What I'm about to share with you is absolutely true, although you may never have heard of it. The press covered it before it suddenly became very hard
to find online as it is an older story. Disclaimer: I am retelling it, not to ridicule; rather, it happens to be one of the funniest stories I have
ever heard.
The following UFO video thread by Sublimecraft
www.abovetopsecret.com... reminded me that I had featured it on an old
website of mine so I searched some old files.
Here's the story
It happened in 1998. When it was made, it was said to cover the full area of 5 soccer fields or pitches, picture it: That's f-i-v-e soccer fields.
With over $640, 000 worth of instruments affixed to it to measure the ozone layer, it was filled with helium and stood 25 storeys high. (Imagine it:
That sucker was equal to a 25 storey building!) It was a mighty balloon that could be seen from a distance of 180 kms, or from 111 miles away.
The scientists' plan was to launch it on Monday, let it do its thing and on Wednesday it would fall back slowly to earth with the important
instruments. The collected data would be sent to science researchers with the Canadian Space Agency, Environment Canada and the University of Denver,
Colorado.
The project began smoothly enough on Monday, August 24, 1998, at an airfield in western Canada, in Saskatchewan, from where the prized scientific
ozone-measuring balloon was launched.
That's when the paradigm began to shift and liberty began to manifest itself in a totally new way: The gigantic balloon began to drift eastward.
Now Canada is a huuuuuuge country. At first no one seemed to worry, because it could easily be spotted from a distance of over one hundred and ten
miles and Saskatchewan is very flat. Saskatchewan happens to be Canada's breadbasket with mile upon mile of fertile wheat fields. The monstrously
huge balloon would probably set down in one of those endless fields, but no one had reported seeing it yet.
Now in spite of the belief and expectation that it would return on Wednesday as it was supposed to do, the balloon acquired a nature akin to that of a
rebellious youth who believes he will live forever. Turning away from expectations and plans, it followed a force beyond its control. A force of
true liberation grabbed it, compelling it to rise majestically, then dance freely as only a balloon full of helium could. It was one with the sky.
It rose, completely liberated, coasting and drifting and soaring whereever it pleased. Can you appreciate how the open skies beckoned and played with
it at every whim of the wind on this August day? How awesome it must have been!
No one on the ground knew for sure where the darn thing was. Just to make sure though, the Canadian Air Force was sent out to spot it. Two CF-18s
criss-crossed the skies and scanned the glorious grain fields of Saskatchewan but they could not locate it anywhere on the ground.
You'd never be faulted for thinking that with a transponder any plane in the air could detect its presence and thus avoid danger, but the problem was
that there was no transponder on that humungous helium balloon. Why put one on when the balloon is only supposed to rise, then return shortly to
earth and be easily spotted by anyone within 111 miles? Saskatchewan is uber f-l-a-t, so there were no anticipated problems in finding it.
The freedom flight of the mighty balloon continued across Manitoba with all its lakes, and at some point it was spotted. Finally. Canadian pilots
who, just the year before had won the cup declaring them to be the best fighters in the world at the Top Gun competition, tried to shoot it down.
The-Mighty- Balloon- That- Could just kept on drifting, rising and drifting, playing with clouds, ducking and hiding again from the pilots. Oh my,
they could not have been pleased.
In what surely must have been a nightmarish scenario, air traffic controllers had to be alerted to stand ready to reroute. Lots and lots of planes
fly in and out of Pearson Airport in Toronto as well as the Trudeau International and Dorval airports in Montreal. Lots land in the Maritime
provinces, but many huge planes cross the north Atlantic too. --See where this is going?
The US maritime dispatched a surveillance plane from Iceland to look for the balloon using radar, but failed to locate it. The RAF joined in, trying
to locate it as well.
According to the BBC
Two Canadian air force CF-18 fighters fired more than 1,000 rounds of cannon shells into it off the coast of Newfoundland.
Cannon shells? Off Newfoundland? Oooh, by then they must have been some pissed! But after all those shells, they had to face the fact that they
either missed or our Top Gun pilots simply could not fell a balloon!
The USAF engaged the enemy too, and poured their ammo at The Mighty-Balloon-That-Could over the northern Atlantic, but in case you didn't guess it, I
have to inform you that the USAF pilots were unsuccessful as well! (Hey you just cannot make this stuff up)
There was absolute bedlam in all the air traffic control towers of Europe. Delays, re-scheduling, re-routing and in addition I'm confidently guessing
that a temporary no-fly zone was quickly established.
Enter the British RAF with guns a-blazing. A multi-national targeting exercise was now being played out over the Atlantic sky. But the RAF had no
better luck than the Canadians or the Americans.
An Icelandic official said the Canadian attack had caused extensive punctures but failed to release the helium gas from the balloon.
We'll never know how many countries were involved in trying to down the balloon, but according to Norwegian aviation authorities, the balloon was last
seen drifting over into Russian air space on Monday, August 31st, at about 0500GMT over the Barents Sea just north of the Arctic island of Spitzbergen
in Finland!
The holes in the balloon did allow for its final descent in Finland. While the scientists received the data, the instruments never detached as they
were supposed to do and were not recovered.
Oh wait! There's one more thing. I had filed this story somewhere and guess what brought it back again? A thread of a UFO of course. Think that
mystery video might be solved, Sublimecraft?
And that, ATSers is my best story.
Some links to the story
Care to share yours?
edit on 1-3-2014 by aboutface because: (no reason given)