Big bang in Swindon area
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I realise that answering this query could be difficult for a serving pilot and I don't mean to step on anyone's toes, but there are photographs online of one of the Typhoons buzzing the silver object which was reportedly sitting at 30,000ft approx according to multiple witnesses. Whether this object was linked to the incident or not, it is intriguing to me that a frontline RAF pilot thought it interesting enough to climb up to investigate.
Synsei,
Did the Pilot actually investigate the object or was that just an interpretation of the witnesses? I know that the conspiracy crowd are already jumping all over this and think that the 'object' is why the Typhoons were scrambled in the first place!
Link to images.
Bath UFO - What is it? - a set on Flickr
All I see here is a possible solar or mylar balloon. The wiggle shape blow up is down to camera shake and the photographer acknowledges it.
Did the Pilot actually investigate the object or was that just an interpretation of the witnesses? I know that the conspiracy crowd are already jumping all over this and think that the 'object' is why the Typhoons were scrambled in the first place!
Link to images.
Bath UFO - What is it? - a set on Flickr
All I see here is a possible solar or mylar balloon. The wiggle shape blow up is down to camera shake and the photographer acknowledges it.
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This is delicate because I am a pragmatic bloke and always look for a logical explanation for this kind of thing, but I also run a UFO forum which is usually an instant conversation killer on forums such as this 
As you can probably imagine there has been a lot of interest in this incident on my forum. I found out about the incident very shortly after it happened, perhaps as little as 15 mins after actually, so I monitored all the news sites as a result and then the BBC posted a story which suggested that it was a minor earth tremor. Shortly thereafter the story was updated with a quote from the British Geological Survey which stated that there had been a minor earthquake (3.6 on the Richter scale) with its epicentre being in west Coventry. This story was again updated about 30mins later with a statement from the United States Geological Survey which confirmed the BGS statement, according to the BBC. It was about this time that the story reporting the Typhoon incident first popped up on the BBC News website. Very shortly after the Typhoon story appeared, the Coventry earthquake story disappeared to be replaced by an archived quake story from 2008 which reported on a minor earthquake with an epicentre in Herefordshire.
In the meantime I had posted links to all these articles on my forum as the story developed. Weirdly, the first link to the original BBC Coventry earthquake story was redirected by the BBC to the 2008 archived Herefordshire article at some point. This was picked up by one of my members who understandably asked if I had perhaps mistakenly picked it up from the BBC News archives. This was not the case and to prove it I directed him to the BBC News site where the link was still trending at No7 on their most read articles list (at this point the Typhoon story was sitting at No1 in the list). This prompts the reasonable question: Why would a historical earthquake article from 2008 appear in this list?
As I continued to research the story reports began to come in about an unusual silvery, white object seen manoeuvring in the sky above Bath and the two Typhoons and the helo. According to one witness, a single Typhoon broke away from his wingman and the helo and proceeded to climb up to intercept the silver object. Until this point the object had been hanging motionless in a vertical orientation, but shortly after the Typhoon arrived on the scene to investigate, the object promptly moved to a horizontal attitude and shot away in an easterly direction, stopped, and then shot upwards disappearing from view into the clouds. There are several other witnesses who concur with this description of events.
Make of this what you will. I went from believing it to be a story about a minor earthquake, to having to consider it may well be a story about two Typhoon fighters going hell for leather cross country, to wondering if in fact both incidents had occurred simultaneously (the timings of both events were identical in both stories after all: 18:06), to having reports flood in of an unusual silvery/white object manoeuvring in the skies above Bath.
As you can probably imagine the phrase 'Cover Up' is being bandied about all over the place in the UFO community just now. Me, I'm confused and somewhat suspicious about the shenanigans that occurred on the BBC News website whilst I was watching the story develop, which admittedly isn't helping me get to the bottom of what actually happened.
In conclusion, I think that the Typhoon story is likely to be true, that they were scrambled to investigate a bogey over Bath. I also think that once they arrived on scene, one or both of the pilots spotted the silver object floating high above and a decision was made for one of them to investigate this additional target whilst the other dealt with the bogey helo. What happened after that is anybodies guess, but a damning question remains: Why did the BBC initially report the Mysterious Bangs incident as an earthquake, and why were the BGS and USGS brought into it?
