I don't believe in life beyond the Earth, but I do believe in secret military technology as I have seen it in action, in broad daylight in Austin Texas.
IMO you can bet that every controller within 300nm witnessed this object on their screens, as they probably regularly do. Any of them that wish to keep their "government" job know full well what to say when civilians observe something they shouldn't have. Ahhh, it was a wierd weather phenomena, a balloon, swamp gas....etc.

If this craft had been "alien" in origin, and it's intentions unknown to all, it's appearance over ORD would be a major danger to ALL aircraft operating in the area and certainly would have rang alarm bells at every radar station in the Northeast. Had this occurred, it would be impossible to hide the event like they have done.

On a final note, if any of you think that the A380 and the 787 partly represent the pinnicle of aviation technology, well you certainly have another thing coming.....

Quoting SJC-Alien (Reply 5): Currently, any back-pack, idiot getting past security, or anything related, will shut down an airport or terminal wing.....FAST! Why didn't this...?

Well, it was a report from a few eye witnesses, nothing more.
Reading the report on the NUFORC website, it's little more than one person's account of seeing something strange - this justifies national press coverage???

Cover up??

Oh, please??

You think this wouldn't be on CNN if they thought it was a reliable and newsworthy (and entertaining!) story ???


Jimbo

Can´t understand why so much increaduablity over this possiblity.

UFO sightings are world wide especially during the new year.

I have seen one myself when I was a kid and am certain of what I saw.

Just my opinion.

Quoting Flyorski (Reply 3): Anyone take a photo , or video, or something. You'd think if this was real they would have recorded something....

Well, I never had the opportunity to carry a camera while working on the ramp. At least a camera within quick grabbing range. I would bring a camera for breaks, but it was just too darned iffy to carry in the old pocket.

I would imagine that they did see something, especially with so many reporting it.

Quoting NAVEGA (Reply 20): UFO sightings are world wide especially during the new year.

What, you mean it relates to the time of the year when most alcohol is consumed??

Quoting NAVEGA (Reply 20): I have seen one myself when I was a kid and am certain of what I saw.

Yes, you were certain you saw a UFO. It's an "Unidentified Flying Object". Something in the sky that you cannot identify - has nothing to do with alien beings, unless you choose to believe it is.

I'm certain I've seen many things that I cannot identify - but I don't immediately assume they must be alien sightings.


Jimbo

Quoting Bond007 (Reply 19): You think this wouldn't be on CNN if they thought it was a reliable and newsworthy (and entertaining!) story ???

It is on the CNN website now.....

Quoting Md80fanatic (Reply 18): I don't believe in life beyond the Earth

Really???!!! Not even millions of light-years away, other galaxies...? Why on earth (!)would you think we are the only ones?? Millions and millions of stars, planets, galaxies...it is NOT possible that there is no life outside of our planet. Are we visited by anyone, that's another story.

Quoting Coal (Reply 17): I can't believe the aliens are still flying those old contraptions. Any chance they'll order the 787? Cheers, Coal

Oh no not another when will the aliens replace the saucers thread  

Quoting SJC-Alien (Reply 5): Currently, any back-pack, idiot getting past security, or anything related, will shut down an airport or terminal wing.....FAST! Why didn't this...?

Because then the alien terrorists win.

I'm not taking any chances. I'm duct taping my windows, getting a year-supply of water and MREs, and reading up on this important guide: http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/

It could be a UAV. They can pull some amazing maneuvers.

However, I remember a case where an A-12 was caught refuelling too close to an airliner... FBI agents met them on the ground, they took everybody off and told them to never talk about what they did or didn't or may have seen...

As for aliens, I have no idea, I wouldn't be suprized if there were some star systems that had life on them.

Although I'm actually not sure what happened at ORD, could have been a UAV, might have been something else.

Andrea K

Isn't there a landing fee at O'Hare? They may have balked at the expense or their passports weren't in order. Or maybe they felt some sort of camaraderie now that TSA is probing passengers.

Quoting NAVEGA (Reply 20): Can´t understand why so much increaduablity over this possiblity.

People around the world believe in seances, too.

The only problem is the first ever reported seances (about 120 years ago) were shown to be complete hoaxes, admitted to by the hoaxers, as a way to get money out of the easily duped.

Yet, from those first hoaxes, the mythology of "real" seances has spread throughout the world like a virus.

UFOs started showing up during the flying age, not before. Why? Maybe because nobody before then really believed anyone could fly, thus neither could aliens fly. But as soon as flying became real, UFOs did too.

Why it took the actions of Orville and Wilbur to allow the aliens access to our planet, only those who swear they've seen alien UFOs can answer...

