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The phrase "unidentified flying objects" shows that UFOs possess an affinity with our terrestrial pilots - both fly and share our airspace. Thus, terrestrial pilots must have noticed and reported a goodly proportion of UFO events. And that indeed may be the case. There has been many an interesting close encounter between military, commercial and personal pilots. No great information there. However, there have been several UFO incidents that have resulted in the loss of life or disappearance (and presumed death) of the pilot(s) and sometimes crew too. That ratchets up the seriousness ante quite significantly.

UFO sightings by airline pilots (army, civilian, and private) at this point amount in the thousands. Regrettably, there have been instances of pilots who've died or who've gone missing (presumed dead) while witnessing, seeking or otherwise involved with some type or other of UFO-related activity. That alone suggests that UFOs are not only a significant business, but also at times a deadly business.

The set of pilot encounters with UFOs is currently so extensive that it could take several book length volumes to adequately cover the subject. There is nevertheless that deadly subset of these pilot-related encounters. Below are a few of the better known case histories and fortunately, to the best of my understanding, they are relatively few.

MAURY ISLAND INCIDENT (1947): This incident is indirectly related to 'pilots and UFOs' insofar as it involves an alleged UFO incident and the death of two army officers piloting a army aircraft, but there was no direct encounter between your UFO and the aircraft. While there exists a lots of of material linked to the Maury Island Incident, from conspiracy theories and cover-ups to threats by the Males in Black, to the disappearance of witnesses and proof (photographs), even something approaching an outright hoax that ended up involving many of the first pioneers in the 'flying saucer' business, the majority of that tale isn't highly relevant to the deaths of the military officers and is omitted here.

The basic tale revolves about Harold A. Dahl, his boy Charles, and a dog. These were all out boating near Maury Island in Puget Sound near Tacoma Washington on or about the 21st of June 1947 (which actually precedes the 'recognized' beginnings of the modern UFO era by a few days). They claimed to have spotted an overhead fleet of what we'd today call (doughnut-designed) UFOs flying in formation and encircling another UFO which seemed to be having some kind of difficulty. The object that was in a few distress or that was malfunctioning ejected some solid slag-like materials which, obeying the laws and regulations of fell earthwards, gravity, broken Dahl and struck's jointly possessed boat, caused some minor injuries to himself and his child, but alas killed the dog. Samples of the 'slag' were recovered. Via a roundabout path, two military (Army Air Corps) cleverness officers were ultimately called directly into investigate. The two investigating officers, Captain William L. Davidson and Lieutenant Frank M. Brown of Army A-2 Cleverness, arrived and conducted interviews and obtained samples of the 'slag' before boarding and piloting their B-25 aircraft, destination Hamilton Field in California. The plane transporting both investigators and the slag crashed near Kelso, Washington, soon after leaving Tacoma, killing both males. Two others on board, one an aircrew the additional a military 'hitchhiker', Sergeant Elmer L. Taft and Complex Sergeant Woodrow D. Matthews survived by parachuting from the airplane after it lost its remaining wing and the tail section due to a fire in the still left engine.

An FBI report into the incident observed that investigators from McChord Field near Tacoma had investigated the wreckage and were convinced there was no sabotage involved. It's noted that among the leading USAF UFO investigators, Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, chief of Task Blue Publication in the early 1950s, wrote in his 1956 book "The Statement on Unidentified Flying Items" that he was convinced that the entire UFO sighting story was a hoax. The original FBI field survey concluded the story was a hoax aswell. Regardless whether the incident was true (as some still believe), the cover-up of an advanced, classified but even so terrestrial aerospace craft, or a hoax, the death of Capt. Davidson and Lt. Brown was real enough.

MANTELL INCIDENT (1948): If there is ever a case of being in the incorrect place at the incorrect time, then your Mantell Incident qualifies.

