1980s Hudson River UFO Wave on Unsolved Mysteries

Continuing this series exploring the UFO cases featured on the TV show ‘Unsolved Mysteries’ (currently available on Youtube)

Hudson River UFOs on Unsolved Mysteries.

The Hudson River Valley UFO wave arguably began on New Years Day in 1982. It reached a peak in 1983 and 1984. However, sightings and reports continued for the rest of the decade. This was also one of the last UFO waves investigated by J.Allen Hynek before he passed away.

Youtube Segment : Starts here

First Aired : Sept 16th 1992

Unsolved Mysteries Show Notes

More than five-thousand people reported seeing unidentified flying objects over towns & cities of the Hudson River Valley, New York during the 1980s. Including Brewster, Millwood, Stormville, and Yorktown.

On the night of March 17, 1983, deputy Dennis Sant saw a large, grey metallic object over his home next to Interstate 84 near Brewster;. Describing it as "a city of lights." With his son, he followed it until they reached their backyard. A few miles away, traffic along the I-84 was brought to a stop with motorists out of their cars taking a look.

A week later, March 24th, police officer Andi Sandhoff was on patrol when she saw a series of lights in the sky. At first, she assumed that it was a plane. However, as she got a better look, she realized it was too large to be a plane. It had several white, green, and red lights on it. It seemed to hover above her car. She noted no sounds and followed it until it disappeared over the hills.

The same night, computer engineer Ed Burns was on the Taconic Parkway near Millwood when he experienced static on his radio. Looking up he saw a large object the size of a football field. He also noted was no noise emitting from it. He pulled to the side of the road and watched it, along with other motorists.

Eyewitness reports suggested that the object was slowly moving north over the Hudson River Valley. The local police in Yorktown received countless calls from people reporting its shape. Two officers who saw it together gave different descriptions at the same time. Officer Kevin Soravilla described it as a large shape with several lights, but his partner, William Wolf, described it as a series of small planes flying in tight formation.

Some began to suspect that the sightings were a hoax, believing that the object was actually several small planes flying together. However, sightings continued to pour in throughout the area in the following months.

In summer 1983, air traffic controller Anthony Capaldi saw it flying nearby over Stormville. Looking more closely, he noticed that it was actually six planes flying together. He did note, however, that the previous eyewitnesses should have been able to tell if it was a series of planes because of the noise coming from the aircraft. Since several eyewitnesses reported hearing no noise, it would seem that the "planes in tight formation" theory would be an unlikely explanation.

On July 24, 1984, Brewster resident Bob Pasouli took a home video of a strange object flying overhead. According to video experts, it appears that it is one large one and not several small ones.

Beyond Unsolved Mysteries

The New York Times published an article on 25th August., 1984. Reporting the “UFOs” as a cleverly executed hoax by five or six light aircraft flying in tight formation. The V-shaped lights had been tracked to Stormville Airport. Where a group of small, single-engine planes flying in close formation with their undersides painted black, perhaps to keep them from being visible from the ground. The aircraft were rigged with bright lights.


The pilots allegedly began flying in loose groups until they could fly in tight formations with less than a foot between wing tips. The majority of aircraft used were Cessna 152s which when flown at 3,000-4,000 feet were said to be virtually inaudible to anyone at ground level.

Once stories of UFOs began to circulate, more pilots from other locations joined in the fun, and some dubbed themselves ‘The Martians’. Formations would be circles or crosses that appeared like diamonds or V shapes to observers on the ground. Sometimes the pilots would all turn their landing lights on whilst flying slowly to give the impression of a giant UFO. Supposedly, the pilots even began a disinformation campaign by pointing the finger at the top-secret goings-on at nearby Stewart Air Force Base and holograms generated by IBM! However, when asked by Unsolved Mysteries to recreate their actions, all pilots declined.



J.Allen Hynek spoke at a conference in the summer of 1984 in Brewster. Hynek accepted some sightings were of the formation flying by light aircraft. But he had over 400 reports and did not believe they were the cause for all of them.

Sightings over Indian Point Nuclear Plant



In June 1984 sightings were reported by security staff at Indian Point Nuclear Plant in Buchanan, New York. They witnessed a huge craft fly over the plant. However, a much more alarming incident supposedly occurred on July 24th 1984 when a huge V shaped object, displaying two rows of glowing lights, flew within 100 yards of Indian Point.

Allegedly the object hovered over the plant emitting a low humming noise. Some reports indicate that the security system was also shut down at the facility. Around 15 minutes later the object drifted slowly away heading Northwest and then accelerated out of sight.

