July 1989 – Greece East Coast Air Force Base – Flying Triangle Multiple Witness Encounter

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report

Author: Dave Hodrien

Release Date: 06/04/2021

Note: For reasons of anonymity pseudonyms have been used, and precise location and other personal details have been omitted

On 2nd April 2021 I was contacted by a 52 year old man from Northern Greece, who I will call Yiorgos. After learning about my investigation work online he wanted to provide testimony regarding a UFO that was witnessed by both him and the rest of his squadron while on active service at an East Coast Greek air force base back in 1989.

Yoirgos informed me that he has a diploma in Aircraft Engineering, and has previously worked on a number of Hellenic Air Force bases as an Aircraft Mechanic. We met on Facebook messenger via webcam to go over the details of the experience. Due to the sensitivity of the incident regarding those involved, I am only able to provide certain details in this report.

Sighting Details

In July 1989 Yiorgos was stationed at a particular East Coast Air Force Base for a couple of months as part of a squadron exchange combat simulation exercise. He was part of a 12 strong squadron made up of himself and three other mechanics, four weapon handlers and four pilots. In the combat simulation Yiorgos’ squadron would act as an aerial enemy force, and other jets would then have to take off and intercept them. His squadron and others would rotate, sometimes with day shifts and other times night shifts. As an Aircraft Mechanic, he would be tasked with regularly checking the aircraft to ensure that there was no damage, oxygen leaks or fuel leaks.

One night Yiorgos’ squadron was on active duty. They were situated in a building at the Western end of the main runway of the air base, very close to where the jets were ready for deployment in the event of a simulated attack. This room had in it a table and chairs, couch and bathroom, and was specifically designed to house squadrons while on duty.

At around 12.40am Yiorgos stepped outside to stretch his legs. It was a very warm and still summer’s night. It did not appear cloudy, however it was fully dark overhead and the stars could not be seen. As he leant backwards to stretch he noticed three lights in the sky. They were a dull red in colour and were in an equilateral triangle formation.

The lights appeared to be situated half way along the main runway to the East of his location, roughly 500 metres away. This would have meant that they were over the middle of the base. They were at a 45 degree angle in the sky from his position. They appeared to be at a height of 300 - 500 metres (984 - 1640 feet), and due to their positioning to one another appeared to be attached to a single object that was impossible to make out due to the darkness. If they were indeed at this height, and were indeed attached to a single object, Yiorgos estimates that it would have been 30 - 35 metres (98 - 115 feet) across, much bigger than a fighter jet.

Witness drawing of the UFO

The lights appeared to be hovering completely motionless in the sky. There was also no sound coming from them at all. He called out the mechanic who was scheduled to do the next rounds of the aircraft. Pointing out the lights Yiorgos asked him “Look at this! What is this hovering above the air base?” The other mechanic responded saying “I don’t know what that is!”

Yiorgos called out the rest of the squadron to take a look at the lights. They came outside and from this point started observing it too. Nobody had a camera on them to be able to attempt to photograph or video the lights.

The squadron watched the lights for about 10 minutes. During this time the lights remained motionless and silent. The witnesses did not speak much to one another they just stared at the lights wondering what they could be.

Suddenly without warning the triangle of lights shot away at an incredible speed to the East! As they went Yiorgos heard a whooshing sound of the air disruption, but there was no sound of any engines. He says that the acceleration was instantaneous and within a second they had vanished into the distance. All of his squadron witnessed this stunning manoeuvre.

After the lights had vanished from sight, everyone present excitedly discussed what they had just seen. Yiorgos recollects that one of the witnesses jokingly said that the alien invasion had begun! Others wondered if it had been a top secret experimental aircraft of some kind.

After what had just happened they all expected the alarm inside the building to sound, signalling to scramble aircraft, or for someone to give this order over their walkie-talkies to scramble the jets. However this did not take place. It was as if nobody else on the base had noticed what had occurred.

A number of hours later the next squadron arrived to relieve them. Yiorgos and his squadron returned to their barracks to sleep. The incident was still at the forefront of his mind.

Later in the day once everyone had woken up, they received a call from the commanding officers asking them to go to their office. When they headed there Yiorgos found out that they were aware of what had taken place. The officers stated that they had been testing the air defences, and what the squadron had seen was something similar to a Boeing E-3 Sentry, an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. They were then ordered to keep quiet about what had occurred.

Photograph of a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft

Yiorgos informed me that he was friends with a number of the radar operators on the base at the time. He later learned from a trusted source that nothing had been picked up on radar, suggesting that the object had been actively jamming it. There had definitely not been a power outage on the base at the time, so this was not responsible for the lack of detection.