On the afternoon of the 7th of January 1948, Godman Army Airfield (at Fort Knox, Kentucky) was notified by the condition highway patrol of a strange circular object they cannot identify some 250 to 300 feet in size that was flying along a westward course. Getting conscientious officers, they saw it as their duty to notify the nearest military base - Godman Field.

Military personnel, like the Commanding Officer, spotted the unfamiliar object in question from the airfield's control tower. It was also witnessed from various other Army Airfields (Clinton County Army Surroundings Field and Lockbourne Army Air flow Field, both in close by Ohio). Witnesses collectively defined the motion of the object ranging from stationary to 500 mph; ranging in altitude from near ground level to 10,000 ft. The lone object appeared to be white, but with a reddish fringe on underneath.

Unfortunately, a formation of four P-51 Mustangs of the Kentucky Air National Guard just happened to be in the air flow and in the vicinity - that vicinity getting the wrong place; wrong period for one of the pilots, the airline flight leader, Captain Thomas Mantell, a skilled pilot (over 2000 flying hours) and veteran of World War II. In any case, the P-51 trip was directed to get right up close and personal and know what this unknown object was.

Not all of the P-51's could actually comply with that order to the maximum level possible. One was low on gas; two others didn't have an adequate oxygen supply and had more feeling than to climb too high though they kept pace with Mantell for so long as they could. Mantell, lacking any oxygen supply, however, being the flight innovator and no question an alpha male, threw caution into the wind, boldly proceeded to go ahead, outdistancing his wingmen when he shouldn't of. He kept in popular pursuit, stating the object was moving at only half his speed and he was closing in for a better look. He allegedly described the object as metallic and of tremendous size, as opposed to a few of his wingmen who described it as small and indistinct.

To make a long story shorter, Capt. Mantell climbed too much, blacked out from lack of oxygen, and the others, as the saying goes, is history. His plane started spiraling back again towards the bottom. A witness later reported Mantell's https://en.search.wordpress.com/?src=organic&q=Los Angeles Mustang in a circling descent. His plane crashed at a farm south of Franklin, Kentucky, on the Tennessee-Kentucky state series. Some interested parties have recommended that while Mantell was a skilled pilot, he was rather new to the P-51 Mustang, and that this relative inexperience might have been one factor in the crash. Irrespective, Captain Mantell was, as of 3:18 p.m. that date, the past due Captain Mantell.

Therefore what was the object that ultimately resulted in Mantell's death? Well the first half-hearted description was that everyone acquired sighted, and the P-51's acquired chased, the planet Venus! It's apparent that no plane can climb high enough to get up close and personal with a planet that's an incredible number of miles away, therefore if Venus it was, it's no question Mantell didn't close in on it. Desperate in the attempt, he climbed too high and exceeded out from insufficient oxygen, that becoming the major factor in the resulting crash and his death. So went description number one.

Now Venus, based on where it is in its orbit, can been observed in daylight, if one knows exactly where to look. However, it's going to be quite faint as a daylight object at the very best of times, and 99.999% of people, while quite acquainted with Venus as the celestial object called the morning or evening 'star', haven't seen the earth in broad daylight. I understand I haven't. That all of a sudden a lot of people, the highway patrol, additional civilians, ground based military employees, Capt. Mantell and his wingmen, zeroed in on Venus is completely astounding - too astounding to be credible. In any event, what Venus would appear to be in the daytime sky, and the description of the object involved, just don't mesh. Scratch Venus.

The next best option was, in those days, a top secret US Navy Skyhook weather balloon. Why a weather balloon should be " inside info " can be beyond me, but classified it was. The general features of the Skyhook are reasonably constant with the looks and actions reported by Mantell and other witnesses, the sticking stage being no particular Skyhook balloon could possibly be conclusively identified as being in the area in question during Mantell's pursuit relating to some; specifics disputed by the skeptics who stated that multiple Skyhooks had been launched that day time about 150 miles aside. Regardless, if the object was a Skyhook, it's little wonder nobody could determine it as such since how it was a classified project and object. Of program it wouldn't have been very politically correct to admit a secret American armed service program resulted in the demise of an American armed service pilot!

