What Percentage Of UFO Reports Can’t Be Explained After Investigation?
A preliminary survey from press reports 1995-1996
Compiled from press articles in various editions of UFO Newsclipping Service
50%
‘..retired West Midlands policeman John Hanson.. is the Worcestershire agent for Quest International… John Hanson treats all reports of sightings as genuine. He keeps an open mind about UFOs, neither believing or disbelieving in them…
…“You’ve got to look at things scientifically. About 50 per cent of sightings can be explained. But there are others which don’t resemble terrestrial craft..”…’
Advertiser, Bromsgrove, England; 19.10.1995
Less than 29%
‘When unidentified objects pop up on radar near Canada’s eastern, western and northern peripheries, NORAD is obviously curious, said Capt. Tony White of NORAD’s public affairs bureau.
Staff rapidly check flight plans and consult airlines. If need be, F-18s are scrambled to investigate the UFOs, White said.
In 1993, the Canadian component of NORAD racked up 84 unidentified flying objects, which it calls “NORAD remaining-unknowns,” White said.
After some investigation and analysis by NORAD staff, 24 of the 84 couldn’t be explained, White said…’
Star, Windsor, Ontario, Canada; 29(?).08.1995
Less than 24%
‘The calls have already started trickling in to the Stoke St. Gregory based UFO Research and Investigation Network and spokesman Sue Hembury-Kellow reckons it could be the start of something big.
Last year Taunton became a Mecca for UFO enthusiasts when more than 300 people claiming to have seen strange lights in the sky called the network’s 24-hour hotline.
Sue said that although most of the sighting were later found to be astrological phenomenon, military exercises or genuine misinterpretations, no less than 70 defied explanation…’
Somerset County Gazette, Taunton, England; 12.05.1995
20%
‘..The Norfolk UFO Society is investigating them all. Society chairman Alex Clark… a student from Hevington, said… “We investigate all reports of sightings. In eight out of 10 sightings we find a rational answer. That could be an aeroplane, military base, boat or helicopter. But we have also had stars, comets, meteorites and even satellites…”
Evening News, Norfolk, England; 11.11.1995
10%-20%
‘Public Relations man David Abbott stands by his belief that UFOs exist… “..In 80 to 90 per cent of times there is an explanation, but there is a very strong hard core of 10 per cent or so sightings that are different and there is no rational explanation for them…’
Tribune, Bismarck, ND; 08.07.1996
15%
‘..About 85% of all UFO sightings in Virginia and beyond have a terra firma explanation, says Danny Gordon, news director at radio station WYVE in Wytheville. Gordon tracked and researched UFOs in the late ‘80s…’
Daily News-Herald, Harrisonburg, VA; 25.05.1995
About 10%
‘..(Ken) Wishon estimates that of the thousands of reports filed internationally each year, close to 90 percent of the incidents prove to be very earthly in nature. It’s the other 10 percent, he says, that interest MUFON investigators…’
Times, Huntsville, AL; 16.08.1995
10%
‘..J.R.Gillis, field investigator for MUFON.. has many theories about the existence of UFOs, but at the same time he is a skeptic… “Most of the reports we get, 90 percent are stars, or planets, or aircraft…”
Sun Herald, Gulfport, MS; 21.03.1996
‘..After 30 years as a card-carrying ufologist, though, (Jerry) Sievers doesn’t necessarily accept everything he’s heard. (Kerry) Teverbaugh (meteorologist and former TV weather forecaster and science reporter) buys even less.
“I’d say 90 percent of our reports are hoaxes, identified flying objects or something planetary. It might even be the shuttle. I really don’t examine more than 10 percent.”…’
News, Indianapolis, IN; 13.11.1995
‘..John Hunter Gray, a retired professor and chair of the Indian Studies department at the University of North Dakota… “..as a general rule of thumb, out of every 100 sightings, 90 percent of them can be conventionally explained - as anything from a weather balloon to aircraft to Venus. But 10 percent can’t…”…’
Tribune, Bismarck, ND; 08.07.1996
‘..State Section Director Cinde Costello tells me her local office in Rialto is a branch of the 25-year-old Mutual UFO Network Inc., headquartered in Seguin, Texas…
…“Fully 90 percent or so of all sightings reported are of natural phenomena or manmade objects,” says Cinde… “But it’s the remaining unexplained 10 percent that keeps us hooked.”…’
Big Bear Life & The Grizzly, Big Bear Lake, CA; 06.09.1995
‘(Michael) Lindemann said he was not speaking to establish what was or was not true, but to share information.
