In a Chicago Tribune column published Jan. 1, Jon Hilkevitch reported on the Nov. 7, 2006, incident.

Hilkevitch wrote that the object was first seen by a United ramp worker at about 4:30 p.m., while directing a United plane at Gate C17. Several other United employees also reportedly witnessed the UFO.

When the Associated Press picked up the story this week, major media outlets such as the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC News and National Public Radio carried reports on the encounter. Even the political Web site TruthDig.com carried a report of the sighting.

The incident has also triggered press reports in Canada, Australia, UK, Germany and elsewhere.

Editor & Publisher, the journal and Web site that covers the press, reported on the news media coverage of the O’Hare incident.

WELL-DEFINED METALLIC DISC

A United mechanic in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 spotted the disc above Gate C17, Hilkevitch reported. Eyewitnesses claimed the metallic-looking disc was “well defined” in the sky.

No lights were reported and the size of the object was estimated to be 6 feet to 24 feet in diameter.

Witnesses stated the object was in a stationary position and was silent, according to Hilkevitch. It hovered just below the cloud deck which was estimated to be 1,900 feet that day.

"… I know that what I saw and what a lot of other people saw stood out very clearly, and it definitely was not an [Earth] aircraft," said a mechanic who witnessed the object.

A United manager reportedly ran outside from his office when he heard about the sighting on an internal airline radio frequency.

The object suddenly shot up, creating an unusual circular hole in the clouds, through which clear sky could be seen by witnesses.

Peter Davenport, director of the National UFO Reporting Center, subsequently received information about the incident, according to published reports.

News accounts have claimed at least six people, and perhaps more, witnessed the object. There has also been speculation that many witnesses have chosen not to come forward.

There are also unconfirmed reports that photos were taken of the object.

Initially, United Airlines and the FAA claimed they had no information on the incident ... until the Tribune filed a Freedom of Information Act request.

Interestingly, United and FAA officials have since reportedly found indications of the eyewitness reports.

"Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon," said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

MEN IN BLACK TO COUNSEL WITNESSES?

Some media coverage of the incident is predictably using a humorous approach, making reference to the movie MEN IN BLACK and to the TV series THE X-FILES.

This may not be funny for those who saw the strange disc and were honest and courageous enough to make reports.

Apart from the shock of actually seeing something so unusual, and coming to some natural conclusions about what it might be, witnesses sometimes report harassment and threats.

Military and civilian pilots are known to be quite reticent about reporting unusual flying objects. Careers reportedly can be significantly damaged when pilots report seeing a UFO.

Some accounts even include fairly aggressive interrogation or debriefing by mysterious government agents who help witnesses forget what they saw, or at least stay silent about it.

Many UFO investigators claim that the quasi-government group known as Majestic-12, MJ-12 or MAJIC has been in charge of the UFO situation since 1947, when a flying disc with several extraterrestrial biological entities (EBEs) on board crashed near Roswell, New Mexico.

President Harry Truman reportedly ordered the creation of this group and it has continued to this day, according to UFO lore.

Some researchers allege that material from the crashed Roswell disc was quickly taken to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, for examination and that much of this type of government research has since shifted to military facilities in New Mexico and Nevada.

Other reports claim that President Dwight Eisenhower met with an extraterrestrial delegation in 1954 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

While a congressman from Michigan in the mid-1960s, former President Gerald Ford requested a government inquiry about UFOs after a series of sightings in Michigan.

One story even claims that also in the mid-1960s, an exchange program between the U.S. and the visiting EBEs took place.

According to information allegedly disclosed by Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) personnel, this program resulted in several astronaut-trained U.S. military personnel being sent on an extended mission to the EBEs’ home planet via one of their advanced spacecraft, which had landed at a New Mexico Air Force base.

This program is alleged to have been called “Project CRYSTAL KNIGHT” and was later renamed “Project SERPO” after most of the surviving U.S. personnel returned home and were debriefed.

Whatever the truth of these many tales about UFOs, “The O’Hare Incident” is sure to find a place in the continuing mystery about what is going on ... and what is going to happen in the future regarding disclosure to the public about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors.

Steve Hammons is also the author of two novels about a U.S. Government and military joint-service research team investigating unusual phenomena. MISSION INTO LIGHT and the sequel LIGHT'S HAND introduce readers to the ten women and men of the "Joint Reconnaissance Study Group" and their exciting adventures exploring the unknown. Both novels are available from the Barnes & Noble Web site, bn.com, and other booksellers worldwide.

Copyright © 2007 Steve Hammons
email: ohio52@navyseals.com
website: http://navyseals.com/community/members/Ohio52/

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