The cause of Mantell's crash remains officially shown as undetermined by the Air Force.

In 1948 flying discs or saucers were even now pretty unique and so the initial death directly related to a flying saucer was Big News and it had been widely reported in the press. Unfortunately, some more lurid parts of the press recommended that Mantell have been shot down by the UFO and/or that his body was riddled with holes and/or his P-51 aircraft was found to become radioactive. These reports were false.

In the end, it matters little what the object was - bona-fide hardcore UFO or something even more prosaic like Venus or a Skyhook weather balloon - Mantell was just as dead.

KINROSS INCIDENT (1953): On the 23rd of November, 1953, First Lieutenant Felix Moncla (pilot) and Second Lieutenant Robert L. Wilson (radar operator) were scrambled from Kinross Surroundings Force Base within their United States Air Push (USAF) F-89 Scorpion to investigate the incursion into American atmosphere space, simply on the American-Canadian border and over Lake Superior of an unknown aircraft that were detected by Air Protection Command radar at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. At roughly 8000 feet elevation, after getting guided by surface radar monitoring that was also required for an intercept, an intercept was accomplished. Surface Control tracked the F-89 Scorpion and the unidentified object as two independent https://visual.ly/users/ascentaviationacademy/portfolio blips on their radar screen. Both blips on the radar screen grew closer and nearer, until they appeared to merge as you return blip. Let's assume that pilot Lt. Moncla acquired flown either under or over the target, Ground Control thought that moments later on, the Scorpion and the thing would again show up as two split blips. There was little actual fear that both objects had struck each other in collision. To their astonishment, rather, the right now single blip disappeared from the radar screen, and then there was no radar come back at all. The F-89 evidently merged with the various other mystery radar come back. Its IFF signal also disappeared following the two returns merged on the radar scope. Tries were made to get in touch with Lt. Moncla via radio, but this is unsuccessful. A search and rescue procedure was quickly mounted, but found not a trace of the plane or the pilots and radar officer.

The USAF reported that Lt. Moncla and Lt. Wilson got crashed and that the 'unknown' object was just a misidentified Royal Canadian Air flow Push (RCAF) aircraft. The state USAF Accident Investigation Statement identified the unidentified second aircraft as a RCAF C-47 Dakota VC-912, crossing Northern Lake First-class from west to east at 7,000 foot on the way from Winnipeg to Sudbury, Canada, that experienced traveled off course.

But, on multiple occasions, the RCAF refuted their involvement in the intercept incident, in correspondence with associates of the public asking for further details on the alleged encounter.

So, like the Valentich case beneath, did a bona-fide UFO produce off with an aircraft and crew? No trace of the F-89, Lt. Moncla or Lt. Wilson offers, even today, been found regardless of the alleged 'crash' in the state report.

SCHAFFNER INCIDENT (1970): United States Air Force (USAF) pilot Captain William Schaffner was on an exchange system serving with the British Royal Air Push (RAF) in September 1970 at RAF Binbrook. On the 8th of this month an unidentified objected was found by radar at several places, and aircraft from different bases in Iceland and Scotland had been directed to take off and investigate it. However, the object in question kept playing hide-and-seek, appearing on / off radar scopes as different aircraft approached, hence forcing them to ultimately abandon the chase and go back to base.

When it became Capt. Schaffner's turn to investigate and intercept, piloting a Lightning, the object quit playing games enabling the officer to make visual contact. He spotted and described a dazzling blue conical-shaped object a few minutes before his plane after that disappeared off the radar. It could seem initially that his plane and the thing merged, the object after that moving off at high rate, but that was just obvious as the disappearance of the Lightning aircraft off the radar was because for just one cause or another Capt. Schaffner was flying way too low and actually flew straight into the North Sea. And that's when the true puzzles start.

