"Impossible" Aircraft

This is a topic that's been swirling in the back of my mind for quite some time now. I've done a lot of research on the concept of airplane-shaped UFOs, or "the impossible aircraft" phenomenon that has been sighted but not frequently reported.
The first documented case that I could find was found in a collection of humanoid encounters compiled by Albert Rosales. The original source was UFO BC. (source: ufobc.ca...)

In short, the witness described seeing an abnormally large aircraft in November 2000. It had a wingspan of 300' (?) and a length of one city block. It had eight engines, four on either side, and was black, gray, silver in color with a red 'Z' on the tail section. The tail was V-shaped (presumably like that of a Beechcraft Bonanza or Fouga Magister, etc). It had two rows of windows on the front section, three sets in the back. The windows in the front were round, those in the rear oblong. The lights from the windows were brilliantly bright, and the witness also described a "block" hanging down where the nose gear would be.

The aircraft was described as flying extremely low and extremely slowly, "floating along" like a balloon, but making a rumbling noise. The witness described what looked like "smoke" billowing from the extreme right engine, and mentioned the smell of sulfur in the air.

There were at least 6-8 people in the immediate vicinity and the investigator commented that it would be nice to know if any of them saw anything at all. The aircraft floated along further, made a sharp right bank, then disappeared.

I realize the above case is extremely difficult to believe, especially if one reads further down the original article which includes a great series of MIB encounters, but it got me thinking.
UFOs are usually described as having a cylindrical, saucer, spherical, crescent, triangle, etc shape. We rarely if ever hear of reports of unusual aircraft like that one which seem to defy the laws of physics. I've done a lot of googling and poking and prodding to see if I could find any other cases involving "impossible" aircraft sightings and I've come up blank.

I have my own related experiences but I don't know what I saw and if it was even this degree of strange or not so I won't make much of a comment other than that I think I've seen something like this, hence I'm fascinated. (I know a lot about aircraft so I know what they shouldn't be able to do, obviously like the previously mentioned 300' wingspan eight-engined "airplane" flying straight and level at walking speed)

So, what I'm talking about and asking is, does anyone hear have any experiences with aircraft that, although shaped like traditional planes, don't quite make sense? Any theories as to what they could be, if, in fact, these are a thing?

Experimental balloons? Doubt it. I know aeroscraft (see here: science.howstuffworks.com...) built some balloons that were black/gray/silver (IIRC) in color and had V-shaped tails, but where were the wings? The engines? It doesn't quite line up with what the Canadian witness described.

Could there be some project that we don't know about that's testing weird hybrid airships that are shaped exactly like planes? Could these be cylinder-shaped or cigar-shaped UFOs wearing some kind of costume to look like planes so if their invisibility whatevers fail, they just look like planes?
Are aliens giving aerial tours of earth much like helicopters give tours of hawaii to tourists?
MIB shuttles?

Wacky, I know, but if these things exist, it's interesting to wonder what their purposes are.

I just want to know if anyone else has seen anything like this.

There's this one from 2009:

Silent Hovering Planes in Pennsylvania

originally posted by: Crosswinds

I realize the above case is extremely difficult to believe, especially if one reads further down the original article which includes a great series of MIB encounters...

The sheer bizarre nature of the craft makes it all the more believable in isolation, but yes, the associated MIB stories do stretch credibility to breaking point, although it IS a great story overall that would make an exciting screenplay.

At one point Roy offered them tea or coffee, but one of them said, "We don’t drink that stuff". Instead one accepted a glass of water, to which the other stated, "your water contains a lot of strange substances".

He should have offered them a bottle of Tequila to loosen them up a little!

originally posted by: Crosswinds
Are aliens giving aerial tours of earth much like helicopters give tours of hawaii to tourists?

It is possible, as the Phoenix V fits this description.
As does the Anchorage Walnut.
"We will zoom in close so you can see what a real human aircraft looks like!"

But a multi engine plane with a logo like you mention sounds more like a human experimental aircraft than a alien one.

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit

the associated MIB stories do stretch credibility to breaking point

Why is that mate - because of a (pretty sh•t) Hollywood movie?