Witness Background Check

I am absolutely happy with the details Yiorgos presented me with regarding his military background. He comes across as extremely sincere, and once I had gained his trust he provided answers to my questions succinctly and without pause. It was very obvious to me that he was talking about a real experience which had taken place. It is clear that anonymity of both himself and his squadron is of paramount importance, and he has nothing at all to gain from sharing these details with me.

To confirm his background to me Yiorgos sent numerous photographs of both himself on active duty and his military uniform. Due to his wish to remain anonymous, full detail of his background cannot be displayed in this report. However, he has allowed me to include a couple of the photographs, directly modified to protect his identity:

Sighting Analysis

This is a truly stunning multiple witness encounter with what appeared to be an advanced craft under direct intelligent control. Even though the main body of the object could not be seen, because of the manoeuvres performed it seems extremely likely that it was a single object rather than three illuminated objects in tight formation with one another.

It did not appear to be a normal aircraft of any kind. The majority of planes cannot hover motionless in the sky so can be discounted. It did not appear to be a helicopter. Firstly the lighting configuration was completely wrong, a point confirmed by Yiorgos. He says that because of his background he is extremely familiar with how all kinds of aircraft, both military and civilian, look after dark at different altitudes. Drones were not commercially available when the incident took place, and Yiorgos is convinced it was not a military drone.

The fact that the object was silent throughout the sighting is also very important. Yiorgos says that if there was standard engines or rotor blades he and the other witnesses would have been able to hear them at the distance the object appeared to be. Yet even when the object accelerated away it did not make a sound.

Lastly, the manoeuvring capabilities the object displayed when it left the location were of course far too advanced for it to have been a normal aircraft or drone. To my knowledge they completely put mundane explanations out of the realms of possibility. All the witnesses present watched the object perform these manoeuvres – they did not simply see the lights suddenly vanish, they actually watched them fly away into the distance in the space of a second! When I asked Yiorgos to estimate the speed he said “To be honest I can’t tell you how fast it was, just a flash. Like a bullet.”

The explanation from the commanding officers that what had been observed was “something similar to an AWACS aircraft” is of course ridiculous. These aircraft cannot hover still in the air, make an audible sound, cannot instantly accelerate, cannot fly at the extreme speeds witnessed and have standard navigational lighting including a continuously strobing white light. All the witnesses were aware of these facts but of course could not argue against what they had been told without fear of losing their positions. It is unknown what the officers knew or did not know about the UFO, but their loose explanation combined with the order to not talk about it indicates that a cover up regarding it took place. This is one of the reasons why this case is so sensitive.

Yiorgos says that he knew the radar operators on the base well, and fully trusted them when they informed him that nothing had been seen on radar. An object of that size would certainly have shown up, so this clearly suggests that it was actively blocking the radar using stealth technology.

The UFO headed off to the East over the Aegean Sea. There is the possibility that there were other witnesses to it who have yet to come forward, potentially sailors aboard shipping vessels that happened to be in the vicinity. Unfortunately due to confidentiality reasons I am unable to disclose the specific air base or show any maps in this report.

Conclusion

The motionless hovering, lack of sound, instant acceleration and incredible speed observed are all aspects that have been reported many times before in other UFO cases. There are plenty of incidents involving triangular shaped craft, commonly referred to as Flying Triangles. These craft usually tend to have a light at each corner (sometimes red, sometimes other colours, and in some cases accompanied by other lights).

Taking into account the details of what occurred, I feel it is probable that this is what was observed. If so, then there is the possibility it was there to determine the offensive capabilities of the base. There are many incidents where UFOs have been seen in close proximity to military establishments.

Yiorgos has sadly lost touch with the majority of his old squadron. A couple of the witnesses have since passed away, and many of the others he no longer speaks with. He has remained in touch with one of the witnesses, and on my request he got in touch to see if he would provide an anonymous statement for this report. Unfortunately at present he is un-willing to do so.

I would like to personally thank Yiorgos for his bravery in coming forward with the information provided in this report, despite the sensitivity of the incident. If he had not been brave enough to speak with me then it is very unlikely this stunning event would have ever been publicly known about. In time some of the other witnesses may decide to come forward and add to this report.

There are likely to be other incidents similar to this which have occured, and I would like to use this opportunity to offer an open invitation to other military personnel who would like to talk with me in strictest confidence.

Copyright Dave Hodrien 2021