UFO's, alien spaceships or whatever you want to call them are rarely sighted near civilian airports, mainly around military installations. So it is a bit of a suprise one turned up at ORD. None of us know or ever will know what the object was. Whatever these flying objects are, governments and not least the US gov't are in a state of denial. Successive US governments denied the existence of Area 51 even though Soviet spy satellites proved it's existence.

Quoting [email protected] (Reply 30): Successive US governments denied the existence of Area 51 even though Soviet spy satellites proved it's existence

...and coincidentally, we know for fact that this is where new secret military aircraft were designed and/or built and/or tested ...and probably continue to do so today. I'm not surprized it was kept secret....and to a lesser extent it still is today.

I wonder what we would we would have thought if we'd seen the F117 flying 5 years before it was officially announced ... aliens of course. What else could it have been??

Jimbo

Quoting Airforum (Reply 14): I thought the alien technology was way ahead of ours. You'd say that even the cheapest UFO is fitted with some kind of TECAS.

Quoting Coal (Reply 17): I can't believe the aliens are still flying those old contraptions. Any chance they'll order the 787?

I'm actually onboard that very same UFO right now (no pre-arranged pickup, instead got suddenly sucked up into the bright noon Guanacaste sky while spotting at the pasture land adjacent to LIR's rwy 07/25), and I gotta tell you, these green guys really got a kick out of both your posts!

May be they were coming down to get a 60M light year tuneup and someone told them that Boeing moved their HQ to Chicago. I'm sure they changed their flight plan from SEA to ORD just before entering the solar system.

Quoting FFlyer (Reply 24): Quoting Md80fanatic (Reply 18): I don't believe in life beyond the Earth Really???!!!

That's correct.

The concept of aliens, and their associated technology, is >THE< perfect plausible deniability cover for advanced military flying hardware. If someone sees one of these exotic government birds....all they need do is say it was a weather balloon and immediately focus shifts from possible military hardware to visiting creatures from other worlds. It's brilliant.

Quoting Confuscius (Reply 7):

Looks like an A35550 -- crappy lines -- the B78887 is much sleeker.

To belabor the point, before flying machines, the "UFO" of choice was the spectral locomotive, the phantom stage coast, the ghost pirate ship, etc.

It's a natural human desire to want to believe in something beyond our understanding and then swear they saw it. But those who want to believe are quite unoriginal, as they can only really believe in what someone else has already proven to be possible or postulated.

At the turn of the century, writers began postulating about space travel, and scientists were focusing on studying the stars and planets more and more. Then you had WW1 and the barnstormers and War of the Worlds, and people became familiar with airplanes and enamored with the idea that aliens could be visiting. WW2 put that talk on hold for a while, though that war showed even greater examples of flying machines including rockets, and then the 50s saw a surge in UFO hysteria.

It's no coincidence that at that time the USA government was testing all sorts of experimental aircraft, and as others pointed out, denying "aliens" is a great cover for the activities, and much more entertaining than denying "research."

All you have to do to confuse someone is to put really bright lights on a fighter jet, more than normal, and then fly it directly towards a town from a very long way away, and then make a very sharp turn and climb into the clouds. Voila: hovering UFO with flashing lights that all of a sudden rockets away. You don't even need any hovering technology to make people believe they saw a hovering UFO...

Since this could be plane from the future, I'm surprised this has not turned into an A vs B war.

First, statistically speaking, it appears that we can't be alone in the universe.

Second, so far at least, physics shows that it takes enormous amounts of energy to travel great distances in a timely manner. Personally, I don't believe any aliens have visited.

I have 3 instances where I saw a UFO and later was able to identify it. But in each case, there were reports of people claiming it was alien craft since it could be nothing else.

One was a crop dusting helicopter flying at night - if you've ever seen one at night, you'll swear it is an alien. Another was simply a weather balloon, but the sun hit it just right, and it was going through different air currents and changing directions. My best experience was watching two very bright points of light off the east coast of Florida hover in the sky at dusk. Over a 30 minute period they rose and then lowered while staying in formation, with one slightly to the right and higher than the other. Finally, the lights disappeared. There were no launches from the cape. I knew immediately what it was because of my job, but lots of people saw it and concluded alien craft. It was submarine launched trident missiles heading southeastward.

There are so many other possibilities. With all the cameras and cell phone cameras around, you'd think we would have good evidence of an alien craft by now, if they were really here.

Even if other life forms existed in the universe, what would make them want to come to EARTH. And if they have ever come they usually end up meeting a farmer with bloodshot eyes at 3 am in the morning driving a beatup pickup. Who would want to come back after that.  

