Waldorf Puts the U in UFO WTOP Radio July 26, 2002 URL = http://www.wtopnews.com/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsID=584517 What was that bright light in Maryland's sky??? WTOP has learned that residents near Andrews Air Force base were shaken from their beds early Friday morning by some strange activity in the air. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible" is what Renny Rogers of Waldorf calls it. Just before two in the morning, Rogers says he saw a large blue ball of light streaking across the sky. But it was the military jets that really startled him. "(The jets) were right on its tail. As the thing would move, a jet was right behind it," Rogers recalls. He is not the only one who saw it. Several people called WTOP Radio reporting seeing a bright blue or orange ball moving very fast, being chased by jets. Rogers says there was no smoke coming from the object, no flashing lights, and says it was smooth, and eerily silent. The Air National Guard confirms they scrambled the 113th squadron. Spokesman Sheldon Smith says they are investigating and in contact with NORAD. -------------------------------------------------- The Charles County Sheriff's headquarters in Waldorf, Maryland was contacted at 301-932-2222 and I spoke with the duty officer who was not on-duty the previous evening and was also not advised of any such reports. He did undertake a brief search of the records but did not see reference to any reports of unusual lights in his logs. A Charles County office of the Maryland State Police was then contacted at 301-392-1200. The dispatcher taking my call informed that she had been on duty last night and received no reports or complaints of unusual lights. She also had no knowledge of any police officers reporting anything similar. Filed, July 26, 2002 -------------------------------------------------- This article was posted about 3-hours after the FOX news report and strangely has far less information, does not reference the WTOP callers or the reported description of the object, said to be a a smooth 'blue' light (described by other witnesses as orange). Interestingly, CNN also does not reference that ground observers reported jets in immediate pursuit of the objects. What makes this dismal report only remotely interesting is the specific term "aircraft" used by the NORAD spokesperson, suggesting that this would not have been thought of as space debris of any kind by the agency. I still wonder why they are coming out with this? - KY -- Air Force jets scrambled near D.C. July 26, 2002 Posted: 10:26 PM EDT (0226 GMT) From Mike Mount CNN Washington Bureau WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Air Force F-16s were scrambled early Friday morning to investigate a low-flying, unknown aircraft close to the restricted flight zone over Washington, according to an official at the North American Aerospace Defense Command. A Pentagon official said that an aircraft appeared on radar in the 15-mile restricted flight zone around Washington. "The pair of jets were scrambled from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at about 1 a.m. Friday to investigate reports of an aircraft in the Washington, D.C. Temporary Flight Restriction Area," said Maj. Barry Venable, a spokesman for NORAD. Venable would not say how long the F-16s were in the air. ---------------------------------------------------------- Many thanks to FOX NEWS Channel for their sober reportage and investigation (ongoing, hopefully) of the F-16 scramble near Andrews AFB on July 26, 2002. The following transcript is a word-for-word rundown of their report, as I caught on video as it was broadcast. Note the clear emphasis the reportage placed on the discrepancies from ground witness testimony vs. (alleged) pilot testimony. Again, thanks to FOX News for some cutting edge journalism here. Transcript of FOX NEWScast, dated JULY 26, 2002 around 7:40 p.m. E.D.T. SHEPARD SMITH: THe nighttime skies over the nation's capital alive with blue and orange lights streaking across the sky, so say a lot of panicked people who called in to a radio station, no joke here. American fighter jets in hot pursuit... NORAD confirmed to FOX News that 2 F-16s did scramble, but found nothing! A mystery in the sky above Andrews Air Force Base... that's the one The President uses. Fox report now from Brian Wilson live in our D.C. newsroom. Brian? BRIAN WILSON: Fair to say, Shepard. A lot more questions than answers at this point, but something strange was going on in the Maryland night sky. Here is what we know; 1:00 a.m. the folks at NORAD saw something they couldn't identify in Maryland airspace, not far from the nation's capitol. The track it was taking caused them some concern so they scrambled 2 DC Air National Guard jets to check things out. Now, DC Air National Guard confirms that 2 F-16s from the 113th Wing were vectored to intercept whatever it was that NORAD was worried about. However, when the pilots got where they were supposed to be, they said they didn't see anything when they arrived on the scene. Now the folks at NORAD would not provide details about the exact location, direction or speed of the object they were tracking. Now independently, a number of folks who live in Waldorf, Maryland, which is not far from Andrews Air Force Base and not far from the nation's capitol, called local radio station WTOP to say that about the same, they witnessed a fast moving, bright blue light in the sky. They go on to claim that the light was being chased by military jets. One witness tells the radio station that the jets were right on its tail. Quote: "as the thing would move, a jet was right behind it..." end of quote. An investigation is underway. But National Guard spokesman Captain Sheldon Smith says, and this is another quote, "We don't have any information about funny lights." By the way, this just happens to be the 50th anniversary of a series of still-unexplained sightings over the nation's capitol, a story that made banner-headline news in 1952. Shepard, we'll continue to watch for this. SHEPARD SMITH: And now it can be told... Brian Wilson, live in Washington. END OF TRANSCRIPT Typed from videotape of FOX NEWS 7:00 p.m. E.D.T. newscast ------------------------------------------------ An all news station in Washington DC (WTOP-AM) has been running the following story throughout the day. They have a little information on their web site, and I'm providing that information below. http://wtopnews.com/news/newsdetail.cfm?newsid=584517 The Fund has asked that a local investigator get involved in this case, and that should be done relatively quickly. As noted in the story, this is apparently a multiple witness event: =====begin forwarded story======= What was that bright light in Maryland's sky??? WTOP has learned that residents near Andrews Air Force base were shaken from their beds early Friday morning by some strange activity in the air. "Incredible. Absolutely