Seems the powers that be took the MIB subject extremely seriously back in the day -harassment of UFO witnesses did occur and they had absolutely no idea who was responsible.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by: BiffWellington
There's this one from 2009:

Silent Hovering Planes in Pennsylvania

Thank you!
I've been browsing through this and an associated link in there. I'm excited to see the phenomenon of "hovering aircraft" is a thing.
Interesting how the aircraft I'm familiar with and the one written about in the article I linked to, as well as the one in the post you liked to from 2009 share unconventional tails. A V-shaped tail and a T-shaped "spoiler like" tail.
Maybe an insignificant detail, but if it were ET attempting to mimic earth airliners (i.e. boeing, airbus), they didn't quite nail that part.

He should have offered them a bottle of Tequila to loosen them up a little!

"Man gets MIBs drunk" Ha!
I almost wonder if the guy did see the plane but decided to dramatize the whole thing up in efforts to get his story published.

originally posted by: karl 12

Why is that mate - because of a (pretty sh•t) Hollywood movie?

Seems the powers that be took the MIB subject extremely seriously back in the day -harassment of UFO witnesses did occur and they had absolutely no idea who was responsible.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I am a firm believer in the MIB phenomena. It just seems like the witness had so much detail that it seemed less believable, but it's still possible that some of the events Roy described did occur. It's also possible that he was just a big John Keel fan. I hope the former is true though.
I'm particularly interested in the men's unwillingness to go near the microwave oven. Not 100% sure about the witness's credibility, though.
The witness has more strange happenings here in case you are interested to know more about the guy's history:
ufobc.ca...
ufobc.ca...

I almost wonder if these planes carry the MIBs somehow. It's like their version of a Janet flight.
Boys in black gotta get around somehow.

If they're human made ships, I'd be interested to know who got a hold of such gravity defying technology--unless, of course, they're hybrid airships and are capable of floating. Also totally possible.

What I saw in my day was just that, planes too big and too heavy looking to be floating so slowly and so low. Maybe they're on some alternative timeline, and from the perspective of their pilots and passengers, they're actually clipping along at hundreds of knots.

Just tossing more theories around.

originally posted by: karl 12

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit

the associated MIB stories do stretch credibility to breaking point

Why is that mate - because of a (pretty sh•t) Hollywood movie?

Oh, I have nothing against MIB stories - there are plenty of fascinating examples throughout the decades dating back to the late-40s - but like all UFO incidents, each case has to considered on its own merits and context (sorting the wheat from the chaff), and this particular MIB story does sound, as Crosswinds just said, like a 'sexing-up' exercise after the main event.

But the main event remains intriguing - especially the "Z" symbol. So weird!

PS: I have no doubt that the 1997 movie did more harm than good to the whole MIB enigma.

By contrast, Brit band The Stranglers brought the topic to the UK masses in 1979 - the first time I'd ever heard of the MIB as a kid...

First off, I LOVED this story, whether it's real, or imaginary from those that told it.

Reading it, I saw several things that just didn't seem to fit what would actually 'be'.

When ALL of the visitors to the house where the interview was, they all were concerned with the microwave oven. That in itself is not strange, but that they had to walk around it, does.
I live in Texas, nobody's house I have ever seen has a kitchen that you 'have to' walk through to get to the room where they talked, that doesn't make much sense to me. Yes, they could have walked in the back door, but walking through a kitchen from the front door, well... I don't know.

Now, we, or, at least, I, 'assumed' they walked in through the front door and went into a living area type room, what we here call a "living room", although, nowhere does it say that in the story.
Some people even had what is called, a "den", that is separate from the living room area, it still wouldn't be a place (that I have seen) that you would have to walk through a kitchen.
They may have discussed 'stuff' in a bedroom maybe, but that would be very odd, I'd think, and worth mentioning.

Also, when the first two 'guys' left, he went inside and looked out immediately and didn't see them, that is odd, but, what is even more odd is that he didn't 'see them off', like most people would.
That is odd...
Whats even MORE odd is, he did the same thing again with the second 'guy'.
If I had seen what he had seen (or didn't see) on the first visit with them 'leaving somehow' very quickly, I'll be damned if I am going to let another 'guy' get me again.


One other thing, in any design, even though this could be very futuristic, or alien, or whatever, having very large feet, sizes 13 and 14, with especially a 'guy' with a smaller stature, that doesn't make sense to me at all. There would be no (known) reason for any creature, whether it's a man or beast to have such large feet when it wasn't being used for its needs.
What I mean is, giant feet mean it's natural design would be used for something, these guys didn't hop off like a rabbit would.
That just doesn't fit with nature on any planet, at least to me, not that I have been to any of them, yet.