“Number one, real UFOs do exist. The assumption of real UFOs does not equate with alien spacecraft, but it might,” he said. “Number two, some sightings and reports seem to be unexplainable.”
Ninety percent of all reports are categorized as weather phenomenon, aircraft or hallucinations, he said…’
Plainsman, Auburn University, AL; 04.05.1995
‘..The videotape was sent out for professional analysis in Wisconsin, where a MUFON staff photo analyst there determined the object captured by Miller “remains a UFO.”
“There is a strict process we keep to when we analyze and investigate sightings. In MUFON we strongly believe in scientific knowledge, so we will try and explain things before we call it a UFO,” said (Marie) Jones, who added that 90 percent of the sightings can be accounted for…’
Courier, San Marcos, CA; 26.01.1995
Less than 10%
‘Gloria (Dixon, head researcher for the British UFO Research Organisation) said:
“Ninety per cent and more of the reports we get are perfectly explainable. That, though, does leave five per cent which just don’t have a rational cause, and that is, in global terms, a very large number…”…’
Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, England; 30.12.1995
About 5%
‘He (Philip Mantle) and BUFORA colleagues investigate sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects and photographs that sometimes appear to show Unidentified Flying Lampshades. The emphasis, he says, is on Unidentified.
About 95 per cent of sightings can be routinely explained - aircraft, balloons, stars, planets, tricks of the light. It’s the other five per cent that fascinate the urologists…’
Yorkshire Post, Leeds, England; 19.08.1995
5%
‘Gloria Dixon, co-ordinator of BUFORA, who is investigating Mr. Emanuel’s sighting, said.. “They definitely saw something unusual, but it is too early to say whether it was a UFO. Ninety-five per cent of sightings are mis-interpretations of something which is quite normal.”…’
Kidderminster Shuttle, Worcs., England; 26.10.1995
‘..Manchester Airport had no reports of strange airborne objects that night.
Airport Watch Manager, Mr. John White, said: “We get UFO reports about four or five times a year, 95% are explainable.”…’
Nelson Leader, Burnley, England; 20.01.1995
1%
‘..Ike Bishop, a UFO analyst with the Mutual UFO Network in Boise, says the Tuesday sighting is still in the investigation stages and is still not explained.
“Ninety-nine percent of sightings can be explained,” Bishop said. “I think this one is going to fall into the 1 percent that can’t be explained.”…’
Daily Argus Observer, Ontario, Canada; 03.09.1995
0.1%
‘..(Ike) Bishop would like to educate serious-minded people in the Magic Valley to investigate sightings in this area. He can be reached at…
…Of the sightings he investigates, 99.9 percent can be explained, he said. “But it’s that .1 percent that is so interesting…’
Times-News, Twin Falls, ID; 27.08.1995
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary Of The Various Claims:
50% JOHN HANSON, Quest International
29-% NORAD, Canada
24-% UFO RESEARCH & INVESTIGATION NETWORK, Taunton, Somerset
20% NORFOLK UFO SOCIETY
10%-20% DAVID ABBOTT, Public Relations man
15% DANNY GORDON, Radio Station News Director
c.10% KEN WISHON, Mufon
10% J.R.GILLIS, Mufon Field Investigator
KERRY TEVERBAUGH, Meteorologist & former TV Weather Forecaster and Science Reporter
JOHN HUNTER GRAY, Retired University Professor & Chair
CINDE COSTELLO, Mufon State Section Director
MICHAEL LINDEMANN
MARIE JONES, Mufon
10-% GLORIA DIXON, Bufora Head Researcher
c.5% PHILIP MANTLE(?), Bufora
5% GLORIA DIXON, Bufora Co-ordinator
JOHN WHITE, Manchester Airport Watch Manager
1% IKE BISHOP, Mufon
0.1% IKE BISHOP, Mufon
A preliminary survey from press reports 1995-1996
Compiled from press articles in various editions of UFO Newsclipping Service
50%
‘..retired West Midlands policeman John Hanson.. is the Worcestershire agent for Quest International… John Hanson treats all reports of sightings as genuine. He keeps an open mind about UFOs, neither believing or disbelieving in them…
…“You’ve got to look at things scientifically. About 50 per cent of sightings can be explained. But there are others which don’t resemble terrestrial craft..”…’
Advertiser, Bromsgrove, England; 19.10.1995
Less than 29%
‘When unidentified objects pop up on radar near Canada’s eastern, western and northern peripheries, NORAD is obviously curious, said Capt. Tony White of NORAD’s public affairs bureau.