incredible" is what Renny Rogers of Waldorf calls it. Just before two in the morning, Rogers says he saw a large blue ball of light streaking across the sky. But it was the military jets that really startled him. "(The jets) were right on its tail. As the thing would move, a jet was right behind it," Rogers recalls. He is not the only one who saw it. Several people called WTOP Radio reporting seeing a bright blue or orange ball moving very fast, being chased by jets. Rogers says there was no smoke coming from the object, no flashing lights, and says it was smooth, and eerily silent. The Air National Guard confirms they scrambled the 113th squadron. Spokesman Sheldon Smith says they are investigating and in contact with NORAD. WTOP Radio, 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- Kenny Young follows up on the Washington, D.C., USAF chase after a UFO. It is standard for officers being interviewed to avoid answering questions which would give a potentially hostile power a clear idea of our technical capabilities and limits, which is why so many of the questions do not get answered. However, you will also note at least two responses which were what Woodward and Bernstein used to call "non-denial denials." Eyewitness accounts were in sharp contrast to the spokesmen's versions of this event, however, the spokesman never really denied that the version seen by folks on the ground was true. The cat and mouse game continues. Then, again, maybe it was just a Cessna flying off course, as suggested by the good major. Kenny Young wrote: > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Subject: F-16 Scramble - Interview with NORAD Command Spokesman > Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2002 18:55:36 -0700 > From: Kenny Young > Reply-To: Discussions about UFOs and research for CURRENT ENCOUNTERS > > This afternoon I spoke with a Marine Corp. Major with > NORAD and the United States Space Command, Major Mike > Snyder. Major Snyder is a command spokesman for both NORAD > and the US Space Command. He was reached through the > Peterson Air Force Base operator at 719-556-7321, > > When asked about the event taking place near Washington > D.C. on Friday morning, July 26, 2002, Major Snyder > said that he could handle some brief questions. Although > he was unfamiliar with specific details such as the exact > time NORAD detect the unidentified aircraft, he said that > he knew the object was tracked by radar. When asked if the > radar detection was from more than one radar sensor, he > said "I don't know." Major Snyder was not aware of any > other method of detection employed by NORAD in this > instance, such as pilot, tower controller or satellite > observation > > He was not briefed on the estimated location of the object > when first detected and would not disclose the estimated > speed or altitude of the object when first detected, > saying only that it met the criteria of a 'small private > aircraft.' > > Major Mike Snyder was not aware of any video or > photographic documentation of the unidentified aircraft. > > "Keeping things at the NORAD level," Major Snyder said, > "this was a track of interest. It was viewed as a > reasonable security precaution to ascertain the intentions > of the track and implement a graduated response." > > Major Snyder said that in extreme circumstances, such a > response may include use of lethal force. > > "It never entered restricted DC airspace," Major Synder > said while refusing to comment further about what point > the radar track ultimately raised concerns. > > Major Snyder did not think that the Secret Service was > alerted to the situation at any point. > > "NORAD is absolutely not concerned about this situation," > Major Snyder said. "We posture our forces according to the > threat and at no time did this incident involve any threat > to our country. It was an innocuous happening." > > When asked if NORAD was aware of civilian sightings of a > UFO before, simultaneous or after their detection of the > unidentified aircraft, Major Snyder said: "I don't have > any info on that." > > Major Snyder was also asked if he felt the civilian > sightings of a UFO were correlated to the jet dispatch or > if the news media had drawn an inappropriate linkage. "I > don't have any opinion on it, but since 9-1-1 we've been > operating 23,000 sorties and many of these missions will > generate requests for info," he said, "and whenever people > see something since 9-1-1 they call the media. The media > calls us and word gets around." > > When asked if he could recall the first news media > operation to contact him regarding the story, he said: "I > can't recall. All the big names have been calling though." > > When asked for his opinion on the discrepancy between > civilian reports of the jets in pursuit of a UFO and pilot > claims to have seen nothing, Major Snyder said: "People > see what they want to see. What these people reported > could have been exhaust from the jet itself, depending on > whether or not the pilot was on or off afterburners. We > don't think it was a UFO." > > When Major Snyder was asked if there was an explanation > for the unidentified radar track, he said: "In this > situation we found nothing at all. The radar return may > have been caused by a small plane flying low, and > sometimes that will cause them to drop on or off the > radar." > > Major Snyder was asked of a Washington Post report that > states the radar return 'faded' from sight, and he said: > "I don't have any info on this. But it's not uncommon for > either routine or unidentified radar returns to fade. > Sometimes a plane will simply come down and land on a > small airport in the area or on a grassy strip." > > The Command Spokesman was then asked if he could inform of > a location, speed and altitude the object was last > observed, and he said: "I cannot get into this with any > specificity." > > Our discussion then focused on the dispatch of the ANG > jets of the 113th Fighter Group out of Andrews Air Force > Base and he suggested that I consult with ANG public > affairs in this regard. I inquired if the radar returns of > the responding fighter jets were visible simultaneous to > the radar observation of the unidentified object and he > said: "You know, I don't know the answer to that. It's a > good question. I don't know if the jets appeared > simultaneous on radar with the object but would not be > certain if that information is even releasable due to > operational policy." > > Major Snyder went on to add that there are many issues of > operational policy and readiness that can't be discussed > for security reasons. He was thanked for his time and I > asked that he research the radar issue concerning the > simultaneous track of the jets and the unidentified > aircraft and that I would call him back next week for > follow up. > > Filed, > SATURDAY, July 27, 2002 > KENNY YOUNG > -- > UFO Research > http://home.fuse.net/ufo