Former BBC Economics Editor Weighs In On Bentwaters UFO
Former BBC economics editor Evan Davis has published an article at BBC.co.uk debunking the 1980 Rendlesham Forest (UK) UFO close encounter reported by U.S. military personnel stationed at nearby RAF Bentwaters.
If you aren't familiar with the Bentwaters UFO incident, here's a primer:
In 1980, RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk, England was jointly operated by the RAF and the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing of the USAF. It was the largest tactical fighter wing in the Air Force.
Former Bentwaters Deputy Base Commander Col. Charles Halt, now retired, has stated repeatedly that, in December of 1980, he witnessed a "blinking" UFO moving through nearby Rendlesham Forest. Other personnel under Halt's command who were deployed to investigate have testified that they approached a craft and examined it for 45 minutes.
Tree limbs had been broken off during the craft's descent and radiation readings taken at the landing site were well above normal background. Plaster casts were made of landing gear impressions left in the ground. A recording of radio chatter (mp3) taped by Halt (and transcribed here) during the encounter is now part of the public record, as are sketches of markings on the craft.
The Bentwaters incident took place over two nights. Multiple objects observed by multiple witnesses variously hovered, changed shape and color, cast down beams of light and traveled away at "impossible" speeds. When the show was over, nobody asked for a refund.
Quoth the BBC's Former Economics Editor
Fast forward 30 years and the BBC posts Davis' article dismissing all testimony given to date. Rather than interviewing any of the witnesses, he says, "Nothing could persuade me that extra-terrestrials are hovering above us ... There is no evidence you could cite that would make me change my mind."
He goes on to describe his fact-finding mission to Rendlesham, a late-night trip to the forest during which he observed stars in the sky and a lighthouse five miles distant and declares the whole UFO business a misunderstanding.
Continued on the next page
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