As you can probably imagine there has been a lot of interest in this incident on my forum. I found out about the incident very shortly after it happened, perhaps as little as 15 mins after actually, so I monitored all the news sites as a result and then the BBC posted a story which suggested that it was a minor earth tremor. Shortly thereafter the story was updated with a quote from the British Geological Survey which stated that there had been a minor earthquake (3.6 on the Richter scale) with its epicentre being in west Coventry. This story was again updated about 30mins later with a statement from the United States Geological Survey which confirmed the BGS statement, according to the BBC. It was about this time that the story reporting the Typhoon incident first popped up on the BBC News website. Very shortly after the Typhoon story appeared, the Coventry earthquake story disappeared to be replaced by an archived quake story from 2008 which reported on a minor earthquake with an epicentre in Herefordshire.
In the meantime I had posted links to all these articles on my forum as the story developed. Weirdly, the first link to the original BBC Coventry earthquake story was redirected by the BBC to the 2008 archived Herefordshire article at some point. This was picked up by one of my members who understandably asked if I had perhaps mistakenly picked it up from the BBC News archives. This was not the case and to prove it I directed him to the BBC News site where the link was still trending at No7 on their most read articles list (at this point the Typhoon story was sitting at No1 in the list). This prompts the reasonable question: Why would a historical earthquake article from 2008 appear in this list?
As I continued to research the story reports began to come in about an unusual silvery, white object seen manoeuvring in the sky above Bath and the two Typhoons and the helo. According to one witness, a single Typhoon broke away from his wingman and the helo and proceeded to climb up to intercept the silver object. Until this point the object had been hanging motionless in a vertical orientation, but shortly after the Typhoon arrived on the scene to investigate, the object promptly moved to a horizontal attitude and shot away in an easterly direction, stopped, and then shot upwards disappearing from view into the clouds. There are several other witnesses who concur with this description of events.
Make of this what you will. I went from believing it to be a story about a minor earthquake, to having to consider it may well be a story about two Typhoon fighters going hell for leather cross country, to wondering if in fact both incidents had occurred simultaneously (the timings of both events were identical in both stories after all: 18:06), to having reports flood in of an unusual silvery/white object manoeuvring in the skies above Bath.
As you can probably imagine the phrase 'Cover Up' is being bandied about all over the place in the UFO community just now. Me, I'm confused and somewhat suspicious about the shenanigans that occurred on the BBC News website whilst I was watching the story develop, which admittedly isn't helping me get to the bottom of what actually happened.
In conclusion, I think that the Typhoon story is likely to be true, that they were scrambled to investigate a bogey over Bath. I also think that once they arrived on scene, one or both of the pilots spotted the silver object floating high above and a decision was made for one of them to investigate this additional target whilst the other dealt with the bogey helo. What happened after that is anybodies guess, but a damning question remains: Why did the BBC initially report the Mysterious Bangs incident as an earthquake, and why were the BGS and USGS brought into it?
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Well a lot of people seem to get their knickers in a twist over absolutely nothing. No secrets, no compromising of procedures, everything easily available from your best friend...google.Perhaps those used to a military 30 years ago where an inter net was some kind of fishing accessory and Mrs Zuckerman hadn't even lost her virginity may consider that the revelation of 77,76,75 to the great unwashed would have been worthy of 25 years in the Tower, but things are a tad different now. Why I bet we even have new security classifications saying 'Google Eyes Approved'.
Calm down everyone. A mistake was made, which led to a series of departments following a series of procedures and the people paid to take care of our airspace did so in a fully professional and aggressive manner. I would give my left testicle right now to sit in the garden and listen to a jet go SS over the top of the house, and a face full of exhaust from freshly burned jet fuel.
The guys reacted, luckily there was no need. Too much bad publicity and 'outrage bus' screamings and rants, often causes a change in procedure, so that the next time that hijacked aircraft packed with fuel and a bomb is heading down your way and the pilot does try to warn everyone, then there will be no jets launched out of QRA again for fear of upsetting the lefties and those that recall "thats not how it bloody was in my day 30 years ago in the RAF'. The internet has resulted in a lot of information being public domain, it also has replaced the missing sound of jet noise with the constant whine of certain types of people complaining. Stand down everyone nothing to get upset about here.
Calm down everyone. A mistake was made, which led to a series of departments following a series of procedures and the people paid to take care of our airspace did so in a fully professional and aggressive manner. I would give my left testicle right now to sit in the garden and listen to a jet go SS over the top of the house, and a face full of exhaust from freshly burned jet fuel.
The guys reacted, luckily there was no need. Too much bad publicity and 'outrage bus' screamings and rants, often causes a change in procedure, so that the next time that hijacked aircraft packed with fuel and a bomb is heading down your way and the pilot does try to warn everyone, then there will be no jets launched out of QRA again for fear of upsetting the lefties and those that recall "thats not how it bloody was in my day 30 years ago in the RAF'. The internet has resulted in a lot of information being public domain, it also has replaced the missing sound of jet noise with the constant whine of certain types of people complaining. Stand down everyone nothing to get upset about here.