Quoting Viaggiare (Reply 32): I'm actually onboard that very same UFO right now (no pre-arranged pickup, instead got suddenly sucked up into the bright noon Guanacaste sky while spotting at the pasture land adjacent to LIR's rwy 07/25), and I gotta tell you, these green guys really got a kick out of both your posts!

Watch out for anal-probes.

Quoting Ikramerica (Reply 29): UFOs started showing up during the flying age, not before. Why?

Maybe because the aliens made their first flight in 1903 as well. But unlike Orville Wright, who stayed in the air for 12 seconds, they were able to fly for half a minute. Their succes in aviation technology never ended, so they flew the 787 at the time 'earth' people were stunned by the sight of a DC-1.

And when 'we' thought that nothing could ever beat the Concorde, 'they' launched their UFO3NG, the first UFO without winglets.

Quoting MD80fanatic (Reply 34): Quoting FFlyer (Reply 24): Quoting Md80fanatic (Reply 18): I don't believe in life beyond the Earth Really???!!! That's correct. The concept of aliens, and their associated technology, is >THE< perfect plausible deniability cover for advanced military flying hardware. If someone sees one of these exotic government birds....all they need do is say it was a weather balloon and immediately focus shifts from possible military hardware to visiting creatures from other worlds. It's brilliant.

There's a big difference between believing in life elswehere in the universe and believing aliens have visited us. To say that aliens have never visited us seems plausible because of the incredibly small odds that our tiny speck of a planet would be singled out for a visit from some far off star or galaxy. But to say that life doesn't exist elsewhere is to fly in the face of overwhelming odds that it probably does. Of course, until it is actually proven, you are certainly entitled to your view.

Quoting Ikramerica (Reply 36): To belabor the point, before flying machines, the "UFO" of choice was the spectral locomotive, the phantom stage coast, the ghost pirate ship, etc

I've never seen a UFO (or anything paranormal, for that matter) that I am aware of, therefore I don't believe in this stuff either. But I will say that I am "tolerant" to the idea that there might just be something else out there...

There is a lot about this world that we don't know and don't understand. And I'm sure that for every 100 ghost stories, UFO sightings/abductions, Bermuda Triangle mysteries and Loch Ness monsters, there are logical human and earthbound explanations for 99 of them. But I'll leave the door open for that 1/100 chance that there is something more to this universe than we are aware of. Not saying I believe in UFOs, just saying that I haven't seen anything in my life that convinces me.

I'd like to think that all those people at ORD saw something other than a UFO, even though some of the sightings were by somewhat credible sources. But are there any pictures? Any other 'proof'? Is the meterological answer a realistic one? Based on this story, there is nothing that makes me say I can believe it.

Quoting Laddb (Reply 37): With all the cameras and cell phone cameras around, you'd think we would have good evidence of an alien craft by now, if they were really here.

Absolutely correct!

We seem to have everything that ever happened captured on tape, but NEVER any credible evidence of alien UFOs .... simply never.

There may well be pictures that 'cannot be explained', but that's a long way off from any kind of proof.


Jimbo

Quoting FFlyer (Reply 24): it is NOT possible that there is no life outside of our planet.

Quoting ER757 (Reply 41): to say that life doesn't exist elsewhere is to fly in the face of overwhelming odds that it probably does.

Quoting Laddb (Reply 37): First, statistically speaking, it appears that we can't be alone in the universe.

First, statistically speaking, we can't exist in the first place. Given the typical astronomical lifespan of a solar system, and especially given the estimated geologic age of Earth, the possibility that random proteins aligned themselves and were energized in such a fashion as to form genetically based life is statistically impossible. Still more impossible is the progression from the single-celled organism to the complex lifeforms of modern times, still within the same geologic time frame. Statistics have failed to prove our existence, how can they prove the existence of others?

Quoting Charlienorth (Reply 25): Oh no not another when will the aliens replace the saucers thread

       

Quoting Ikramerica (Reply 29): The only problem is the first ever reported seances (about 120 years ago) were shown to be complete hoaxes, admitted to by the hoaxers, as a way to get money out of the easily duped.

Hmmm, I can think of three reported seances long before that...in "biblical" times   Now the modern ones, that's a different story...

Quoting Manny (Reply 38): Even if other life forms existed in the universe, what would make them want to come to EARTH.

Yes, the quintessential comedy line: the most convincing argument for the existence of intelligent life in the universe is the fact that it has not tried to contact us!

Quoting Bond007 (Reply 43): Quoting Laddb (Reply 37): With all the cameras and cell phone cameras around, you'd think we would have good evidence of an alien craft by now, if they were really here. Absolutely correct! We seem to have everything that ever happened captured on tape, but NEVER any credible evidence of alien UFOs .... simply never.

