Airliner Had Near Miss With UFO,Says MOD

CS: Could you tell me, in your own words, what happened?

AZ: It was during descent, and our position was right in the middle of the Channel between France and England. We were coming down with the autopilot, which is connected to a computer. The descent rate was 1,200 feet per minute. When we were at about 26,000 feet we increased the rate of descent. Of course, when doing that, the speed was going up and we were going faster. So, me and my co-pilot looked outside since we had another aircraft in front. We didn't see the shape of that aircraft, we just saw their anticollision lights. The other plane was ahead of me, about 15 miles. It seemed to us that we were using this distance because of our increasing speed. We were looking out occasionally. Usually we do not look with such intensity as we did this time.

I was crossing 22,100 feet and we were heading 321 when I saw something coming, heading 110-120, about.

CS: So the object was coming from left to right in front of you?

AZ: It was coming from the left to the right. The day was coming down but we had light because of the height. So I saw something circular, very similar to a missile. I used the word "missile" because of the shape, not because I saw a missile. It was like a missile. It was round, about ten feet long, light brown colour and I said to my co-pilot "look out, look out". He was already looking outside with me because of the flight in front of us, not because of the unknown object. And he saw what I saw.

We reported it directly to the control and I asked "Have you something on your screen? It should be behind me now'. Our speed was about 380 knots, but I don't know about the object's speed, of course.

As soon as I asked this to the control, he said to me "Yes, I target something that is now ten miles behind you". That he said in the moment we asked him. When we landed in London I called, I think it was the chief controller, or something like that, and he told me that we were targeted at 22,100 feet.

After one day they told me that it had been a helicopter going northeast, instead of southeast as I had said. And, as you know, it is impossible for a helicopter to be at 22,000 feet. I suggested that they should replay the radar tape again and look at all the spots and rebuild the scene. That was what I suggested the day after, but I never have had any exchanges of ideas, as I am now having with you, with anybody from the British state, or someone else.

CS: I wrote a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority in London and got a reply. I can read from it if you are interested.

AZ: Yes.

CS: "Both Air Defence and Army firing ranges have been ruled out and the Ministry of Defence had no report of any space activity which could provide an explanation. The description of the object does not correspond to that expected had it been a meteorological balloon. The investigation has therefore been closed and the sighting will be listed as an unidentified flying object". So it is no helicopter anymore.

AZ: No helicopter. It is very strange... They thought about a meteorological balloon and so did I. As soon as I saw this object I scanned my INS platform about the wind. I remember that it was coming diagonal, five knots. Usually it goes straight up. It never goes in line as the object I saw, especially when there is no wind.

CS: Was this object passing between you and the other aircraft?

AZ: No, the other aircraft was below, at about 12,000 feet.

CS: How many minutes later did you land at Heathrow?

AZ: This was 23 minutes before landing.

CS: How was the weather at the time? Was it dark?

AZ: It was dark down. It was light up because of the sun.

CS: You didn't see any exhaust trail or something?

AZ: No. If you take a military aircraft, they carry an extra tip-fuel. It was similar to that as far as I remember, the shape could be that.

CS: But it was hard to see exactly?

AZ: Yes, quite impossible, it was just a flash. First, I didn't even want to make a report because It is always difficult that someone will believe you.

CS: So, if they hadn't seen it on radar on the ground you wouldn't have reported it?

AZ: No, I say no. It is strange that when I say "we have something around me that now should be behind me" the controller said to me "yes, you have a target behind you ten miles". I don't think he would have said this if it had been a meteorological balloon. If the object was stationary and not travelling towards me, and if you calculate the time from my question to his answer, it should be four-five miles behind me. My speed was about 400 miles per hour. But if it was something with speed he would be nine or ten miles behind me. From my question to the answer it was 40-60 seconds.

CS: So, the object was travelling with its own speed?

AZ: Yes.

CS: Then it must have had some sort of propulsion system.

AZ: But I didn't see any exhaust, flame or... nothing .

CS: When a pilot sees something he doesn't understand, he usually doesn't report it, if I understand you right?

AZ: Usually we ask the radar first if he saw what we saw. And if he says that he didn't see anything, we didn't see anything either.

CS: You need a confirmation.

AZ: Yeah.

CS: How were you treated afterwards, when you told other pilots and persons of your experience?

AZ: Some people smiled and some people asked me what it was. Some want to make clamour of this but I left home for four days to avoid the press. This is something you experience once in a lifetime and I will never forget it. It is like a photo that will never get out of my head. It was very, very fast. Even now I remember these brief moments. [10]