was an attempt to discredit the whole affair through ridiculing UFOlogy in general. South Wales Police can release the recordings of this yet there are no recordings available from the helicopter crew from the June 8th incident. Cyncial? Me?!? Through Phillip I was introduced to David Pavoni, producer of The UFO Hunters, and we arranged for an interview about the case at RAF St Athan. I arrived very early and drove around the perimeter of RAF St Athan and noticed how quiet this base was. Due to its rural location and the fact that currently RAF St Athan is in a bit of a transitional period it is a very quiet area. (RAF St Athan is due to become a multi-million pound training centre). I met Dave and the crew at the East gate (purely coincidental) and we began filming on some public land outside the perimeter. A few minutes into filming we were approached by three RAF personnel who enquired what we were doing. Filming permits were produced and an explanation was forthcoming as to the nature of our business and the RAF staff left. From then on, the formerly quiet base, started to get very noisy which disrupted our filming. Single training shots were heard regularly which meant we had to retake certain scenes. A fork lift truck came to the fence where we were filming and the driver just parked there, just idling the engine which caused some disruption. It is hard not to be conspiratorial in situations like this! Once we completed filming the RAF police joined us and requested the usual round of ID and filming permits. Despite being on public land and RAF St Athan being quite a low security base, we were still treated with a fair amount of suspicion. A day or two after filming I was contacted by a witness who wanted for the time being to remain anonymous. He had seen an object in the early hours of June 8th and had made his own requests via the FOIA. He showed me a copy of a response from South Wales Police which stated that the two officers on board the flight were not interested in giving interviews. The pilot of the helicopter, who is a civilian, also reported the incident to his supervisor but wanted no further involvement. It is worth remembering that the helicopter in question is operated by Bond Air Services and is effectively leased by South Wales and Gwent Police and as a private company falls outside any FOIA accountability. It surprises me that no reports have still been made by the police but cynically speaking it doesn't surprise me. If the police produce any paperwork on this incident it becomes accessible via the FOIA and we gain more information on the incident. If the MoD becomes involved the same applies. The Cardiff incident is by no means over, I have heard whispers of other witnesses in Cardiff, witnesses on the Severn and some from the base itself, where apparently rumours are rife. This is one of those incidents which yield so much in terms of how organisations like the police, MoD and CAA react (or fail to) and how quickly the media and investigators can prise open the case and reveal much of what happened. Something significant happened that night, we can piece that much together, it will take us a little while longer to discover the true extent of what exactly happened. Three very well placed witnesses hold the key. When will we get their testimony? Source: www.ufodigest.com/news/0908/copschaseufo.html
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Laurance
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Post by Laurance on Sept 2, 2010 3:01:38 GMT 1
I remember this case, I'm sure I have it in a scrap book somewhere
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