The aircraft was located (within three weeks) and recovered from the bottom of the North Sea shortly thereafter (within 90 days) of the incident. The Lightning aircraft was generally intact with minimal damage; no explosion, actually no signs of any mechanical failing that would have led to the crash. The canopy was in place and closed. Regrettably, there was nobody of Capt. Schaffner within the plane. Capt Schaffner's body has never been discovered - and he didn't eject from the cockpit into a survival dinghy.

So was the missing pilot snatched by aliens? The Table of Inquiry deducted Capt Schaffner manually abandoned the aircraft, but because he has not been found, he was presumed to possess drowned during or after his get away. But, since the aircraft canopy was in place when the Lightning was lifted from the sea (and pictures confirm that), how do the pilot exit the craft? So, whatever the unidentified object was, and some say it was only a slow moving Shackleton maritime reconnaissance aircraft that experienced lost radio contact with the outside globe that Capt. Schaffner was attempting to intercept rather than a bona-fide UFO at all, you still have a UFO incident and one missing, presumed lifeless pilot. Of course if aliens did in some way have the ability to abduct Capt. Schaffner while in the surroundings, that would clarify why his now unmanned plane landed in the beverage!

VALENTICH INCIDENT (1978): America, the U.K., so why not Australia? Among the many, many extremely unexplained UFO cases may be the occasions encircling Frederick Valentich on 21 October 1978. It's more a case of where there's smoke, there's smoke cigarettes, but smoke cigarettes there certainly can be, and lots of it.

In a nutshell, on the evening of this date, in perfect weather for night flying, Mr. Valentich piloted a private plane from King Isl, in Bass Strait, intended destination and Melbourne. He took off and then shortly thereafter radio in repeatedly asking if there was another aircraft in his vicinity. That was a poor according to air visitors control. This 'aircraft' eventually started hovering or orbiting over him. Let's right now call a spade a spade here and state the 'aircraft' was a UFO. The UFO was also spotted by several independent witnesses. While radioing in his observations, ultimately acknowledging by the end that the mysterious 'aircraft' had not been an aircraft, all contact ceased; all communications abruptly ended. Mr. Valentich, plane and all, vanished without trace. An comprehensive air and sea search didn't find any sign of Mr. Valentich, or his plane. No oil slick, no floating wreckage, nobody - nothing, zip, bugger-all. No trace provides ever been found of pilot or plane - not then, not really since, not ever.

One obvious description was that Mr. Valentich staged his own disappearance, although family and friends could give no reason why he would do so. Of training course many people voluntarily vanish themselves for numerous reasons; many ultimately are found, are caught or reappear voluntarily. But remember; it wasn't just Mr. Valentich who disappeared. One whole aircraft vanished aswell, never to be observed again. Definitely if Mr. Valentich wished to 'drop out', there have been easier and way much less conspicuous ways of doing therefore. If he previously deliberately eliminated walkabout, in these decades since of security camera systems and computer facial software program recognition technology, it would be hard to stay an unidentified walkabout in virtually any populated area.

Was suicide a motive? Once again, no wreckage or body was ever found, and who go to all of the bother of reporting a non-existent UFO overhead - a nonexistent UFO that happened to be independently reported by others. Anyway, no suicide take note was found.

And what of the plane since no wreckage was ever found floating on the surface of Bass Strait; washed up on beaches, or on the ocean bottom level - Bass Strait isn't that deep.

It's a mystery, even though it generally does not prove aliens nicked off with Mr. Valentich and plane, there's not really that much wriggle area.

Interestingly, despite my (and others) requesting a copy of the Valentich 'incident' case report in an official capacity linked to my employment at that time, the Section of Transport (Air Protection Investigations Branch) refused. Even today, to the very best of my understanding, that report hasn't been publicly released. An overview report was issued mainly giving the transcript of Valentich's final discussion with air visitors control with the final outcome being that they could not determine the specific cause in to the mishap.