When questions were asked about the CCTV security tapes, officials at the plant replied that there had been a ‘technical malfunction’. FOIA requests of such a nature were refused on the grounds that anything documented relating to the reactor complex was protected under national security regulations.

Night Siege

The book “Night Siege” was published in 1987 documenting the sightings across the Hudson Valley Area. It was co-authored by Phil Imbrogno, Bob Pratt and J.Allen Hynek. Imbrogno later claimed that many cases of ‘alien abduction’ were also reported in the area. However, Hynek insisted they should be left out of the book until more data could be collected and analysed.



Witnesses were all given pseudonyms by Imbrogno making the stories difficult, maybe impossible, to verify. Imbrogno tarnished his reputation by embellishing claims of his background. Hynek had sadly passed away in 1986 before the book was published.

However, between 1982 and 1989 thousands of people saw ‘UFOs’ in the skies over New York state.

Were they all just the work of a bunch of pilot hoaxers for almost a decade?

a reply to: mirageman

I think that 'no noise' and 'almost inaudible' is not the same thing. And I mean sure it's possible that because of the lights the dark between looks like one 'body' while it isn't.
But it would appear it's possible not everybody saw the same thing. 1. event : genuine 2.-99 : mixed 100.+ : 'faked' by the pilots.
Though I think psychologically more a 'copying an impressive image achievable' for the pilots that turned into a 'fun competition'.

Were they all just the work of a bunch of pilot hoaxers for almost a decade?

And still going on today ?

This is one of the most certain ufo flaps in American history. All the debunkers could do was enlist those idiot pilots who claimed they were flying in formation. Sure, planes hovering and silent--an absurd claim easily debunked. Too many witnesses saw objects, not loud gas-guzzling planes. It reminds me of those two English morons who claimed they made all the crop circles.
Now, this might not have been an alien craft, but without a doubt was a legit flap of unknown flying UFOs.

Also, IMO, the physics wouldn’t determine a group of planes would be three football fields long.

originally posted by: mirageman

Great work again. This is becoming addictive!

''I've seen those jerks five or six times,'' Mr. Pollard said of the pilots flying in formation. ''They were nothing like what I saw the first time, nothing like it at all.''

An important date is 17th March 1983, which presents us with a chicken-and-egg question: did the "jerks" proceed with their high-jinks in response to the initial sightings, or were they the original instigators?

Was Mr. Pollard onto something?

For the record, Steven Greenstreet (formally open-minded but fast becoming sick of the entire UFO circus) produced a video about Hudson Valley and similar sightings for his down to earth YouTube channel 'The Basement office' - arguably the only YT UFO channel that actively dissuades BS. This episode also provides new witness testimony for the Hudson Valley case.

Start at 2.00 minutes in...

I lived and had friends who worked at the nuke plant. There were alerts on site because of the “visitors”. Had a few sightings myself but couldn’t say anything profound. It was a very strange summer we still talk about. My buddy wrote a book about it, he was a town supervisor who had a couple of incredible experiences.

Daily News Article [PDF] from 1989 on the Hudson Valley UFO Flap

What I find frustrating about this UFO Wave is the real lack of photographic and video evidence compared to the thousands of reports the Unsolved Mystery show claimed.

Although there is some footage on Youtube its rather underwhelming.



But it was the 1980s. Cameras were cheap, light and portable by then but you didn't tend to carry one with you, especially at night. Then you had to get the film developed too. Camcorders were available but were very expensive and cumbersome and hardly anyone owned them.

originally posted by: WUNK22
I lived and had friends who worked at the nuke plant. There were alerts on site because of the “visitors”. Had a few sightings myself but couldn’t say anything profound. It was a very strange summer we still talk about. My buddy wrote a book about it, he was a town supervisor who had a couple of incredible experiences.

What I find hard to believe is that a bunch of light aircraft were flying in the vicinity of the plant. All to fool folk into believing they'd seen a UFO? Close enough to trigger some form of alert?

Seems like too much of a risk to me.

a reply to: mirageman

The aliens know who has a camera and who doesn’t.

Seriously, back then, I don’t think everybody and their momma had a cell phone camera. Smartphones became prevalent in 2012, way after these types of events.

When they see these things, people are likely shocked and don't think to run and get a camera. Also, they see them unexpectedly on the highway or in the backyard, so a camera device was not readily available.

One might think today we should have many videos of ufos, I guess we do have some, but I would think we'd have much more.

Good find, btw the daily news story.

