Originally Posted by scudpilot
Anyone got any ideas WHAT it was?
Before you can ask WHAT it was, you need to determine IF it was.
I don't believe any such incident occurred. The main road from Amesbury to Salisbury
was closed for some time one
weekday due to a trials aircraft returning with a faulty bit of kit that could have hazarded traffic. (But that bit of info wasn't released publicly until several months later).
Because the road was closed with no explanation as to why, local rumour was rife and that has multiplied over the years - with some selective "evidence" put forward by the delusional - or more likely, mischevious - based on visiting aircraft which were not that unusual to see at that airfield at that time. Also put into the mix was a strange metallic shape seen under tarpaulin that intrigued external observers but was ultimately revealed to be a dummy ship's flightdeck.
People are fooling themselves, IMO.