The TV news report was startling. A woman aboard a London-bound plane had unwittingly filmed an Unidentified Flying Object—a UFO!

This was back in the time of cine cameras, and she had been filming out of the window. She hadn’t really noticed anything unusual. But when her film came back from the processing lab, she saw the UFO zooming around the skies.

She’d contacted the news agencies. They printed the photos. She was interviewed for TV and radio. Experts gathered to review her film record. Scientists even produced a scale model of what the craft would have looked like. The speed at which it appeared and disappeared made it clear that the UFO was using a propulsion source unknown to us.

Then the debate began as to whether these extra-terrestrials were friendly or hostile. Was Earth about to be invaded? Should we begin to take defensive measures? But with technology like that, what could we do?

The scare ran for a while, until an enterprising TV crew decided to occupy exactly the same seat on the same plane as the woman. Incredibly, they also recorded the same UFO.

But investigating further, they found that the UFO was a paint flake that was still loosely attached to the bodywork. In the wind, it flapped around, and made all kinds of interesting shapes and movements.

The news report was brief. No one wishes to look so foolish, especially not journalists and editors. The affair dropped off the radar as quickly as the UFO had seemingly sped away. And nothing more was said.

© Jonathan Gallagher