"UFO Focus New Zealand", a nationwide UFO research network, received three "separate but similar detailed reports" of unidentified flying objects in Hawke's Bay on April 24.
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| UFOCUS NZ shared this image of the sightings for illustrative purposes only |
UFOCUS NZ director Suzanne Hansen said all three witness reports, which are under investigation, describe seeing a large, slow-moving rectangular formation of bright lights in the sky.
Sighting 1
The first incident is alleged to have occurred near State Highway 50, between Ongaonga and Takapau, about 6pm.
In the incident report, the witness first thought it was an aircraft or helicopter, but said it was travelling too slow and low. She could not hear it above the sound of her car engine or see a cockpit or flashing lights.
The witness said the UFO crossed the highway 100 to 300 metres above ground and described seeing a "glow" and "bubble" at the front of the object.
Hansen, who started the sightings network in 2000 after experiencing a UFO event in Hawke's Bay, said over the years, reports have been submitted by scientists, truck drivers, farmers, pilots and police for a number of reasons.
"People report sightings for any number of reasons including curiosity, enthusiasm, wonderment, fear, confusion and shaken religious or worldviews," he said.
"Often they're easy to explain, but just as many descriptions from witnesses defy our current understanding of physics."
Sighting 2
The second incident occurred near an equestrian grounds on the outskirts of Hastings at 6.45pm.
The mother and daughter witnesses spotted a set of red and green lights at low altitude in the sky over several minutes.
They described the movement as "hovering" behind a set of trees, before moving parallel over farmlands and then towards Flaxmere.
The following day, the Bridge Pa Aerodrome told the witnesses a light aircraft was conducting formation flying the day before. But witnesses said the object they observed was low, slow, silent and had an unconventional light configuration that indicated a rectangular or elongated shape.
Sighting 3
The final unusual sighting, at about 6.50pm, also occurred near an equestrian park in Hastings.
The witness and her children saw about 12 red and green airborne lights approaching in two rows, outlining a "massive" rectangular, narrow shape.
Analysis
Clearly, 3 sightings describing essentially the same object does imply that there really was something unusual in the sky.
MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said the recent sightings are likely to be lenticular cloud, which can take on shape of a UFO.
Ferris said the westerly winds flowing across the region on April 24 were "perfect for forming lenticular clouds".
"This is very common around the Takapau area," he said.
Clouds don't normally sport red and green lights however! What do have red and green lights are terrestrial aircraft of all kinds, helicopters, planes, airships, drones, in fact everything that flies. A red light is on the port or left side and a green light is on the starboard side.
It is unlikely that an alien spacecraft would also follow this convention, unless it wanted to disguise itself as being from earth!
The convention itself started hundreds of years ago when sailing boats and steam ships would mount red and green lights to let others know what direction they sailing in. The same is true today for aircraft.
Perhaps aircraft in the future would still follow this convention. Perhaps these are not sightings of alien spacecraft, but early timecraft! Who knows.
Prominent UFO sighting in Central Hawke's Bay area, 50 years ago
These sightings come 50 years after another prominent UFO sighting in Central Hawke's Bay area.
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| A sketch of the object seen by nightwatchman John Cudby at Waipukurau Aerodrome on October 30, 1969 |
The sighting, at "close quarters", was made 50 years ago on a Wednesday by security officer John Cudby during his rounds at the Waipukurau Aerodrome.
Following up suspicions a loose dog was on the grounds and concerns about sheep that appeared to have been herded into the corner of a paddock, the now-late Cudby had, on later reflection, had his awareness of something less natural aroused when he heard a "humming" similar to that of a vacuum cleaner.
With his own dog growling and spotting unusual reflections in the windows of a hangar, he turned to see three lights — two green separated by a red light — coming from something that appeared to be hovering about 20m above the ground. The humming appeared to be also coming from the "large object" in the air.
Cudby ran to his vehicle, and grabbed a light which he managed to play on to the object, as the humming increased to a louder whining and he became aware of the size of the suspended object he estimated to be at least 20m across.
"It tilted towards me and shot up into the sky at an angle," he wrote in a report reproduced in later UFO research.
"The windsock on top of the hangar started rotating very fast and squeaking, and I was distracted by this, but suddenly the sock stood straight out from the pole and then dropped, as if cut with a knife."
Cudby said he ran behind the hangar, but the object had vanished. He then measured 19 paces where the air above the ground appeared warm, immediately below where he estimated the object had been hovering. The grass on one hand was warm, on the other it was wet.
He then headed for the police station to report the incident, assessing the object had headed in the direction of Pukeora to the southwest of the town, in the direction where two farming families reported they had heard what they thought was a jet passing over, or even closer, in trouble and looking for somewhere to land.
A farmer apparently not linked to the two who'd heard the jet-sounding noise was to reveal his sheep had been unusually disturbed about the same time. And a visitor to Hawke's Bay driving State Highway 2 over Pukeora Hill towards Waipukurau and overlooking the aerodrome in the distance reported what appeared to be a "dark" object over the area, on what was clear early-morning conditions with a starry sky.
"I had often read about UFOs, and always skeptical about them," the visitor said.
"Then I realized with a kind of sick shock that I was looking at one. The object appeared to be circular, and was stationary about 100 feet above the ground when I first saw it. Then it gradually gained height, and abruptly took off southwards."
The report said that neither Cudby nor the traveler, a Mr Grant, knew that either had separately reported what they had seen.
Cudby's son, Mike, remains in Waipukurau and said this week he remembered overhearing the subject being talked about by his father.
Another from the area recalled there was some skepticism about the accuracy of what witnesses had seen, but added: "At the end, I think it seemed there was something in it."
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