Was the pilot on 'shrooms?

[dcunning30]

Well, waddya think?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/arti ... article.do

[EGNX]

Well it was confirmed by a few people so there's gotta be some logic to it. Unless they were all on 'shrooms.  ;D

[matt2190]

Since many people claim to have seen the same thing it is not totally unbelievable. I highly doubt they were all on 'shrooms.

[ATI_7500]

'Shrooms. Definately.

[elite marksman]

'Shrooms... and then the passengers say that they saw it because BA paid them so people didn't think their pilots were flying high. (intentional pun)

[RitterKreuz]

i cant imagine what it must feel like to see something strange in the afternoon sky... and then you say "im not saying its from another world... im just saying that in all my years of flying i have never seen anything like it" and in an instant everyone discredits you... questions your sanity... questions your ability to tell a jet airplane from a hole in the ground and flat out doesn't believe that you or half a dozen other people really saw anything.

Science has failed us miserably in the regard of UFO investigation; Science is supposed to question the mainstream, science is supposed to go out on the limb and investigate and either prove or disprove a hypothesis while maintaining an open mind, yet for some reason though, the subject of UFOs or anything having to do with the possibility of alien life or someone actually claiming to see one of these things is shunned and shrugged off as if the person were a complete idiot or insane or on drugs.

It must be incredibly difficult and frustrating to see something like that - and when you prod around and try to figure out what it is everyone instantly discredits you.

personally i think that human beings have put forth the most supreme display of arrogance by believing it impossible that in all of the infinite universe earth is the only object floating in the vastness of space capable of supporting any kind of life.i would rather believe that it is possible and be proven wrong... than be a complete arrogant fool and believe it impossible that life exists on other planets.

[Hagar]

When someone reports seeing something odd like a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) I have to wonder why people naturally assume it came from another world. There are plenty of things we don't understand about the one we live in & there is probably a very logical explanation.

I assume that this pilot knew exactly what people would say about him if he made an official report yet he still made it. He obviously saw something out of the ordinary but as he says himself; "I'm certainly not saying that it was something of another world. All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying."

I should point out that Aurigny Air Services & Blue Island (the other airline mentioned) both operate Islander & Trislander aircraft between the mainland & the Channel Islands. The Trislander would usually carry a crew of one (the pilot) plus a maximum of 17 passengers. There is no room for cabin crew on this type of aircraft. The news report implies that this was a much bigger aircraft. "One of the largest UFOs ever seen has been observed by the crew and passengers of an airliner over the Channel Islands."

[RitterKreuz]

your right Hagar... but - the pilot said "IM NOT SAYING THIS IS FROM ANOTHER WORLD... im just saying that i have never seen anything like it before"

it could have been any one of hundreds of things floating up there...

but that doesnt dismiss people from claiming you're an idiot for seeing it.

[Hagar]

your right Hagar... but - the pilot said "IM NOT SAYING THIS IS FROM ANOTHER WORLD... im just saying that i have never seen anything like it before"

I think we've established that. LOL

[quote]it could have been any one of hundreds of things floating up there...

[beaky]

It seems odd that if something a mile wide was hovering at 2,000 feet close to the Channel Islands & the coast of France nobody else reported seeing it.

'Pends on the weather. Clouds or haze between the object and the shoreline, maybe... being airborne, the pilot and pax might have a better view.

There have been many UFOs (NOT necessarily spacecraft, just unidentified flying objects) reported by airmen over the years... I tend to doubt those less than most, because professional pilots risk a great deal by admitting they saw something like that.
They're also usually very familiar with a wide variety of aircraft and, of course, odd weather phenomena.
People tend to assume they were tripping on mushrooms ( as if you could even successfully start an airliner while so impaired! LOL!)... or that they're just plain nuts.

[Hagar]

One more comment to demonstrate how these things get exaggerated. Although it happened almost 2 months ago this only seems to have caught the attention of the "media" since being reported in Pilot magazine. I remember reading about it at the time it happened. This is the original report of the event on the BBC website, dated Wednesday, 25 April 2007. Pilot spots 'UFO' over Guernsey

Note that the type of aircraft is not mentioned anywhere in the news report. This is the important part.

