Birmingham UFO Group Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Date: 19/02/2019
Sighting Details
Back in the summer of 2007 Rob used to live on Orchard Crescent, in the suburbs Kettering. The location is quite rural with very little light pollution. Rob would often sit out in the back garden with his wife and star gaze.
Aerial map of Orchard Crescent:
One weekend evening around 11.30pm they were doing just that. The sun had fully set and it was a clear and still night, with the moon and stars visible in the sky. Due to the time of year it was not particularly cold.
They suddenly noticed that there were many high altitude aircraft in the sky to the North East. They were spaced apart rather than in formation, but all seemed to be heading to the West in the direction of Birmingham. They appeared to be at least 20000 feet up. Despite their height it was possible to see the standard red green and white navigation lights flashing on them.
They then noticed another object flying in the opposite direction towards the aircraft. It seemed about the same altitude as the planes but had no flashing lights on it. It looked cigar-shaped and a chrome silver colour. There was no sign of any wings or tail, and no markings on the object. Due to the height it looked at least as large as a civilian aircraft. It was moving at about the same speed as the other planes.
They watched for a period of minutes as the cigar-shaped object slowly approached the other aircraft. As it began to get close to them it suddenly vanished without trace. The planes continued to cross the sky then slowly disappeared from view one at a time, probably due to the distance.
Rob wondered if the aircraft he and his wife had seen were from RAF Wittering, which is situated at Peterborough 25 miles to the North East of Kettering.
Aerial map showing the sighting location (A) and RAF Wittering (B):
He contacted the base on the same night. They informed him that no aircraft had taken off from the base after 5pm. Rob informed them of what he had seen. They said that they did not have any information and would investigate. The person on the phone said that they would contact him back, but never did.
Sighting Analysis
This is an unusual incident due to the number of aircraft seen in the sky at the same time as the UFO. Could the planes have been sent from RAF Wittering to intercept the object? The individual Rob spoke with denied that aircraft had taken off from the base, however if this was what took place they would be very unlikely to admit to it.
Although the planes were heading towards the object, they were also heading in the direction of Birmingham Interantional airport. Also they were not in formation, surely if the base had sent planes up to intercept the UFO they would have been in formation rather than spread apart? Perhaps there just happened to be many civilian aircraft in the air at that time, and they were un-related to the object. However as the object appeared to be at the same altitude, there is the possibility that at least one of the pilots of these aircraft observed it.
The UFO itself looked similar to one of the more commonly reported craft, both in shape and colour. It clearly was not a normal aircraft. Due to the speed it was travelling at, and the fact that it was metallic rather than glowing, it could not have been a meteorite. As the object did not perform any advanced manoeuvres, there is the possibility it was a large inflatable object. It could not have been a solar airship as these require warm sunlight to become airbourne. But another inflatable such as a blimp is worth considering. It appeared very large, but due to the lack of a point of reference there is the possibility it was lower in altitude than it appeared, and therefore smaller in size.
However if this were the explanation how did it suddenly vanish? Rob informed me it was a clear star-filled sky that night, making it less likely that it was hidden from view by cloud cover.
From the details of the sighting, it is not possible to clearly identify the object seen. There is therefore the possibility that it was an extra-terrestrial or other advanced craft. This is not the only UFO that Rob has seen in his life. In January 2019 he witnessed a white arc of lights and flashing light which he recorded on video. There is a seperate case report which covers this incident.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2019