SUBJECT: ATC, FAA AT ODDS ON UFOs FILE: UFO1285
NEWS CLIPPING SERVICE
DATE OF ARTICLE: March 26, 1989
SOURCE OF ARTICLE: Rocky Mountain News
LOCATION: Denver, Colorado
BYLINE: Kris Newcomer
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AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS, FAA AT ODDS ON UFOS
By Kris Newcomer
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
The government is blaming a power outage, but some air
traffic controllers say that's not what caused apparent UFOs to
appear on radar at the Denver Air Route Traffic Control Center in
Longmont.
"These unidentified targets looked like actual aircraft,
with apparently normal speeds and altitudes," said air traffic
controller Kevin Cain.
In comments released Friday, Cain said the UFO incident
occurred Tuesday--luckily at a slow time of day. The Longmont
center controls aircraft flying across Colorado and Wyoming and
parts of five other states.
During the incidents, Cain wrote that "some controllers had
a dozen or more of these targets merging with actual aircraft
targets over a half hour period."
Mitch Baker, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation
Administration, said the problem was traced to a damaged
component in the center's computer system. He theorized that the
damage was caused by a commercial power outage in Grand Junction
the day before false targets started appearing on Longmont radar
screens.
But Cain said he doesn't blame the power outage.
Cain said he believes "the new computer just went haywire
for that period of time."
Neither official so much as hinted that the blips on
Longmont radar screens were representative of unidentified
objects.
The FAA is sticking with the power outage theory, Barker
said.
"Yes, I'm sure," he said.
"I'm not saying that's the official explanation. I mean,
you can never say 'definitely,'" he said.
"Of course, I can't swear on the Bible or anything. But,
I'm sure."
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
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