Pilot Sightings

[Xylo]

If it were a reflection, i would expect to see other objects from within the cabin though



There does seem to be a dark shape around the object (window?) so its possible i guess.
But looking at this larger shot it doesnt strike me as a reflection

There is reflection from inside the cockpit, but it is that "dark shape" that you speak of at least in my estimation. The windows of the Grumman are square and that would make sense from my point of view.

I don't know what it is, but it sure if fun to speculate.

 

[mike]

I didn't see any mention of the pilot or anyone actually watching the object as it went by. It seems to have just shown up on the photos after the fact. They look kind of like orange feather dusters. Maybe they were reflections off the window from inside the cabin. Until we have more information there is no reason to consider these pictures as evidence of a UFO.

Im not reading it that way tbh, In the scenario you posit there is usually a statement to that effect like we didnt see this it just showed up in the photo when i developed it

but the report seems to reference direct visual sighting

That being said, the object was literally a blur and I didn’t see it as it was moving in the same direction as the plane.

That thing was a streak, it went by as nothing but a blur. Only the luck of the camera could tell me that it was some sort of object of quite some size, as our wing is nearly 50 long and that float out there (40 ft away) is 10 ft long

He does qualify that he didnt see it moving in the same direction as the plane, and that the luck of the camera allowed him estimate the size, re other features in the shot.

But he doesnt say "i never actually saw the object"

I would love to put the question to the witness, do you have any contacts at NUFORC, who could ask him ?

http://www.nuforc.org/webreports/086/S86794.html

 

[mike]

Ok Full report here

National UFO Reporting Center

They also mention the blackbird profile

We received a sighting report, and several interesting photographs, from a very experienced airline pilot, who inadvertently captured a very strange, high-speed, object with his camera, as he was flying his Grumman “Albatross” from Seattle to Los Angeles. We post below two of the photos he forwarded to NUFORC, and request that anyone who can identify the object please contact our Center. In our opinion, the object appears to be reminiscent of an SR-71, but we are not aware that they are painted in international orange.

One of the Hi res photos shows the object outside the window reflection

http://www.nuforc.org/S86794_a.jpg

This picture tends to negate the reflection scenario

There is one set of alarm bells that have gone off though, the quote above suggests he was flying the grumman, but the photo is taken from under the wing, not the cockpit.......

 

[Randall]

In the absence of further evidence, like some eye witness testimony in which the pilot(s) or passenger(s) ... particularly the person who took the pictures say the object(s) were actually observed outside the airplane, I'm going to stick with the feather duster hypothesis. After all, if they really were outside his airplane and flew by ... how could everyone miss seeing them? They're bright orange ... it's not like they wouldn't stand out. The other thing I thought they might be is some kind of trailer attached to the wing that is being dragged along. But the pilot would almost certainly be aware of such a thing ... so unless it's a hoax, we can pretty much rule that out.

 

[mike]

Yeah thunderbird 3 came to mind when i saw it too

It could be a hoax, always a possibility, but the first picture showing the object outside the window reflection rules out imo reflection or something being towed.
There were 3 pictures, one with the object at the right of the frame outside the reflection area, one where the object is centre frame, within the window reflection, and another where the object has moved forward to the left of frame and is obscured by the wing

the object comes from right to left, go to the next shot, it's in frame, look at our relative movement passing the lake then the last shot as the thing is hidden by the wing and our location relative to the lake again

 

[Randall]

I've looked at the 2 high res photos and neither shows the artifact obscured by the wing. In one picture the artifact is entering the field of view and is partially outside the frame. The other is between the edge of the frame and the wing. The third photo with the object obscured or partially obscured doesn't seem to be available.

Something else to consider is that the picture was taken with an iPhone 4. The first image of the artifact ( As it enters the frame ) was taken at 11:16:28 ( EXIF Data ) and the second was taken at 11:16:35 ( EXIF Data ) ... making the shots about 7 seconds apart. If it took 7 seconds for the object to travel from the edge of the frame to not even as far as the back of the wing, then we certainly aren't looking at anything zooming by in a blur. It would have taken at least 30 seconds just to get past the airplane, and it would have been in clear view and very sharp. Mind you I'm no photo expert ... so if anyone can add anything or confirm or correct me on this, by all means please do so.