You know what they say about a man that has very large feet? Yes, that is correct, they are from the future or they are alien.


The attache cases that were empty really didn't make much sense, but, I can't say that it didn't happen.

One more, I am amazed, amazed I say, that a man can grasp ALL of what he saw to such detail that he could describe (even after the amount of hours that he claimed to spend with them) all of what he saw, I mean down to color of the pens and watch's lights that they had, to the belt buckle.
The description would be fine but then, with his great sense of detail, he won't tell the second 'guy', Hey! What are you taking that with you, it's mine!", when the 'guy' placed the watch part inside of his case. I mean, the 'guy' was about to steal a part of the watch.

I am sure that there are more, but you get what i am saying, hopefully.
I am in no way saying that this is pure-d crap, but just that it is REALLY strange that this kind of stuff happened the way he said it did.

Oh yeah, did anyone, at any time verify what the man said about his doctor? Ask the doctor if he was checked out.

Also, what about the, "at least 6 - 8 other witnesses in the immediate neighborhood", where were they in this story, I mean, surely if you 'saw' neighbors that saw what you did, you would ask what they saw and talk about 'stuff'.


Again, at one point in the story the guy said that at no time during their visit did they communicate with each other, making it (try to" sound like they only communicated by telepathy, I guess.
"Outside in the yard they spent about half an hour scouring the ground with a Geiger counter. At one point the searcher called out to his companion, "Come over here and look at this".".

I don't know, but I did REALLY enjoy the story, and, I am like the other poster that said I would like to see a movie about it all.
I am also not even really saying that I don't believe it, I am only saying the few things that I have mentioned is very, very strange, and there's more too, but I didn't feel the need to go into it that deep.

Does that not sound odd that any of the above seems to overreach real life occurrences, what we see and do every day?

originally posted by: recrisp

Also, what about the, "at least 6 - 8 other witnesses in the immediate neighborhood", where were they in this story, I mean, surely if you 'saw' neighbors that saw what you did, you would ask what they saw and talk about 'stuff'.

That was a confusing part. Were they 'potential' witnesses simply because they lived in the neighbourhood, or were they ACTUAL witnesses?

Considering this occurred 20 years ago, time could be running out to interview them!

originally posted by: ConfusedBrit
By contrast, Brit band The Stranglers brought the topic to the UK masses in 1979 - the first time I'd ever heard of the MIB as a kid...

The Stranglers. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time. "Walking on the beaches, looking at the peaches!"

If I happen to hear or see The Stranglers anytime in the next few days, I'm counting it as a synchronicity.

...John Keel has written on this subject multiple times and I rate his work.
I would need to re-check his work properly to confirm how many times it's commented on, but I recall several other instances of this sort of phenomena being reported and commented on in his books - which I have most of.

examples below:

From - "Our Haunted Planet"
books.google.co.nz... jIhiEGn5kg8A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiM3bLk2PLnAhXFQ30KHbcdD_sQ6AEwAHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=john%20keel%20impossible%20aircraft&f=false

Unsure of which book this is from without checking, but in this case they are referred to as "ghost fliers" and ""mystery aeroplanes"
www.ignaciodarnaude.com...


...I'm sure there are others in his works, and I recommend them to anyone interested in UFO's who hasn't read them.

recrisp,
Great post. All the points you highlighted as being a bit too weird are the same points I thought of as being a bit too weird. Not seeing the visitors off, recalling too much detail, etc, definitely. And the point where Roy "lowered a portion of counter" to let Sam and Graeme sidle through the extra space seemed awfully convenient.

But sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. I've found, at least in my life, that coincidence seems not to be the exception, but the norm.