Staff rapidly check flight plans and consult airlines. If need be, F-18s are scrambled to investigate the UFOs, White said.
In 1993, the Canadian component of NORAD racked up 84 unidentified flying objects, which it calls “NORAD remaining-unknowns,” White said.
After some investigation and analysis by NORAD staff, 24 of the 84 couldn’t be explained, White said…’
Star, Windsor, Ontario, Canada; 29(?).08.1995
Less than 24%
‘The calls have already started trickling in to the Stoke St. Gregory based UFO Research and Investigation Network and spokesman Sue Hembury-Kellow reckons it could be the start of something big.
Last year Taunton became a Mecca for UFO enthusiasts when more than 300 people claiming to have seen strange lights in the sky called the network’s 24-hour hotline.
Sue said that although most of the sighting were later found to be astrological phenomenon, military exercises or genuine misinterpretations, no less than 70 defied explanation…’
Somerset County Gazette, Taunton, England; 12.05.1995
20%
‘..The Norfolk UFO Society is investigating them all. Society chairman Alex Clark… a student from Hevington, said… “We investigate all reports of sightings. In eight out of 10 sightings we find a rational answer. That could be an aeroplane, military base, boat or helicopter. But we have also had stars, comets, meteorites and even satellites…”
Evening News, Norfolk, England; 11.11.1995
10%-20%
‘Public Relations man David Abbott stands by his belief that UFOs exist… “..In 80 to 90 per cent of times there is an explanation, but there is a very strong hard core of 10 per cent or so sightings that are different and there is no rational explanation for them…’
Tribune, Bismarck, ND; 08.07.1996
15%
‘..About 85% of all UFO sightings in Virginia and beyond have a terra firma explanation, says Danny Gordon, news director at radio station WYVE in Wytheville. Gordon tracked and researched UFOs in the late ‘80s…’
Daily News-Herald, Harrisonburg, VA; 25.05.1995
About 10%
‘..(Ken) Wishon estimates that of the thousands of reports filed internationally each year, close to 90 percent of the incidents prove to be very earthly in nature. It’s the other 10 percent, he says, that interest MUFON investigators…’
Times, Huntsville, AL; 16.08.1995
10%
‘..J.R.Gillis, field investigator for MUFON.. has many theories about the existence of UFOs, but at the same time he is a skeptic… “Most of the reports we get, 90 percent are stars, or planets, or aircraft…”
Sun Herald, Gulfport, MS; 21.03.1996
‘..After 30 years as a card-carrying ufologist, though, (Jerry) Sievers doesn’t necessarily accept everything he’s heard. (Kerry) Teverbaugh (meteorologist and former TV weather forecaster and science reporter) buys even less.
“I’d say 90 percent of our reports are hoaxes, identified flying objects or something planetary. It might even be the shuttle. I really don’t examine more than 10 percent.”…’
News, Indianapolis, IN; 13.11.1995
‘..John Hunter Gray, a retired professor and chair of the Indian Studies department at the University of North Dakota… “..as a general rule of thumb, out of every 100 sightings, 90 percent of them can be conventionally explained - as anything from a weather balloon to aircraft to Venus. But 10 percent can’t…”…’
Tribune, Bismarck, ND; 08.07.1996
‘..State Section Director Cinde Costello tells me her local office in Rialto is a branch of the 25-year-old Mutual UFO Network Inc., headquartered in Seguin, Texas…
…“Fully 90 percent or so of all sightings reported are of natural phenomena or manmade objects,” says Cinde… “But it’s the remaining unexplained 10 percent that keeps us hooked.”…’
Big Bear Life & The Grizzly, Big Bear Lake, CA; 06.09.1995
‘(Michael) Lindemann said he was not speaking to establish what was or was not true, but to share information.