 

[stonehart]

I've looked at the 2 high res photos and neither shows the artifact obscured by the wing. In one picture the artifact is entering the field of view and is partially outside the frame. The other is between the edge of the frame and the wing. The third photo with the object obscured or partially obscured doesn't seem to be available.

Something else to consider is that the picture was taken with an iPhone 4. The first image of the artifact ( As it enters the frame ) was taken at 11:16:28 ( EXIF Data ) and the second was taken at 11:16:35 ( EXIF Data ) ... making the shots about 7 seconds apart. If it took 7 seconds for the object to travel from the edge of the frame to not even as far as the back of the wing, then we certainly aren't looking at anything zooming by in a blur. It would have taken at least 30 seconds just to get past the airplane, and it would have been in clear view and very sharp. Mind you I'm no photo expert ... so if anyone can add anything or confirm or correct me on this, by all means please do so.

If that is the case then are we looking at photo manipulation and therefore a fake? Or something else?

 

[boomerang]

This case might be a great candidate for ufo investigation in the classic style. We have a seemingly credible witness who might consent to an interview, plus photographic evidence. Is there radar data for the area in question?

The object's planform bears a passing resemblance to the SR-71. But if the object were quiet, it wasn't much related to the Blackbird.

 

[Randall]

If that is the case then are we looking at photo manipulation and therefore a fake? Or something else?

Well ... The pilot says, " ...the object was literally a blur and I didn’t see it as it was moving in the same direction as the plane. So it is possible that this isn't a deliberate hoax, but simply some sort of artifact ... but exactly what I don't know.

 

[Randall]

Something else to consider is that the pilot says he was flying the plane, but the picture isn't taken from the cockpit ... I suppose maybe there was a copilot or an autopilot. The plane is from a company called Row 44 and the plane is called Albatross One. Check out this video ... it starts off slow but ends with a whale of a party going on ... or should I say a whale and a party going on ...

 

[Han]

When I first saw this picture it looked to me like three Red Arrows flying in close formation, so i checked where the Red Arrows were displaying and they were not in America on 9/16/2011 (16th of september) However when I googled "Airshow 9/16/2011" the top results were about the 2011 Reno Air Races Crash*.

According to Google maps Reno-Stead Airport is only about 400 miles from Sisters Oregon.

It is my opinion that the UFO(s) shown in the picture have something to do with the Air Race at Reno, and could possibly be either three "Snowbirds" or three "C.A.F. (Commemorative Air Force)" planes both of whom have displayed at the Reno Air Race.

The first picture below is of a formation of "Snowbirds" and the second is of a "C.A.F" Plane

*(("On September 16, 2011, at the Reno Air Races, a North American P-51D Mustang flown by James K. "Jimmy" Leeward crashed into spectators, killing 11 people including the pilot, and injuring at least 69"))

 

[Randall]

When I first saw this picture it looked to me like three Red Arrows flying in close formation, so i checked where the Red Arrows were displaying and they were not in America on 9/16/2011 (16th of september) However when I googled "Airshow 9/16/2011" the top results were about the 2011 Reno Air Races Crash*.

According to Google maps Reno-Stead Airport is only about 400 miles from Sisters Oregon.

It is my opinion that the UFO(s) shown in the picture have something to do with the Air Race at Reno, and could possibly be either three "Snowbirds" or three "C.A.F. (Commemorative Air Force)" planes both of whom have displayed at the Reno Air Race.

