UFO Alert: FAA Silences Air Traffic Controllers and Hoax Theory has Problems

by Bill Knell Page 1 of 1 page(s)
http://www.opednews.com

On Monday, April 21, 2008, odd red lights appeared in the sky over Phoenix, Arizona. Video and photos were taken and Air Traffic Controllers in the main tower at Sky Harbor International Airport saw them. The FFA says that the lights did not appear on radar and weren't a threat to any air traffic, so no action was taken. However, the FAA has issued a statement saying that they will not allow the Air Traffic Controllers to talk about what they saw.

According to regional FAA Spokesperson Ian Gregor, it's against agency policy to allow the ATCs to discuss what they saw. The Phoenix New Times reported the story about the silencing of the Sky Harbor Air Traffic Controllers. They have already filed an official request to receive any documents or recordings that contain statements about the lights by the ATCs.

When asked what the FAA plans to do about the appearance of the lights in the sky over Phoenix on Monday night, FAA Spokesperson Ian Gregor said, "There is nothing to investigate." This is in direct opposition to the FAA policy to investigate anything and everything strange that might be reported in the sky over the USA. That policy has been in place since the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.

Just a day after the lights were spotted, the Arizona Republic newspaper reported that Phoenix resident Lino Mailo claimed his neighbor launched several helium balloons with flares on them. Lilo says the balloons went up in the sky from his neighbor's yard around 8pm on Monday night. A Phoenix Police Helicopter Pilot also says that he saw what he believed were helium balloons with flares hanging from them. Despite these claims, there are some problems with the helium balloons explanation.

After hearing the hoax story, I contacted a friend who lives in Phoenix. He agreed to try and reach Mailo or his neighbor. Since the article came out on Tuesday, attempts to contact Lino Mailo have failed. He does not answer his door and his neighbor wasn't home when my friend stopped by on two occasions. In fact, people living two houses down from Mailo say that they know Lino's next store neighbor and he was not home on Monday night. They claim they were out in their own backyard that evening and would have seen balloons with flares being launched. They also agreed to ask him about the flare story when they next see or speak with him.

By contrast, a number of witnesses have come forward to say that jets took off from Luke Air Force Base on Monday night. Luke still claims they had no aircraft in the sky that evening. Further, I asked Kelly Atwood, a professional photographic software expert, to take a look at the video and photos from 4/21/08 lights event. She has extensive experience examining UFO photos for legitimacy and has been able to identify many hoaxes involving balloons, dry cleaning bags and flares.

Kelly says that the lights were too bright and the wrong color to be flares. She also states that the video does not show the normal affect that flares exhibit as they burn. Instead, the lights resemble objects that would have been much larger with a steady source of illumination. Kelly lives in phoenix, but was working on Monday night and didn't see the lights.

Apart from the holes in the hoax story, the FAA issues and Luke Air Force Base denials that jets were in the air when residents living near Luke say jets taking off, there are other things that point to the fact that strange lights have been back over Phoenix for some time. All told, there have been hundreds of reports about strange lights and unidentified objects in the Phoenix area since the original March 13, 1997 infamous 'Phoenix Lights' event. Many of the reports include photos, video, and come from credible witnesses.



http://www.ufoguy.com
Bill Knell is a popular Speaker, Author and Consultant with eclectic interests. Best known for his Paranormal Research and Seminars, Bill also excels in the area of personal, business and financial advice and management. Featured in the Wall Street Journal, Omni, the L.A. Times, Toronto Star and NY Times; seen on CNN, NBC Nightly News, Fox Television and many Cable Networks; heard on Mancow, Bob and Tom and Howard Stern; consultant to films like Independence Day, Men in Black, the Fifth Element and War of the Worlds.