Berwyn Mountain UFO incident
The Berwyn Mountain Incident was an alleged UFO crash in Britain. It took place on 23 January 1974 on the Berwyn Mountains in Llandrillo, Merionethshire, North Wales. Both the Berwyn Mountain incident and the similar Rendlesham Forest incident have been called a "British Roswell".[1][2]
The incident
A number of unusual lights in the sky were observed, followed by a dramatic shaking of the earth. It was considered possible that an aircraft had crashed, or a meteorite had impacted. Within an hour, police searched the Berwyn Mountains and were joined by a RAF rescue team from Valley on Anglesey. Nothing was found, and all searches were called off at just after 2 p.m. the following day.
Scientific explanation
Scientific evidence indicates the event was generated by an earthquake[3] combined with sightings of a bright meteor widely observed over Wales and Northern England at the time.[4]
The Institute of Geological Sciences (now British Geological Survey) reported that a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was felt at 8:38 p.m. that night over a wide area of North Wales and as far as Liverpool (also in Formby 13 miles north of Liverpool). It was not immediately identified for what it was, hence the police investigation. However, the magnitude of the shock was such that had it been due to impact, the resulting crater would have been large enough to be easily visible. The unusual lights may have been simply the meteor, but may also have included the phenomenon known as earthquake light.[1]
UFO speculation
It was later alleged by "the UFO community" that a UFO crashed, that non-human bodies were found and that the British Government covered up the event.[1] There were subsequent claims that the area was cordoned off by the military while wreckage was recovered. Also, there were reports that the villages in the vicinity were visited by "Men in Black".[1] It was jokingly labelled "The Roswelsh Incident" by The Sun newspaper.[5] The claim that the area was cordoned off by the military was shown by researcher Andy Roberts to relate to a later event in 1982 when an RAF Harrier jet crashed in the area.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Roberts, Andy (2001). "The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash—A British Roswell?". Flying Saucery Presents … The Real UFO Project. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ↑ BBC (2009-08-17). "Minister warned over 'UK Roswell'". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ↑ Musson, R.M.W., 2006. The enigmatic Bala earthquake of 1974. Astronomy & Geophysics, vol 47 no 5, pp 11–15
- ↑ McBeath, A., 2006. Meteor, not shower, over Bala. Astronomy & Geophysics, vol 47 no 6, p 8
- ↑ The Sun (2011-01-31). "The Roswelsh Incident". London. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
Official Government Sources
- MOD response to this incident
- Listing National Archive records AIR 2/18873 and AIR 2/18874 relating ot this event
Articles
- Maddison, R., 2006. The 'astronomer from Keele' writes Astronomy & Geophysics, vol 47 no 6, p 8
- Jenny Randles, Andy J. Roberts and Dr. David Clarke. "Fire on the Mountain: The Berwyn UFO Case - a British Roswell?". The UFOs That Never Were. ISBN 1-902809-35-1.
External links
- 1974 Wales-UFO crash - About.com account
- The Berwyn Mountain UFO Crash - A British Roswell? by Andy J. Roberts
- CSETI article on the Brwyn Mountain Incident
- Whyfiles; The Berwyn Mountains Incident