ConfusedBrit,
It comes off, to me at least, in the original article that they were only potential witnesses "it would be interesting to know if they saw anything at all?"

muzj03,
Wow. I've never read much into John's work--I've read all about him and his MIB theories, but wow--the descriptions of the planes resting on water (!) then taking off suddenly reminds me of something I remember seeing.
I wonder if Roy's 300' Red Zed Jet had a searchlight mounted on it--he described a "block" hanging down from the front where the undercarriage would be, but no description of a light. Perhaps that "block" housed some kind of searchlight, radar type equipment, etc.
Also in the ghost fliers book, the mention of the aircraft with eight propellers and bright windows seems in line with Roy's description--Roy's, however had jet type engines.

very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

I am 54 Log long agaio around 14 years old I worked at a Chinese joint in PA quakertown .
we had a Hurricane go throw No big deal btw WEAK but stormy for hours and all Low flying aircraft grounded .
anyway off work around 8.30 pm sun setting JUST starting to peak out from the could cover .
Out teh frount door i go and what do I see a air craft well the description of this is darn near spot ON except is was moving away from me so I could only see the back end .
All I can say If taht sucker was man made Its was HUGE beyond any thing imaginable and would make the spruce goose look like a piper cub sitting beside it .
But hey Maybe I am nuts after all at 14 I was totally alien crazy and being so meens sometimes you see it just because you want to see it lol .

BTW i seen two others in thous years one looked like a boomerang the size of a small aircraft the otehr could not see the shap of as it was right over me BUT If they are aliens I sure dont WANT to ever met them > the light they used was PUKE GREEN and creepy as heck . What every life form FINES Puck green LIGHT cool I dont want to met .

Only six turbines, but could it have been a Russian Antonov transporter?

originally posted by: SacredLore
Only six turbines, but could it have been a Russian Antonov transporter?

That crossed my mind too when I first read the Roy W case.
Here are some pics of what A) I picture Roy's jet to have looked like, and B) close to what I recall seeing.
I've done a lot of 3D work for games/simulators in my past so I threw this together quickly and fired it up in a flight sim.
The sim I used has a reasonably accurate physics rendering engine and, FWIW, the beast flies like a big old cream puff even without the anti-gravity stuff.



Hey midnightstar, does this line up at all with what you saw that night flying away from you?

Back to the antonov, if we all know about a plane that big and heavy that humans managed to make fly, it makes you really wonder what more advanced civilizations are capable of. The city-block long airplanes don't sound so far fetched when you think about it that way.

I wonder why the windows glow on these "hovering" jets though. Do the people who fly/ride in them require a lot of light to see, or is it an optical illusion/some kind of weird window material?

Are they windows at all, or lights?

a reply to: Crosswinds

Cool artwork, thanks!

This remains mysterious.

a reply to: Crosswinds

Strange one from the Charleston Daily Mail in January, 1951.

A veteran airline pilot said today he saw a huge "mystery plane" with no visible means of propulsion in flight above Sioux City, Ia.

It was "as large or half again as large as a B-29," he said.

Pilot Larry W. Vinther, 32, said he flew his Mid-Continent Airlines DC-3 passenger plane up to 4000 feet in an effort to get a good look at the huge plane.

The plane was silhouetted in a moonlit sky. Vinther said, "by all we could actually see was its shape and nothing of the detail of its construction except that the leading edge of its wing was absolutely straight."

Vinther said he saw "no visible means of powering the aircraft such as engine nacelles or pods.

"I'd like to know what we saw," he said, "and so would the control tower at Sioux City."

'Mystery Plane' with 'No Visible Means of Propulsion' Sighted By Pilot

a reply to: karl 12

Wow. I read this yesterday and did some research through my old papers and tried to make sense of it. I can't get this case off my mind--a perfectly straight leading edge is bizarre because in atmospheric flight, high speed aircraft generally have swept wings to help dissipate the air compression (high subsonic flight tends to build up a "pillow" of air in front of the surfaces of the aircraft. Picture it as the air not being able to get out of the craft's way fast enough).
Some high altitude planes utilize high aspect ratio, non-swept wings (or less swept designs, think U-2 spyplane) because the long wingspan and short wing chord (distance from front of wing to back of wing) produces a large amount of lift and a low amount of drag, which is conductive to efficient flight in the thin air high in the atmosphere.

Sounds like whatever this was wasn't in any particular hurry to get anywhere, unless there's some aerodynamic hack to dissipate the shockwave across a perfectly straight leading edge.

All this jargon to say, whatever this is, it doesn't sound like any earth planes I've heard of, unless, of course, it was some form of a low-mid speed, high altitude recon ship under testing or use by some military.

The lack of a tail-section plain old doesn't make sense aerodynamically, though, unless it was a flying wing, which again, are generally swept designs on this planet. There must have been something there.

That or extremely advanced technology for its day that was a classified military project... great find. Thank you.