JANAP 146 - Airline Pilots and Ufo Sightings

I watched the History channel the other evening, and the show was "Aliens Among Us"- and I was not aware of JANAP 146, which is the protocol expected from airline pilots who spot UFO's.
The show stated that there were severe penaltys for pilots reporting sightings to private or commercial concerns, and the US government actually has a reqired protocol for these pilots to follow, and the information (according to the show) ends up in NORADS domain-

Quote from article follows

JOINT ARMY-NAVY-AIR FORCE PUBLICATION 146(E) (JANAP 146E) (CIRVIS/MERINT)


This file contains the complete text of: Joint Army-Navy-Air Force Publication (JANAP 146(E)), CANADIAN - UNITED STATES COMMUNICATIONS INSTRUCTIONS FOR REPORTING VITAL INTELLIGENCE SIGHTINGS (CIRVIS/MERINT) as released on February 28, 1994 by the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense

Can anyone enlighten me on this? Obviously pilots cannot speak-

Here is the link, and it is quite interesting. I do not know if this topic has been discussed here before, I did an ats search with 0 results. Which did surprise me- read this file obtained by the Freedom of Information Act....

Click Here

Wow, I hadn't seen or even heard of this thing before, awesome find Journey. Have you googled it to see what else you could find yet?

Originally posted by kaoszero
Wow, I hadn't seen or even heard of this thing before, awesome find Journey. Have you googled it to see what else you could find yet?

Yes I have, and there is plenty on it- I must admit though- as much as the subject intrigues me, I had never heard of this protocol that is required of airline pilots who spot UFO's.

Notice that the word "UFO" is used- this also surprised me.

Originally posted by Journey

Originally posted by kaoszero
Wow, I hadn't seen or even heard of this thing before, awesome find Journey. Have you googled it to see what else you could find yet?

Yes I have, and there is plenty on it- I must admit though- as much as the subject intrigues me, I had never heard of this protocol that is required of airline pilots who spot UFO's.

Notice that the word "UFO" is used- this also surprised me.

This is the first I've heard about this protocol too, and I've been a skywatcher/UFO-freak since I was 8 years old.

Yes, I found that to be a shock as well. Usually, that word is blacked out, even in some FOIA texts I've seen.

From what I've read, a lot of people do not put much emphasis on the power or oddity of that section of JANAP 146. Either as a means to downplay its significance, or that its not the real method in which UFO reporting is to be handled.

At least these days a civilian group exists for which pilots can make UFO reports: NARCAP.

Originally posted by heelstone
From what I've read, a lot of people do not put much emphasis on the power or oddity of that section of JANAP 146. Either as a means to downplay its significance, or that its not the real method in which UFO reporting is to be handled.

At least these days a civilian group exists for which pilots can make UFO reports: NARCAP.

I checked this site out, and it was kind of vague , IMO, with a dead link also. Thanks though, Interesting .
What is the procedure for a pilot who spots unusual occurences in the United States?
Do they ignore- or do they report? And to whom or what agency?
Or, what is, if any, the protocol expected from pilots who have sightings in our airspace?

Originally posted by Journey
What is the procedure for a pilot who spots unusual occurences in the United States?
Do they ignore- or do they report? And to whom or what agency?
Or, what is, if any, the protocol expected from pilots who have sightings in our airspace?

I don't truly know the exact procedure, but I have heard about the UFO reporting process from a flight controller who is a part of The Disclosure Project. The witness said that the UFO report is an inch thick of paper. With only about two pages for the report itself. The rest of the report is a background check of you and your family. This is done as a means to not only give a psychological analysis to see if you were hallucinating, but to discredit a UFO report if somebody in your family has mental illness. Almost nobody fills out a report as a result of this. The witness also said that he heard threats of being stationed at the North Pole or somewhere else cold and never being promoted afterwards.

[Edited on 17-1-2004 by heelstone]

Wow, it all turns to a psycological profile- no wonder the silence exists. Thanks, Heelstone.

I have an Internet buddy who used to fly with US Airways and he told me he has seen a lot of weird stuff. He promises to meet with me sometime and tell me all. He firmly believes in UFOs. Have you all heard of the Firefighters FEMA UFO training manual? This thread reminded me of it. Check it out here:

FEMA manual


---Matty (mattywhelz)

Hi,
Almost started a new thread, glad I found this one. Wow, reviving a dormant message thread.

More than one airline pilot (incl. my brother) informed me that any pilot who ever reports any UFO sighting, no matter the format, no matter whether verbal or written, is immediately terminated for cause. It's an unwritten rule - he or she will never fly again for an airline. He said that this applies to most, if not all, major US airlines. Unknown about non-US carriers.

He said that no matter what the UFO does, the pilot who reports it will be fired.

At risk of getting way off topic, I was also told that any airline pilot caught anonymously reporting a near-miss using the FAA's anonymous reporting procedure (I forget what it's called) will be grounded or terminated. This was ordered by airlines' lawyers. I guess it could be argued that a pilot who reports a near miss with a UFO would be fired on two counts.

Now, getting back on topic. So it would seem that all eyes turn to general aviation and other forms of non-airline aviation to ask if the JANAP or any other reporting procedure is being used.

Funny, when seeing the JANAP designation again, I immediately thought of JANET airlines...(the one which ferries workers out to Area 51).

Janet is simply and acronym for Joint Air Network for Employee Transportation. It is a joint operation to transport both military and civilian employees. I'm wondering though, if the Joint may have the same meaning as the above instead....

Well Sir seems to me you have mentioned all to do with JANap regs.

I think the bottom line is if you (Airforce) have seen or defensively intruded on an a UFO -your still not to mention the encounter 'cause of Janap. Else you at least lose your wings!!; Your Security Clearance; Your Job...

Dallas

Interestingly enough, this automatically therefore makes such pilots coming forward a LOT more credible, given the increased risk, now doesn't it?

Possibly. But seems your turning views on this thread to negatives as though you believe but not when others do and post their views mr gazrok? Or have I been mis-reading these last months?

Dallas

The 1969 Bolender Memo (released under FOI in 1979) states (emphasis mine):

For more than twenty years the [United States] Air Force has had the responsibility within the Department of Defense for the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) ...

There is... no evidence that Project Blue Book reports have served any intelligence function. [However], reports of unidentified flying objects which could affect national security are made in accordance with JANAP 146 or Air Force Manual 55-11 , and are not part of the Blue Book system .

Can anyone please enlighten me as to this question:

Has any researcher ever attempted to prise out of the USAF any information related to UFO reports filed under either JANAP 146 or AFM 55-11, from the year they were first introduced (1953?) to the year they were superseded/abrogated?

I assume people have tried but been denied, but I can't find a definitive answer.

IMHO, even a chronological/geographic summary would be interesting,e.g. the USAF says you can't see the reports themselves, but it will admit that in June 1955, 18 UFO reports were made by USAF crews under JANAP 146 or AFM 55-11, another 22 in July, between 1955 and 1960, or 73 UFO reports were made in California by USAF crews under JANAP 146 or AFM 55-11, 52 were made in Alabama during the same period, etc.

a reply to: Banditsat12oclock


Regarding CIRVIS Military pilot UFO reports it seems all roads lead back to NORAD.

Would highly recommend the John Greenewald Junior presentation at the link as he basically shows NORAD are lying through their teeth just by citing their own documents.

Thank you very much.

Forgive me, which exact link are you referring to re: Greenewald Jr's presentation on NORAD?

a reply to: karl 12

a reply to: Banditsat12oclock


Here we go mate - sounds pretty conclusive to me.

From 14:15