Captain Ray Bowyer was flying an Aurigny plane from Southampton to Alderney

According to the Alderney official website, Aurigny Air Services operates 7 flights a day between Southampton - Alderney using BN Trislander aircraft. The Trislander is a small unpressurised island-hopper, basically a stretched version of the popular twin-engined Islander with an extra engine fitted on the fin. This is one of Aurigny's fleet of Trislanders. The photo appears to have been taken over one of the Channel Islands.

Photo courtesy of the Alderney website.

I did a quick Google on the story & found several similar articles under the heading "Breaking News". Most appear to be based on the London Evening Standard report in dcunning's original link & NOT the Pilot magazine article. However, the small piston-engined airliner probably flying at an altitude of a couple of thousand feet on its way to the tiny island of Alderney suddenly becomes, to quote Fox News

a British jetliner

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286176,00.html

The UFO which was originally reported as being twice the size of a Boeing 737 is now "a Mile wide".

The craft is allegedly one of the largest UFOs ever seen.

[spitfire boy]

He must have seen something. UFO? Doubtful. Hallucination? Doubtful - plenty of other people saw it, and their descriptions of it were all the same. Probably some kind of previously unobserved atmospheric phenomenon. Could it possibly have been ball lightning?

When someone reports seeing something odd like a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) I have to wonder why people naturally assume it came from another world. There are plenty of things we don't understand about the one we live in & there is probably a very logical explanation.

People think it might be from another world because they want to believe they might have seen a proper 'flying saucer'. Saying it probably originated on our own planet sounds too mundane for most people, and their wild imaginations tend to take over. Sad but true. Glad to see the pilot kept a modicombe of common sense by saying it most likely wasn't from 'another world' (cue dramatic music)

[Woodlouse2002]

I did a quick Google on the story & found several similar articles under the heading "Breaking News". Most appear to be based on the London Evening Standard report in dcunning's original link & NOT the Pilot magazine article. However, the small piston-engined airliner probably flying at an altitude of a couple of thousand feet on its way to the tiny island of Alderney suddenly becomes, to quote Fox News

a British jetliner

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286176,00.html

The UFO which was originally reported as being twice the size of a Boeing 737 is now "a Mile wide".

The craft is allegedly one of the largest UFOs ever seen.

Did they get the date right though?

[FLYING_TRUCKER]

Good afternoon all.  :)

I thought I would check out the forums while waiting for the old girl to arrive home, seems they are stuck in traffic on Highway 401 so they will be a couple of more hours.  So much for the reservations I made to take them out for dinner.

Now back to the topic, firstly I try to stay away from most controversial topics because everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.  
I also find this type of topic can profile a person and this can be very misleading at times.  :)

I have been flying for more than half a century, I have flown with some of the best aviators be they military, commercial or general aviation, some just starting their careers and others just about to retire.  When a topic like Unidentified Flying Objects "UFOs", the Devils Triangle, Area 51, Superstition or God (now there is a good one) activates or sparks a creative intellectual conversation in public I have never known an aviator NOT to express his or her honest opinion.

Now, having said that, there are proper communications protocol that are in place when, a pilot or an employee, when employed by a Commercial Air Carrier, the Military or is a Civil Service Employee.  Unless National Security will be compromised, then there is no reason other than personal a pilot or who ever would not talk about controversial topics such as Unidentified Flying Objects.

Not only has television, radio and the movies "Hollywood" tried to change history, but it has influenced and molded the general public to the way many folks think and act today.
I know an aviator who said he saw a Unidentified Flying Object, and that is exactly what he saw, an unidentified flying object.  He and his crew were not sent to see a psychiatrist/shrink or any doctor, but Hollywood would have you believe that is the first thing the company or government would do to you.
A pilot has an accident, they don't just send him off to a psychiatrist/shrink, sure they will check his medical history, his logbook and determine what caused the accident.  Then remedial action is taken.

Freedom of the Press, yes I am all for it, I believe in it to a point, however in this country the press can be held liable for what they print and a simple printed retraction is not good enough anymore.  Many a career is lost when the poper facts are not reported.

I guess in summing up I would have to say, don't believe everything you see on television, the movies or read in a newspaper.  They are at best mediums for entertainment.  

There is my two cents worth.  

Cheers...Happy Landings...Doug

[Craig.]

I am guessing he saw, and I cant believe I am saying this, but I think he saw,, "the sun"... I know I know, its just a myth in these parts. But it could just be that thing they call,, "the sun".