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On most big jets the squawk is buried deep in the FMS menus and won't be obviously apparent unless you know where to look.
Synsei,
Go over to Fighter Control website and see the logs of the intercepted communications. You will probably have to register to gain access to the radio log section.
FighterControl • Military Aviation Forum • Index page
AeroResource.co.uk • Home to the Aviation Enthusiast •
The title of the forum thread is 'QRA up with Blackdog'
Nothing was detected from communications in reference to investigating the 'object'.
By approximately 1830 local the helo incident was over and the Typhoons had requested clearance to break off. If one of the Typhoons had sought permission to monitor this object then do you not think that the request would have been monitored by the radio enthusiasts? Remember the F-15 radio intercept from East Anglia that investigated an object a few years ago?
It wasn't until around 2200 local that the Typhoons returned to RAF Coningsby after air refuelling and transiting back over East Anglia. By 1944 local the Typhoons and VC-10 were overhead RAF Marham. Do you not think that after a possible encounter with an object, as you describe, that the Typhoons would have returned to RAF Coningsby ASAP? Why was there no monitored communications to the controlling authorities of the Typhoon breaking off to investigate such an object?
You just have to look at the Mexican 'UFO' footage over the years to see how people can be fooled by solar and mylar balloons, etc. Also eye witnesses can be completely fooled as to what they are seeing. I read that some of those witnesses were reporting this object up at 35,000 feet! All I see here is a possible solar or mylar balloon in the area at the same time as the helo incident and the UFO / Conspiracy crowd trying to make the pieces fit. The Gazelle helicopter was also ex-military and some conspiracy die-hards are also trying to add this to their 'evidence' of strange going ons.
Go over to Fighter Control website and see the logs of the intercepted communications. You will probably have to register to gain access to the radio log section.
FighterControl • Military Aviation Forum • Index page
AeroResource.co.uk • Home to the Aviation Enthusiast •
The title of the forum thread is 'QRA up with Blackdog'
Nothing was detected from communications in reference to investigating the 'object'.
By approximately 1830 local the helo incident was over and the Typhoons had requested clearance to break off. If one of the Typhoons had sought permission to monitor this object then do you not think that the request would have been monitored by the radio enthusiasts? Remember the F-15 radio intercept from East Anglia that investigated an object a few years ago?
It wasn't until around 2200 local that the Typhoons returned to RAF Coningsby after air refuelling and transiting back over East Anglia. By 1944 local the Typhoons and VC-10 were overhead RAF Marham. Do you not think that after a possible encounter with an object, as you describe, that the Typhoons would have returned to RAF Coningsby ASAP? Why was there no monitored communications to the controlling authorities of the Typhoon breaking off to investigate such an object?
You just have to look at the Mexican 'UFO' footage over the years to see how people can be fooled by solar and mylar balloons, etc. Also eye witnesses can be completely fooled as to what they are seeing. I read that some of those witnesses were reporting this object up at 35,000 feet! All I see here is a possible solar or mylar balloon in the area at the same time as the helo incident and the UFO / Conspiracy crowd trying to make the pieces fit. The Gazelle helicopter was also ex-military and some conspiracy die-hards are also trying to add this to their 'evidence' of strange going ons.
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Another Roswell? No! With me not being privy to all the data I, like everybody else, can only comment utilizing the information available in the public domain. The most startling aspect of this story was the BBC's inability to report the facts accurately. I can't help feeling that the authorities, the media and the BBC in particular have shot themselves in the foot on this one... 
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Hi TEEEJ,
Please understand that I am not looking for 'ghosts' here, I am looking for the facts. There are plenty of 'enthusiastic' members in the UFO community and sometimes it is difficult to be a pragmatist in this field. I have been accused of being a debunker by some of the more enthusiastic members in the community and a nutter by the sceptics. It sounds like a terrible cliche but all I am looking for is the truth in whatever form it may present itself.
I joined this forum because I knew professional pilots would tell it like it is, and believe me that is all I am looking for. I'll take a look at the logs you posted tomorrow. Thank you
Please understand that I am not looking for 'ghosts' here, I am looking for the facts. There are plenty of 'enthusiastic' members in the UFO community and sometimes it is difficult to be a pragmatist in this field. I have been accused of being a debunker by some of the more enthusiastic members in the community and a nutter by the sceptics. It sounds like a terrible cliche but all I am looking for is the truth in whatever form it may present itself.