I believe there was a Real UFO sighted (non-human craft), and then later on people started using the planes as a way to explain it away.


There's also this video about the case from a different documentary ...


UFO over New York State 1984
Link - www.youtube.com...

My guess it’s a version of NGAD…..Next Generation Air Dominance aircraft…..basically a tailess airframe.

Here’s the underside lights of the craft from one of the clips within the vid. To the right is when the 2 spotlights come on, in addition at that time a smaller light turns on. When the 2 spotlights turn off..so does that smaller light.



So here’s one of a few renditions of the NGAD



If something like this is being developed and tested at night….it stands to reason its going to have the latest and the greatest tech. If it could do VTOL like the F-35 (but not as loud as the F-35)….then having spotlights features would make sense for some hover to ground landing type situations, especially in the dark. In the vid the spotlights turning on and off could have been a test without having to land.

Here’s some good articles…..

X-44 MANTA: HOW LOCKHEED NAILED THE NGAD IN THE ’90S

US Air Force eyes NGAD deliveries by 2030. Can it be done?

I don’t have any reason yet to believe it’s not our own….

The pattern of lights seen in the screenshots…..seems to me, can be the underside aircraft lighting configuration. The jet engine noise is a giveaway …imo.

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From this pdf : Star Shield and the Legacy of Ronald Reagan

...the term “STAR SHIELD” was the actual designation for the SDI program, and not the fanciful “STAR WARS” term adopted by the media. The internal codename for this program was called “Brilliant Buzzard” aka “ASTRA” or airborne surveillance and tracking. This program dealt with setting up an electro-magnetic “shield” around the United States thereby effectively creating an “iron dome”. This would be accomplished by building gigantic boomerang shaped flying wing craft which could loiter over American cities. By “linking” the aircraft together, these craft would form a protective electromagnetic “umbrella” over the continental United States...

Ronald Reagan publicly announced the Strategic Defence Initiative on March 23rd, 1983. Around the time of the UFO Wave in the Hudson Valley.

a reply to: mirageman

Michael Schratt ….has been around for sometime and famously did this chart below from a book title “The Presidents Secret Book”. A lot of his work as a contributor, is on Open Minds Radio and TV.



Here’s his Bio….



His recent effort is…..DARK FILES: A Pictorial History of Lost, Forgotten and Obscure UFO Encounters published in 2022……I have it sitting on my coffee table now. Quite a remarkable read with stories, graphics and drawings….I recommend it!


👽

This is a really good one, MM! Thanks for writing a series on Unsolved Mysteries, all of these have been a real ride so far!
I'll have to ask around in any of my circles if anyone I know was familiar with anyone who participated UFO prank pilot groups. I vaguely recall hearing a "hangar flying" story about "The Martians" several years ago, but nobody admitted to participating. Night formation is tricky in those types of aircraft. Even daylight formation takes a lot of practice for the average Joe in a Cessna (versus an experienced pilot in, say, a well-equipped military jet), especially tight/close formation. Formation flying is easy once you get the hang of it, but at night, you better know what you're doing, it's risky business.
Here's an interesting discussion about night formation (and lack thereof) back in WW2: WW2 Night Formation Flying

originally posted by: peaceinoutz
;;.... Sure, planes hovering and silent--an absurd claim easily debunked. Too many witnesses saw objects, not loud gas-guzzling planes. ....IAlso, IMO, the physics wouldn’t determine a group of planes would be three football fields long.

This common-sense refutation of the many-lights-misinterpreted suggestion seems reasonable, until actually tested. Quite by accident, another documentable stimulus of a formation of bright lights crossing the night sky are the cases of satellite reentries and disintegrations into formations of fireballs -- which again and again produce precisely the same type of ground witness descriptions.

"Giant motherships" of misperception:
www.jamesoberg.com...

Witness Reactions to Fireball Swarms from Satellite Reentries.
www.jamesoberg.com...

This effect does NOT 'prove' what the Hudson Valley sightings must have been, merely that a 'common-sense' rejection of the POSSIBILITY of light formations being thus misinterpreted is more plausible than some folks might wish.

originally posted by: peaceinoutz
,,,, Also, IMO, the physics wouldn’t determine a group of planes would be three football fields long.

"It was as big as a football stadium" was a frequent description to witnesses of sky apparitions caused by fireball swarms from reentering satellites. Again, doesn't PROVE that's what it was, but it really demolishes the argument that there was no other explanation except aliens [or secret US weapons].

