Uncovering UFO mysteries

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LAST March, France made an unprecedented move to open its secret UFO files to the public. Nearly 25 percent of the more than 1,600 sightings made public are classified as \"type D\". These cases have good data and credible witnesses but cannot be explained by science.

In the spring, the British government plans to follow suit by releasing its own \"X-Files\" in their entirety. Reports about 7,000 UFO sightings investigated by a little-known British defense intelligence branch over the past 30 years are included in the files.

By publishing them, the UK's Ministry of Defense hopes to clear \"the rumor and ill-informed speculation\" surrounding the government and its alleged involvement with UFOs.

Although hailed as the complete disclosure of the UK's UFO files, questions are likely to remain over whether all available information will be made public.

Some experts claim the disclosures are more likely to make people believe that such UFO incidents were military activities, rather than alien visitations. These activities might include, for instance, missile launches, testing of new aircraft and other activities during the Cold War.

The decision by the UK to open its files could lead to the US government following suit. A group of former pilots and government officials recently urged the Pentagon to reopen investigations into claims of UFO sightings.

Famous British cases

RAF Vulcan bomber incident:

In May 1977, the crew of a Vulcan bomber watched \"an object\" approach their aircraft above the Atlantic. Initially, the crew said the object resembled landing lights \"with a long pencil beam of light ahead\". But as it turned towards them the lights went out, leaving an orange glow with a bright fluorescent green spot in its bottom. Then they saw a mystery object \"leaving from the middle of the glow... climbing at a very high speed at an angle of 45 degrees\". The incident was classified as a UFO sighting and the details were locked away.

Rendlesham incident:

On a foggy night in 1980, several witnesses reported a UFO landing in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk. Statements claimed the craft was covered in markings similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics. They claim that aliens emerged from it. Although a man later confessed to making up the whole story, people want to know whether radiation was detected at the site after the event.

'Mile-wide' UFO:

Last June, a mysterious flying object was observed by the crew and passengers of an airliner over the Channel Islands. The captain described the UFO as \"a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area\". It was about 600 meters above ground and stationary and as much as a mile wide. The UFO was clearly visual for about nine minutes. \"Certain parts of the report have not been published. I cannot say why,\" a senior at the Civil Aviation Authority told the Daily Mail newspaper.

French case

Among the cases made public by the French government, a few dozen are intriguing and can be called UFOs. The following case is considered \"the most credible\".

A 13-year-old boy and his 9-year-old sister were watching their family's cows near the village of Cussac on August 29, 1967. The boy spotted \"four small black beings\" about 47 inches tall. He shouted to his sister, \"Oh, there are black children!\"

But then the four beings rose into the air, entering the top of a round spaceship. Another passenger emerged from the top, returned to the ground to grab something, then flew back to the sphere. The sphere rose silently in a spiral pattern, then disappeared with a loud whistling sound. It left a strong sulfur odor after its departure. The police later noted the dried grass at the place where the sphere allegedly took off. Investigators were impressed by the uniformity of detail provided by the children and other witnesses.

\"No rational explanation has been given to date of this exceptional meeting,\" the investigation concluded.