I joined this forum because I knew professional pilots would tell it like it is, and believe me that is all I am looking for. I'll take a look at the logs you posted tomorrow. Thank you
Hi Synsei,
No problem. I've contacted the photographer and his camera clock was 20 minutes fast. The first image would have been taken at 1830 local.
No problem. I've contacted the photographer and his camera clock was 20 minutes fast. The first image would have been taken at 1830 local.
Last edited by TEEEJ; 16th Apr 2012 at 00:17.
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Chasing UFO's ?
Can anyone remember seeing the Video taken from a plane high above the UFO,
not the squiggly one but a silver saucer shaped one and it "flew" or was moving below the aircraft ?
Was it in this thread or in the newspaper as another story
following on from the QRA Big Bang / squiggle UFO stories ?
Can anyone remember seeing the Video taken from a plane high above the UFO,
not the squiggly one but a silver saucer shaped one and it "flew" or was moving below the aircraft ?
Was it in this thread or in the newspaper as another story
following on from the QRA Big Bang / squiggle UFO stories ?
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Originally Posted by synsei
The most startling aspect of this story was the BBC's inability to report the facts accurately.
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Sygyzy,
Not a typo.
Whitf_c wrote
Because they would have been using the time to conduct air refuelling from the VC-10 and also burn up their fuel. They were noted in radio comms conducting refuelling from the tanker.
One Typhoon was noted over Spilsby, Lincolnshire at 2149.
One of the Typhoons Pilots was noted contacting Coningsby at 2144 stating that he would burn down fuel for 10 minutes before landing.
Go and check the links to the Fighter Control website that I posted earlier. Possibly you will have to register to gain access? The logs are in the 'Heads Up & OTT' section.
Enthusiasts at RAF Coningsby also noted the recovery of the Typhoons. Scroll down for the night time image of Typhoon, serial ZJ935.
April 2012 Movements | Coningsby Aviation Site
Coningsby Aviation Site | RAF Coningsby movements/Pictures
The image is in the 'April 2012 Movements' list if the link doesn't take you directly to it.
Not a typo.
Whitf_c wrote
Why did it take them so long (3 and half hours) to return to Coningsby?
One Typhoon was noted over Spilsby, Lincolnshire at 2149.
9:49pm Typhoon manoeuvring with much verve, tight turns, afterburner...over south of Spilsby...
Quite spectacular...both in sound and sight...
Quite spectacular...both in sound and sight...
Go and check the links to the Fighter Control website that I posted earlier. Possibly you will have to register to gain access? The logs are in the 'Heads Up & OTT' section.
Enthusiasts at RAF Coningsby also noted the recovery of the Typhoons. Scroll down for the night time image of Typhoon, serial ZJ935.
April 2012 Movements | Coningsby Aviation Site
Coningsby Aviation Site | RAF Coningsby movements/Pictures
The image is in the 'April 2012 Movements' list if the link doesn't take you directly to it.
Last edited by TEEEJ; 16th Apr 2012 at 12:45.
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From the BBC ;
BBC News - Sonic boom helicopter passengers 'lucky to be alive'
Mr Knott (left) was flying back from the races at Aintree when the incident happened
Continue reading the main story Related Stories
A racehorse owner and his family in the helicopter that mistakenly triggered a hijack response by two Typhoon jets, was told they were lucky to be alive.
Anthony Knott, 47, from Dorset, was flying home on Thursday.
When the helicopter sent a distress signal the jets were scrambled leading to a sonic boom across central England.
"The pilot said we were lucky to be alive," said Mr Knott, who was told the helicopter survived the turbulence from the jets because it was ex-military.
"It was like being in Top Gun or something," he told BBC News.
"All of a sudden this plane came from underneath us. The turbulence sucked us round 30 degrees and the pilot said we were lucky to be alive."
The helicopter was flying over the Cotswolds near Bath when it was intercepted.
Ex-military helicopter Emergency services in the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and south-west England received numerous calls about the sonic boom caused by the Typhoons authorised to go at supersonic speed.
The MoD confirmed they were responding to an emergency call from a helicopter.
It later said that the pilot had transmitted the wrong signal by mistake.
Mr Knott, from Sturminster Newton, said the pilot was in shock when one of the jets came past them.
"He said if the helicopter hadn't been ex-military we would have been dead."
Pilot 'in shock' Mr Knott said he had watched his horse come third in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree and was a first-time passenger in the helicopter with his son and daughter when the jets arrived.
He added: "The pilot said to us, 'hang on, we're going to catch this turbulence' and it was like being in a bouncing ball.
"We were all strapped in but we got thrown around the aircraft."