Another sobering example of misinterpretations of light swarms:

- France-1990, Nov 1990,
satobs.org...

originally posted by: JimOberg

originally posted by: peaceinoutz
,,,, Also, IMO, the physics wouldn’t determine a group of planes would be three football fields long.

"It was as big as a football stadium" was a frequent description to witnesses of sky apparitions caused by fireball swarms from reentering satellites. Again, doesn't PROVE that's what it was, but it really demolishes the argument that there was no other explanation except aliens [or secret US weapons].

I never believe the people, military or not, when they guesstimate how big or long something is or how high it is.

And certainly, a group of clowns trying to look like a ufo is a real joke.

a reply to: JimOberg
Oh Really: Lets hear from someone who investigated this.

In the 1980s, thousands of eyewitnesses in Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland Counties saw massive, triangular, solid craft, hovering silently and motionless in the sky, sometimes as close as a mere 100 feet above their heads.

Those people who had the courage to report their sightings to local police, state police, airports, or to other government officials, were often told that what they had really witnessed was a group of ultralight airplanes flying in formation. Really? That was the best excuse they could manage? Let’s take a moment here to explore just how stupid and insulting that excuse really was.

Fact: There were groups of pilots perpetrating hoaxes by flying their ultralight aircraft in formation. (There were also groups of pilots flying small planes in formation, allegedly out of Stormville Airport, but much of the following applies equally to them, as well.)

Fact: Ultralights are not silent. They are quite the opposite of silent. They sound like weed whackers. Therefore, a group of ultralights flying in formation would make as much racket as a flock of weed whackers. In fact, the noise would even be louder, because ultralights are in the air above you, so unlike a weed whacker, the sound would not be muffled by the ground, trees, hills, or buildings. It is impossible for anyone who retained any degree of hearing to mistake a formation of weed whackers over their heads as a silent object.

Fact: It is illegal to fly ultralights at night. In addition to being illegal, it is also stupid and dangerous, not only to the lives of the irresponsible pilots, but to the people on the ground they could potentially crash into. The last time I checked, when the police knew that someone was doing something illegal, they arrested him. If the police were aware that a group of stupid and dangerous ultralight pilots were flying illegally at night, why didn’t they stop and arrest them? And where was the FAA in all this? They didn’t mind that a group of ultralight pilots were thumbing their noses at the rules and regulations and putting people on the ground at risk to perpetrate a silly UFO hoax? Fact: Many people saw the formations of ultralights and small planes, as well as the unidentified flying objects, and no one I spoke to had any trouble distinguishing one from the other. These eyewitnesses all agreed the ultralights and other small planes were very loud and never stopped moving.

They also could not hold a steady, tight formation, as the lights on the individual planes could clearly be seen moving position relative to the others. Many also reported that they could clearly see the field of stars between the planes, further indicating it was not a solid object. Noisy, constantly moving aircraft that shifted positions, and were easily identifiable as separate objects because you could see stars between them, are not the same as silent, motionless, solid objects that blocked the field of stars. In addition to hovering silently for as long as 20 minutes directly overhead at treetop height, some UFOs exhibited tremendous speed and acceleration, often racing off and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Many eyewitnesses described these objects as being faster than any jet. At a top speed of around 60 mph in a good tailwind, ultralights are not faster than any jet. They are not even faster than any car!

Zimmermann, Linda. In the Night Sky .

originally posted by: mirageman
From this pdf : Star Shield and the Legacy of Ronald Reagan

...the term “STAR SHIELD” was the actual designation for the SDI program, and not the fanciful “STAR WARS” term adopted by the media. The internal codename for this program was called “Brilliant Buzzard” aka “ASTRA” or airborne surveillance and tracking. This program dealt with setting up an electro-magnetic “shield” around the United States thereby effectively creating an “iron dome”. This would be accomplished by building gigantic boomerang shaped flying wing craft which could loiter over American cities. By “linking” the aircraft together, these craft would form a protective electromagnetic “umbrella” over the continental United States...

Ronald Reagan publicly announced the Strategic Defence Initiative on March 23rd, 1983. Around the time of the UFO Wave in the Hudson Valley.

Here ya go…..many pics….

Ascender High Altitude Airships

In addition, eyewitness reports indicated that the craft had multi-colored flashing white, red, and green lights on its bottom surface. Those viewing the craft from directly below stated that they could see through these panels, and could clearly identify what looked like “steel/structural girder and cross-beams.....like a truss bridge”.

Of course you can attach multi color lights to the attached trusses….


And this one …..

The Airship to Orbit Project

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