O'Hare Airport UFO Sighting Discussion: Pictures, Witnesses, and Analysis
January 27, 2007
Thread Update
Beginning on December 8th, 2006, AboveTopSecret.com contributor
amongus began this quick-moving discussion thread with a UFO sighting alert
from
NUFORC.org covering an early November 2006 sighting of a
UFO at O'Hare International Airport.
The UFO sighting was originally reported by several members of ground and air crew working at the Airport, as well as
several others in a nearby parking lot. And recent eyewitness testimony
indicates that the presence of the UFO may have
effected air traffic at
the airport.
Initial reaction from the
FAA,
United Airlines, and
News Sources either made light of the sighting, or attempted to brush off the reports of
multiple witnesses as "weird weather". However, nearly every witness reports seeing the object leave up into the clouds with such energy and
velocity that it
"punched a hole in the clouds."
Exclusive AboveTopSecret.com O'Hare UFO Content
Over time, AboveTopSecret.com has become an exclusive venue for several witnesses and at least two people with potential
photographs of the actual UFO seen over the airport.
First Eyewitness Account: "rampagentX," Baggage Handler
The first potential eyewitness came to AboveTopSecret.com under the user
name, "rampagentX" and provided additional detail.
"At first we thought it was really far away, because it was hard to focus on it, but it shifted left and right a couple times and thats when we
knew it wasn't too far away. I looked up at the 727 cockpit and pointed to it then the crew saw it and was staring at it too. The pilot got on his
radio and waving his arms like he was going nuts over what he was seeing. We figured it was a fat disc, like a M & M, about 20 feet wide but it was
really hard to tell for sure because it was almost the same color as the clouds and if you looked away it was hard to find it and focus again. One of
our crew ran to his locker to get his cellphone to take a picture.
"It hung there moving really slightly from side to side for about another minute when we all felt our hair stand on end, and it just shot straight up
into the clouds faster than anything we ever seen. It disturbed the clouds, like it made a big shockwave and we could see sunlight for a bit. We never
got a picture but I don't think it would have come out very good anyway.
"We could see a few other rats staring up at the hole and everyone was talking about it for a few days. Then the sups came and talked to all of us
that we cant talk about this to anyone or we'd get fired. They said something about federal regulations and unauthorized reporting of false airspace
breeches."
Aspects of this persons testimony began being suspect, such as the mention of "727" equipment which is currently a rare sight as most major airlines
have discontinued such eqiupment. All of "rampagentX's" posts are available here:
posts by
rampagentX
First Potential Photo of O'Hare UFO For Public Display
A mysterious user account, "00000000"
posted a photo of the O'Hare UFO
that corroborates the testimony of several eyewitnesses, with
one eyewitness on
AboveTopSecret.com confirming the photo is what she saw. However, several contributors doubt the authenticity of the photo as it appears to be
a
modified
image from a source picture found online. But as the story developed, it
is plausible the picture was taken from an
often used vantage point.
Initial opinion of this photo leaned heavily in favor of hoax (despite the image hold up under close professional scrutiny as an actual camera phone
image) in a special
Coast To Coast AM segment. However, after eyewitnesses have
confirmed the object's appearance and location, this photo is becoming potentially more credible.
Peter Davenport comments on this image.
Detailed Photo Analysis Comparing the "Congestion" Shot
"It's ocular distortion. The UFO image, seems to swell and level towards us as opposed to the Cgd shot. It seems to get worse as we move right.
At the right end, we barely match up...and forget being as definitive as the runway turn. The entire UFO shot seems to compress inward progressively.
One would have to stretch out the length, and even then you couldn't make everything maintain it's every matching stationary point."
Detailed Comparison Between The Position of Elements
"You'll note the tube object doesnt move in either shot. Note the movement in the runway, the buildings, and especially the little white light on
the right side, which jumps like a jackrabbit. Remember what I said before, the distortion to me, progresses more the further we go right."
NOTE: As of April, 2007 the lack of provenance regarding this photo, combined with suspicious signs of editing must engender a healthy
degree of skepticism. While eyewitnesses have confirmed this is "what they saw," it does not mean this is actually a valid photo of the
object.
Second Eyewitness Testimony: "Eyewitness," Former Media Professional
Perhaps the most
credible and
detailed testimony of this event, from any source, has been recent posted
to AboveTopSecret.com by a member going under the user name of
"Eyewitness".
"I saw the ORD UFO. I first sighted it while at the intersection of Irving Park Rd. and Mannheim Blvd., and again for just a bit when I got to the
parking lot of the international terminal. I was picking up a friend, an American Airline cockpit officer who was flying in from Charles deGaulle
International Airport. His plane, scheduled for a 4:55p arrival time, was delayed because of the object.
"The ostensible cell phone photo could have been the object, in that the UFO's perceptible coloration did alter somewhat depending on the viewer's
angle. When I saw it from Mannheim, it appeared much paler, but as I moved closer to underneath it it darkened... my impression is that it was highly
reflective, with the upper part mirroring the lighter sky and the underneath mirroring the darker areas (as well as being naturally shaded).
"Mirroring" is actually an awkward word, as the "texture" of the craft didn't seem highly polished, but it's the only word I can think of that
somewhat applies. I do know that there are other photos, as I saw a fair number of people, even several on Mannheim, take photos with cell phones or
digital cameras.
"It was definitely an object, not a lenticular cloud or any other weather phenomenon. At its closest, it was no more than a quarter of a mile from
me, and I saw it fly off. It was very clearly a controlled craft of some sort. There were no lights in use on it at that time."
This person joined AboveTopSecret.com on January 26th, 2007, and creating sixteen posts by the morning of the 27th. She has been exceptionally
forthcoming in answering member questions, and her account has been invaluable in filling many holes. Her entire posting history is available for
review here:
Posts by Eyewitness
This discussion thread, while long, is an excellent source of information, analysis, study, and opinion about this singularly unique and potentially
important event from early November, 2006.
Several important factors are discussed:
1- Why were multiple sightings of an unknown object hovering in important civilian airspace quickly dismissed or made light of? Especially in our
current "higher alert" status of the post-9/11 world.
2- The first image may still be a hoax, but does not fit the typical patterns of many attempts at Internet hoaxes, why?
3- Credible eyewitness testimony is emerging at a fast pace, if they photos are hoaxed, is it an organized effort to discredit the entire event?
4- And, while doubt remains, as it always does for UFO sightings, there is an increasing amount of corroborating testimony and evidence that there may
have been a fantastic object above the O'Hare airport.
Review the thread. Read the supporting material. Read the skeptical analysis. Come to your own conclusions.
This post will be updated as new information is presented.
This is a summary post created by AboveTopSecret.com administration to provide a single source of content for a very large and quickly evolving
discussion thread. This post was first created on January 27th, 2007 and back-dated in the post database so that it appears as the first post in the
discussion thread.
[edit on 22-4-2007 by SkepticOverlord]