IT was a sighting that alerted UFO spotters across the globe.
Caught on amateur video camera, six mysterious objects flew at incredible speed in formation across the skies above Manchester.
Excited cameraman Steve Harrison posted a message on etcontact.net, a website devoted to gathering evidence of UFOs worldwide and waited to learn if he had witnessed an alien flypast.
But the truth was arguably even stranger. Mr Harrison had witnessed a rare outing by another elusive phenomenon - the Dutch air force.
The mystery began when civil servant Mr Harrison, 51, was in his garden at Rossendale with his wife on Monday. Both of them saw six distinctive vapour trails appear on the western horizon.
In his report on etcontact.net, he said the objects were flying: "in a sort of formation i.e. not in a line."
Mr Harrison added that the objects were "travelling fast in parallel and in a pattern that was maintained from horizon to horizon.
"I videoed whole event and have perfect pictures of the trails, but despite zooming in I was unable to observe any craft or object at head of vapour trail."
He ended the report by speculating that the objects in the "amazing sighting" may have been meteors.
Investigators set about tackling the riddle and discovered the mysterious aircraft were actually F-16 fighter jets of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Although Holland is not renowned for its military might, the country was taking part in a massive Nato exercise - Operation Clean Hunter - across Europe and the UK.
Conducted from a base in Germany, the exercise involves planes attempting to take and defend air space.
Flights are conducted during the day to minimise noise and cover an area which extends from mid-France to Denmark and from the United Kingdom to mid-Poland.
Mr Harrison, who says he is "neither a sceptic nor believer" in UFOs, was disappointed to learn the truth.
"I thought they might be planes, but I couldn't see anything at the head of the trails and I didn't think they flew in formation at that altitude," he said.
"I thought it would be something much more unusual than the Dutch air force."
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I took a photo of these 'UFOs', which show they were planes -- but I did wonder what they were doing in formation at that altitude.
http://www.paraxial.co.uk/Dutch_Airforce_1.jpg
http://www.paraxial.co.uk/Dutch_Airforce_2.jpg
On March 12, 2000 at 12:15 PM from a perspective facing North toward the Northern terminus of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA US, a photo was taken that graphically recorded multiple discs that include luminescent domes, and the surrounding platters. This photo was the first of 200+ photos and 50+ videos, which were published on the Internet. 50,000+ unique visitors viewed this photographic and video data over three years.
All data was authentic!
Now, the entire database has been permanently removed from the Internet.
What can be learned from this experience?
This author, responsible for this entire exposition can without qualification state; the average human simply cannot deal with every implication of extra-terrestrial contact.
Those who attempt to exploit such data for personal or political gain will in time be proven in error.
Those who attempt to limit or hide such realities will in time be proven in error.
Those who read these comments are in jeopardy, danger if you will, from those forces bent on containment of UFO realities.
Regards.
I have been a ufo/paranormal investigator for over forty years i have spoken to military people police membres of the public
all have seen things they can't explain
i myself have seen over half a dozen ufos they were not comets meteors or planet venus
YES INDEED I HAVE SEEN A UFO. i ALSO HAVE BEEN IN IT AND ALSO WAS PRODED POKED AND USED AS A LAB RAT ! THIS WAS IN PARK SLOPE BROOKLYN IN THE YEAR 1969. I HAVE SCARS AND A MEMORY THAT I CAN NEVER FORGET. BELIEVE IN THEM BECAUSE THEY SURE BELIEVE IN US.
i saw a black tube over eccles in may 04. it was a clear day the object was stationry it was higher than the planes t barton air port,it seam to have a rocking motion i watched it for about 5 miniutes theniy just rose stright up until icould not see it