The first picture below is of a formation of "Snowbirds" and the second is of a "C.A.F" Plane


*(("On September 16, 2011, at the Reno Air Races, a North American P-51D Mustang flown by James K. "Jimmy" Leeward crashed into spectators, killing 11 people including the pilot, and injuring at least 69"))

Pretty good theory ... and the colors are about right, but now we really have to wonder, if the artifacts in the image were those aircraft, how is it possible that they weren't seen, especially given the EXIF data from the photos themselves which indicates a span of 7 seconds between the two shots? We seem to be getting all kinds of inferences here to a possible hoax here.

 

[mike]

I've looked at the 2 high res photos and neither shows the artifact obscured by the wing.

They havent posted the third photo at nuforc, (the photo where the object is obscured) i presume because it shows nothing.
The point about the seven seconds is valid though since the report says the sighting only lasted 5 seconds.
Still a few seconds isnt a big deal imo, but i hear what you are saying as regards to the claim it went past so fast it was a blur, that doesnt add up, if the duration was around the ten second mark, the platform the photo was taken from was doing 200 mph as well.
Of course if he didnt see it with the naked eye, hes basing that statement on the pics and the speed at which it tracks across the frame.
I can see why he might not have sighted it directly though, when using these sorts of devices one tends to look at the screen in the hand to line up a shot, it wouldnt be hard to miss a small object travelling at high speed looking at a small screen.
I did raise the issue of the location of the shot being under the wing, as being taken by the pilot with Mr Davenport of Nuforc, but i havent had a reply yet.

 

[ALPHA ROMEO UNIFORM]

Thunderbirds are go

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Is there any chance it is something akin to coloured smoke display parchutists use? I can kind of see it as a little exploding thing of coloured smoke let loose at high speed and the trail spreading out behind it? Just a thought.
There is a slightly organic/fractal look to it. If it is a real object I'm not personally getting a metal frame vibe from it.

 

[trainedobserver]

It looks like for all the world like a variant of the SR-71. If you are in a plane traveling 200 miles an hour and you get passed by an SR-71 type aircraft going full bat out of hell. Do you hear a sonic boom?

 

[Han]

This case is either a Hoax(+) and or viral marketing for the company Row 44*

Forgive me as I am going to post alot of links and pictures but I only think its fair because I want to explain how I came to my conclusions.

My suspision that the picture had something to do with an Airshow was confirmed when I searched for "HU-16 Airshow" I found multiple examples of the Row 44 Albatross taking part in displays**

I have also found some comparison shots from inside the very cockpit***

Here is an interesing article about Row 44 ****


In conclusion it is my stong belief that that the picture was taken by a passenger and to my mind that discredits the so called witness, whom it must be noted went to great lengths to explain he was the Pilot "I am an airline transport pilot with over 14,000 flight hours in unique aircraft such as the HU16b I am flying in these pictures I have been flying for 40 yrs."

Maybe what he meant to say was as follows:

"I am NOT an airline transport pilot with over 14,000 flight hours in unique aircraft such as the HU16b I am NOT flying in these pictures I have been lying for 40 yrs."

This case is now firmly in the Billy Meier Basket for me.

once again sorry for a disorganised and long post I will be happy to clarify any points I have made if necessary.






(+) On the Row 44 Website it is possible to book a "WIFI Test Flight", and given that the said picture was not taken from the cockpit it is possible a "customer/passenger" took it on one of these test flights.


* http://row44.com/and
Albatross One | Row 44, Inc.


** Grumman Albatross | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Grumman HU-16 Albatross, Row 44 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
HU-16 Albatros | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Albatross - N44HQ | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Van Gilder Aviation Photography, Camarillo Airshow 2010-
Grumman Albatross
Grumman HU-16 Albatross | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

*** Airplane / Work - a set on Flickr

**** Runway Girl: January 2009 Archives

 

[Goggs Mackay]

fine with me! i didn't like the fact it looked like an orange toilet brush anyway!

 

[Randall]

Good showing everyone ... no jumping to "OMG Aliens!" as the JREF people would have everyone believe we do!

 

[dyingsun]

Wait, JREF (Mr. Randis forum I guess) is on 'our' forums buttocks? Show them ATS for some heart attacks.