This extraordinary report details an extremely close encounter that rivals the close proximity of the UFO in the Gorman account, and the Valentichcase.
Several Royal Air Force Tornado were flying over the North Sea when they encountered an unidentified flying object. The UFO would fly in to the right side of one Tornado, accelerate to a 12 o'clock position, and then speed away.
Later, as more details of the event became public, it was noted that veteran pilot Captain Mike D'Alton saw the giant flying saucer as it showed its power and speed over the ocean on November 5. In a newspaper interview, he stated:
"UFO appeared in our right hand side... we were traveling at Mach point 8. It went into our 12 o'clock position and accelerated away. Another 2 Tornados saw it. In all my 23 years of flying I've never seen a craft [operate] anything like this."
He later would add that he thought the UFO "came from outer space." The plane was on a night flight from Rome to London when the dramatic event took place.
Captain D'Alton would also state that he was convinced of the extraterrestrial origin of the object because of its tremendous speed and agility. The UFO made no sonic boom, though traveling above the speed of sound. It also made maneuvers beyond that our current technology will allow. The sharp turns at great speeds that the captain witnessed would have ripped any pilot to shreds.
The sighting was well corroborated by his crew, whom had all seen the UFO, as had the captains of two other Tornados in the vicinity, but nothing was seen by air traffic controllers.
"There was nothing on the radar screens of any of the control towers it was flying over," he said.
His airliner was flying over Genoa, Italy, at exactly 6:03 PM, when the unusually shaped object joined the Tornados.
According to flight chief steward Bob Parkhouse, "The UFO was moving from left to right across the horizon. It was a sight I'd never seen before!"
After an investigation by noted UFO researcher Timothy Good, the following details would also be made public.
5 November 1990: Genoa, Italy/North Sea-British Airways Captain Mike D'Alton reported sighting a UFO during the night flight in a Boeing 737 from Rome to Gatwick, describing it as a silver disc with three faint points of light in arrow formation and a fourth light behind it. Captain D'Alton said the object was visible for about 2 minutes over Genoa.
"I've never seen anything like it before and can't explain what it was. My co-pilot and I called in two cabin crew to see it and then it went out of sight. Ground radar couldn't pick it up, so it must have been traveling at phenomenal speed."
(Sunday Telegraph, London/Sunday Mail, Glasgow, 11 November 1990)
There can be no doubt that something not of this world flew near the RAF Tornado on November 5, 1990.