He said he only saw one of the Typhoon aircraft that had been scrambled but on its first pass the pilot could not have been more than 200m (656ft) away.
"It was like being in Top Gun or something," he added.
The plane passed by the helicopter two more times communicating with the helicopter pilot before flying away, according to Mr Knott.
He said he did not know anything about the emergency signal and had not been able to hear the communication between the two pilots.
He added: "Our pilot was just in shock. He was quite angry and when we landed he went off to find out why it had happened."
coldair
BBC News - Sonic boom helicopter passengers 'lucky to be alive'
Mr Knott (left) was flying back from the races at Aintree when the incident happened Continue reading the main story Related Stories
A racehorse owner and his family in the helicopter that mistakenly triggered a hijack response by two Typhoon jets, was told they were lucky to be alive.
Anthony Knott, 47, from Dorset, was flying home on Thursday.
When the helicopter sent a distress signal the jets were scrambled leading to a sonic boom across central England.
"The pilot said we were lucky to be alive," said Mr Knott, who was told the helicopter survived the turbulence from the jets because it was ex-military.
"It was like being in Top Gun or something," he told BBC News.
"All of a sudden this plane came from underneath us. The turbulence sucked us round 30 degrees and the pilot said we were lucky to be alive."
The helicopter was flying over the Cotswolds near Bath when it was intercepted.
Ex-military helicopter Emergency services in the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and south-west England received numerous calls about the sonic boom caused by the Typhoons authorised to go at supersonic speed.
The MoD confirmed they were responding to an emergency call from a helicopter.
It later said that the pilot had transmitted the wrong signal by mistake.
Mr Knott, from Sturminster Newton, said the pilot was in shock when one of the jets came past them.
"He said if the helicopter hadn't been ex-military we would have been dead."
Pilot 'in shock' Mr Knott said he had watched his horse come third in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree and was a first-time passenger in the helicopter with his son and daughter when the jets arrived.
He added: "The pilot said to us, 'hang on, we're going to catch this turbulence' and it was like being in a bouncing ball.
"We were all strapped in but we got thrown around the aircraft."
He said he only saw one of the Typhoon aircraft that had been scrambled but on its first pass the pilot could not have been more than 200m (656ft) away.
"It was like being in Top Gun or something," he added.
The plane passed by the helicopter two more times communicating with the helicopter pilot before flying away, according to Mr Knott.
He said he did not know anything about the emergency signal and had not been able to hear the communication between the two pilots.
He added: "Our pilot was just in shock. He was quite angry and when we landed he went off to find out why it had happened."
coldair
So, UK QRA(I) going about their business has really churned up a storm of niff naff and trivea.
I particularly like the UFO types wading in. I was on Q in the late 90s when we got a call from a concerned member of the public regarding lights in the sky. We made some calls and came to the conclusion that it was a party ship off of Gt Yarmouth firing lasers into the sky.
A letter then arrives from one of these UFOlogists (
)accusing us of a cover up and introducing various random 'facts' that bore absolutely no resemblance to what had actually happened. The startling level of ignorance contained in the text made it obvious that these types live in a different world (or would like to). Quite a few man hours were then wasted responding to this clown before we could get on with our jobs.
I also think that anyone who follows these missions on the various social networking sites, and gets aroused by who said what to whom at such and such a time needs to move out of their Nans spare room and meet some girls.
Finally, some people on here who profess to be professionals 'in the know' have a seemingly very poor grasp of some of the most basic roles of the current RAF.
Anyway, time to nip back down the bunker and see if we can open up that saucer we got last week...........
I particularly like the UFO types wading in. I was on Q in the late 90s when we got a call from a concerned member of the public regarding lights in the sky. We made some calls and came to the conclusion that it was a party ship off of Gt Yarmouth firing lasers into the sky.
A letter then arrives from one of these UFOlogists (
)accusing us of a cover up and introducing various random 'facts' that bore absolutely no resemblance to what had actually happened. The startling level of ignorance contained in the text made it obvious that these types live in a different world (or would like to). Quite a few man hours were then wasted responding to this clown before we could get on with our jobs.I also think that anyone who follows these missions on the various social networking sites, and gets aroused by who said what to whom at such and such a time needs to move out of their Nans spare room and meet some girls.
Finally, some people on here who profess to be professionals 'in the know' have a seemingly very poor grasp of some of the most basic roles of the current RAF.
Anyway, time to nip back down the bunker and see if we can open up that saucer we got last week...........
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"He said if the helicopter hadn't been ex-military we would have been dead."
Ex-military helicopter Emergency services in the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and south-west England received numerous calls
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