Yep....  

Quoting SJC-Alien (Reply 5): Currently, any back-pack, idiot getting past security, or anything related, will shut down an airport or terminal wing.....FAST! Why didn't this...?

Even by the eyewitness reports, no aliens violated the sterile area of the airport   Ya know, I think if these people reported the security threat and it was able to be credibly verified, they just might have evacuated the terminal. So, did these UA employees go to the TSA and/or airport operations and demand an investigation? Or were they afraid of the ensuing interrogation and drug tests? Or did they know that it was hopeless, since whatever they saw was no longer there. How can an investigation be performed on the uncorroborated, unverified testimony of "eyewitnesses"? What security measures should be put in place? Maybe cameras to watch the airspace? Satellites that might detect such an anomaly (under civilian control, no less)? Ground-based and aerial radar of the airspace in question (also operated by civilians)? Guess what? All that's already there, and I haven't found the parallel "unexplained radar anomaly" thread yet. So the appropriate response is not congressional hearings, it's go take depositions of these folks and file it away, in case it ever happens again. (That file's pretty big already, but it never seems to pan out.)

The first thing that tips an investigator to the credulity of a witness is how sure they are that they saw something. I watched myself pour my breakfast cereal this morning, but under serious and determined interrogation I could probably admit I don't remember exactly whether it was Wheaties or Total. These "witnesses" and many others are more "certain" of their sightings than they are of their own names. That's a big red flag. It suggests that perhaps their names (or identity, if you wish) hinge on the belief in their phantasm.

Finally, the press doesn't have an angle on this. Now if the CBS chopper got footage, you can bet it's on the news- but public reports are much less valuable. If you want media attention, promise them an exclusive.   

The reason I am skeptical is in an age of YouTube, where someone risks their life by sneaking a cell phone cam into the hanging of a Middle Eastern leader, and then gets it up on the net within hours, why is there no cell pic or cell vid of the UFO?

Quoting Richierich (Reply 42): But I will say that I am "tolerant" to the idea that there might just be something else out there...

Oh, me too. I just don't think anyone on earth has seen a UFO.

I have a probability theory that goes like this:

The odds of life on any planet are beyond small. The odds that life could have formed on earth are astronomically small, no pun intended.

Yet life is on earth. Thus, it proves that it is possible.

So, the odds that life on earth exists now are actually 100%, right? And if the universe is near infinite and time is near infinite, then the odds that life DOESN'T exist somewhere else are near zero.

It's the lottery paradox. The odds of winning the lottery are so small, you shouldn't enter. Yet someone wins the lottery in about 50% of the draws (averaged out). Sometimes you go 10 draws without a winner, other times you get 5 winners in one draw. The odds of SOMEONE winning the lottery at any time is 50%. The odds of someone winning the lottery eventually is 100%. And that would be true no matter how many numbers you had to draw.

The odds of life existing on other planets is pretty much 100%. The odds we will find them or they will find us? Close to 0.

The odds this was an alien UFO over ORD? Zero.

The odds some rampers are having fun at their company's expense? Much higher...

Quoting Agill (Reply 39): Watch out for anal-probes.

Hehe. Yep, I too had read abductees always get a probe or two. But no, these outer space dudes are so cute and friendly. Calmed my anxiety right away by explaining -in my native Spanish- how global warming these days has forced them to restrict this otherwise ubiquitous procedure to earthlings kidnapped within 10° South of Earth's Arctic Circle.

As for why the flying saucer didn't land at ORD, the crew seems to have decided it wasn't worth sitting on the tarmac for an hour trying to get to a gate to visit Chicago.

Cheers!

Very eerie. This was the first I've heard of this event..pretty creepy. I think I believe in UFO's, but I never thought there would be an eye-witness account here in the midwest (usually in the southwest, like New Mexico/ Area 51). I wish a picture was published..

-Ryan

The fact that there is life on earth could be nothing more than the manifestation of a higher power, not the manifestation of statistical probability fulfilling itself, so we can not take life on earth as de facto proof that it must exist elsewhere, as well. The size of the universe is not an argument for life in outer space. Case in point, on my desk is a bag of tostitos corn chips. According to that logic, there must be a similiar desk somewhere in outerspace, with a similiar bag of tostitos corn chips. Surely with all the galaxies out there, there must be at least one other bag of tostitos corn chips in outer space? Yet somehow, I doubt it. Just because you start with a big number, that doesn't mean that number produces anything. If you have a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters for a million years, I doubt they will produce any literary classics.

[Edited 2007-01-03 07:07:38]