“Number one, real UFOs do exist. The assumption of real UFOs does not equate with alien spacecraft, but it might,” he said. “Number two, some sightings and reports seem to be unexplainable.”
Ninety percent of all reports are categorized as weather phenomenon, aircraft or hallucinations, he said…’
Plainsman, Auburn University, AL; 04.05.1995
‘..The videotape was sent out for professional analysis in Wisconsin, where a MUFON staff photo analyst there determined the object captured by Miller “remains a UFO.”
“There is a strict process we keep to when we analyze and investigate sightings. In MUFON we strongly believe in scientific knowledge, so we will try and explain things before we call it a UFO,” said (Marie) Jones, who added that 90 percent of the sightings can be accounted for…’
Courier, San Marcos, CA; 26.01.1995
Less than 10%
‘Gloria (Dixon, head researcher for the British UFO Research Organisation) said:
“Ninety per cent and more of the reports we get are perfectly explainable. That, though, does leave five per cent which just don’t have a rational cause, and that is, in global terms, a very large number…”…’
Evening Chronicle, Newcastle, England; 30.12.1995
About 5%
‘He (Philip Mantle) and BUFORA colleagues investigate sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects and photographs that sometimes appear to show Unidentified Flying Lampshades. The emphasis, he says, is on Unidentified.
About 95 per cent of sightings can be routinely explained - aircraft, balloons, stars, planets, tricks of the light. It’s the other five per cent that fascinate the urologists…’
Yorkshire Post, Leeds, England; 19.08.1995
5%
‘Gloria Dixon, co-ordinator of BUFORA, who is investigating Mr. Emanuel’s sighting, said.. “They definitely saw something unusual, but it is too early to say whether it was a UFO. Ninety-five per cent of sightings are mis-interpretations of something which is quite normal.”…’
Kidderminster Shuttle, Worcs., England; 26.10.1995
‘..Manchester Airport had no reports of strange airborne objects that night.
Airport Watch Manager, Mr. John White, said: “We get UFO reports about four or five times a year, 95% are explainable.”…’
Nelson Leader, Burnley, England; 20.01.1995
1%
‘..Ike Bishop, a UFO analyst with the Mutual UFO Network in Boise, says the Tuesday sighting is still in the investigation stages and is still not explained.
“Ninety-nine percent of sightings can be explained,” Bishop said. “I think this one is going to fall into the 1 percent that can’t be explained.”…’
Daily Argus Observer, Ontario, Canada; 03.09.1995
0.1%
‘..(Ike) Bishop would like to educate serious-minded people in the Magic Valley to investigate sightings in this area. He can be reached at…
…Of the sightings he investigates, 99.9 percent can be explained, he said. “But it’s that .1 percent that is so interesting…’
Times-News, Twin Falls, ID; 27.08.1995
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary Of The Various Claims:
50% JOHN HANSON, Quest International
29-% NORAD, Canada
24-% UFO RESEARCH & INVESTIGATION NETWORK, Taunton, Somerset
20% NORFOLK UFO SOCIETY
10%-20% DAVID ABBOTT, Public Relations man
15% DANNY GORDON, Radio Station News Director
c.10% KEN WISHON, Mufon
10% J.R.GILLIS, Mufon Field Investigator
KERRY TEVERBAUGH, Meteorologist & former TV Weather Forecaster and Science Reporter
JOHN HUNTER GRAY, Retired University Professor & Chair
CINDE COSTELLO, Mufon State Section Director
MICHAEL LINDEMANN
MARIE JONES, Mufon
10-% GLORIA DIXON, Bufora Head Researcher
c.5% PHILIP MANTLE(?), Bufora
5% GLORIA DIXON, Bufora Co-ordinator
JOHN WHITE, Manchester Airport Watch Manager
1% IKE BISHOP, Mufon
0.1% IKE BISHOP, Mufon
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