Subj: 11                    2/4      Conf: (195) UFO
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for a few minutes, then sped away."  (See the
Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star for April 7, 1998.
Many thanks to Kenneth Young, public relations
director for Tri-States Advocates for Scientific
Knowledge, T.A.S.K., for forwarding the article.)
SPHERICAL BLACK UFO
SEEN NEAR DALLAS, TEXAS
     On Sunday, April 12, 1998, at 11 a.m., a U.S.
Air Force veteran, Mike H., and his family were
driving north on Interstate Highway 35 northwest
of Dallas, Texas.
     As he drove through the suburb of Farmers
Branch (population 24,250), Mike reported,
"I spotted a black round-shaped UFO flying very
fast and just below the clouds.  The object looked
quite small to me, less than the size of a pencil
held at arm's length.  But due to the height, even a
large object would look small."
     At first Mike said nothing to his family, wondering
if the object might be a bird, but then he realized
that "it was flying much too fast" to be a bird.
     The motorists kept the UFO in view as they
drove past Royal Lane and L.B. Houston Park,
heading for Interstate Highway 635, aka the Lyndon B.
Johnson Freeway.
     "The object was moving faster than we were,"
Mike reported.  "Our vehicle was moving approximately
65 miles per hour, and the object moved past us in
the same direction and within ten seconds was out
of sight."  (Email Interview)
(Editor's Comment: Ten seconds to the horizon would
mean an estimated speed of 1,440 miles per hour.)
SHEFFIELD UFO CASE CAUSES
A FUROR IN BRITAIN
     The March 24, 1997 UFO incident in the Peak
District west of Sheffield is now the subject of an
investigation by the newspaper Sheffield Star,
the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA)
and the Hon. Helen Jackson, Member of Parliament
for Sheffield/Hillsborough.
     In early April, the Sheffield Star revealed that
the RAF had conducted a low-altitude training
exercise that night and had participated in a massive
air-and-ground search for a purported missing
aircraft.
     Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Jackson submitted a list
of questions about the Sheffield case to the UK
Ministry of Defence (MoD).
     On April 7, 1998, John Spellar, Under-Secretary of
Defense sent Mrs. Jackson this response: "It is not
possible 12 months after the date in question to state
precisely where military activities were being carried
out.  Records kept show only that aircraft were tasked
to carry out low flying over the Peak District between
2030 and 2107 (8:30 to 9:07 p.m.) local time on the
evening of 24 March 1997.  No low-level flying is
permitted over the Sheffield urban area or any other
major conurbation."
     The night of March 24, 1997, instruments at the
University of Edinburgh recorded two mysterious
sonic booms in the Sheffield area.  Eyewitnesses
on the ground reported seeing a triangular UFO and
up to six RAF Tornado fighters flying overhead.
     According to the May/June 1997 issue of UFO
Magazine (page 9), the witnesses described the
object as "a huge triangular-shaped UFO (that) passed
directly overhead at 300 feet at 9:30 p.m.  The craft
had pinkish-colored lights around its curved edges and
a blinking blue light on its underside and 'lit up the
street as bright as day.'"
     Since March 24, 1997, rumors of a UFO air battle
and a Tornado crash have circulated in Derbyshire and
South Yorkshire.  According to the story, the triangular
UFO appeared over Dronfield, Derbyshire.  Six RAF
Tornado interceptors engaged in an air attack on the
craft.  The UFO supposedly shot down a Tornado,
which crashed in a reservoir near the Howden Moors
in Derbyshire.  The UFO then fled into space.
     Following the exchange of letters between
Under-Secretary Spellar and Mrs. Jackson, BUFORA
press officer Dave Clarke inteviewed Alan Pattison
of MoD's "UFO desk" and his deputy, Squadron Leader
Tom Manning of the RAF.
     According to Clarke, the men "confirmed the planes
involved in the incident were two Tornado GR1 Strike
aircraft which were operating from the base at RAF
Marham on a pre-booked and pre-planned low-level
training exercise over the Peak District.  These
Tornados were the type used on bombing missions
in the (Persian) Gulf War and are not fighters that
would be scrambled for an intercept."
     "They also admitted that other Tornados and indeed
Jaguar fighters from other NATO bases took part in
the night-time sortie, which included night-time flying at
a minimum 250 feet altitude over the mountains west
of Sheffield."
     UFO researcher Max Burns has claimed that the
triangular mystery object was tracked on radar at 9:55
p.m. that night by the Royal Signals unit at the RAF
Linton-upon-Ouse base, near the city of York.
     Clarke stated, "The MoD/RAF current position is
that the two sonic booms recorded at 2132 and 2206
(9:32 and 10:06 p.m. by Edinburgh) that night remain
'unexplained.'  They claim the low-flying exercise was
over fifty minutes before these sonic events were
recorded and say that they have no record of them at
the time of the exercise."
     Pattison and Manning stated, "We did not chase
a UFO, and there has been no cover-up.  We responded
to a request by the police to help to search for a crashed
aircraft and sent a helicopter from RAF Leconfield.  We
don't know what caused the sonic events, and the whole
thing is a mystery to us, too."
     Clarke revealed that the air-and-ground search
involved 200 police, fire and military reserve personnel,
who covered an area of 40 square miles around
Bolsterstone, South Yorkshire.  The helicopter from
RAF Leconfield was a Westland Sea King HAS Mk 6,
which assisted the West Yorkshire police helicopter
in the search.  (See the Sheffield Star for April 4, 1998.
Also UFO Roundup, volume 2, number 12 for March 30,
1997.  Many thanks to Dave Clarke of BUFORA and
John Hayes for this story.)
NEW CYDONIA PHOTO ADDS
TO MARS MYSTERIES
     The Mars Global Surveyor snapped a second
high-resolution photo of the Cydonia region on Mars
this week, this time encompassing an area known
as "The City."
     On its 239th orbit, Surveyor once again aimed
its Mars Orbiting Camera (MOC) at the desert
lowlands at latitude 40.8 degrees north and
longitude 9.6 degrees west.  And, just like last
week, the photo's appearance on the Internet raised
a ruckus.
     On Thursday, April 16, 1998, a memo from a
person identifying himself as "Fred Kurros" appeared
on a website, alleging that Surveyor's images showed
artificial structures.
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