Incident · 23 April 2007 · Off Alderney, Channel Islands
Alderney UFO sighting
Also known as Alderney 2007, Channel Islands UFO
At about 14:09 UTC on 23 April 2007, Capt. Ray Bowyer of Aurigny Air Services, flying a Trislander from Southampton to Alderney in the Channel Islands, saw two very bright yellow objects hanging stationary over the sea, which he first estimated at the size of a Boeing 737 and later at up to a mile across. Passengers also saw the lights, and Patrick Patterson, a Blue Islands pilot flying nearby, reported a similar object.
Jersey air traffic control recorded only a very faint primary radar contact. Bowyer reported the sighting to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and the report and radar recordings were passed to the Ministry of Defence, which declined to investigate because the objects were in French airspace; its file was later released to the UK National Archives.
An independent study (Baure, Clarke, Fuller and Shough, 2008) examined weather, radar and witness data and could not identify the objects with confidence. Proposed explanations include sun dogs, earthquake lights and other atmospheric effects.
Sources: Wikipedia · MoD file DEFE 24/2081
Facts and claims
- claimed Capt. Ray Bowyer of Aurigny Air Services, flying a Trislander from Southampton to Alderney, saw two very bright, sharply defined yellow objects, which he estimated to be very large, hanging stationary over the sea. Passengers also saw them, and the pilot of another aircraft reported a similar object. Source: EXCLUSIVE: Captain Ray Bowyer on his SHOCKING Encounter w/ MASSIVE UFOs, Alderney 2007 | UFO / UAP at 19:52
- documented Bowyer filed a report with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which with radar recordings was passed to the Ministry of Defence. The MoD declined to investigate because the sighting was in French airspace. Its file (DEFE 24/2081) was released through the UK National Archives in 2011. Source: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk (archived)
- claimed An independent study (Baure, Clarke, Fuller and Shough, 2008) examined weather, radar and witness data and could not identify the objects with confidence. Source: en.wikipedia.org (archived)
Connected files
Documents
- Ministry of Defence UFO files: release of 11 August 2011 (34 files) (subject of) — DEFE 24/2081, pp. 39–47: the CAA papers
- The National Archives: guides to the Ministry of Defence UFO files (2008–2013) (subject of)
Events
People
- David Clarke (investigated by)
- Ray Bowyer (witnesses)
Videos
- Official ATC Recording of Pilot’s UFO Encounter: Captain Ray Bowyer (2 MASSIVE UFOs) (subject of)
- National Press Club - November 12th, 2007. UFO Close Encounters (discussed in)
- EXCLUSIVE: Captain Ray Bowyer on his SHOCKING Encounter w/ MASSIVE UFOs, Alderney 2007 | UFO / UAP (subject of)
Mentioned in this file
- Boeing (Organization)
- The National Archives (UK) (Organization)
- Ministry of Defence (UK) (Organization)
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