US Exchange Pilot Cpt William Schaffer who just vanished ....

[timetraveller]

Was reading through a magazine I bought a while back .. "Aviation Classic's - E.Electric Lighting on page 16 it mention an incident that happend on Sept 8th 1970 in which US exchange Pilot with the RAF Capt William Schaffer based @ RAF Binbrook was scrambled to intercept a perceived threat moving a speed over the North Sea ...

Quote from the magazine
" Some reports say he say he claimed the Object was a conical shape with a intense blue light . Radio contact was soon lost and soon after the aircraft ditched in the sea .
It was later recovered in remarkable condition , but though the canopy was closed and there was np sign of the pilot ..

Few Questions ..

1 - Do the MOD or the USAF have the said aircraft ?

2 - Is there any images of the recoverd aircraft ..also which Naval ships were involved with the recovery or was it out sourced if so what was the company ?

3 - Was the Cockpit actually free of salt water

4 - Is the Pilot still listed as MIA ???

5 - Where the aircraft ditched was he within sight of Oil rigs / fishing vessels

6 - How many other witnesses also saw what he said to have say before losing contact ..

7 - Why only 1 fighter was scrambled ... or was there another aircraft if so who was the Pilot ???

I haven't put his name thro Google as such yet .. to see what come up as such .. my apologies .. for asking the above first ..

[Rilence]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Schaffner

One of the very few cases related to UFO's that interests me, I'll admit.

[Atlantic Friend]

Catchier than Captain Mantell's story.

[Marsch]

Yes, there are images of the aircraft but they're of thumbnail size. You may want to check the following links.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/yorks...bduction.shtml

http://www.ufodigest.com/news/1206/binbrook.html

http://www.crowdedskies.com/tony_dodd_foxtrot94.htm

http://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-211415.html

[Photographic]

Some more information here:

XS894; C/N 95240 ff R.P. Beamont 18-3-66 Samlesbury. To 5 Squadron, 3-1-67. Crashed into sea 5 miles north of Flamborough Head, 8-9-70. Pilot, Major William Schaffer (USAF), killed. Hours flown 650h 45m

Royal Navy divers located the Lightning on the seabed two months later, damaged but otherwise intact. The cockpit was empty. Captain Schaffner was never found, presumed lost at sea. The jet was raised shortly after and returned to RAF Binbrook for investigation...

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=143819



Edit: Looks like BBC put it all to rest in that link, along with providing a real radio transcript. Those UFOlogists have been running amok with this for some time

[Marsch]

From the second link (page 3) in my post.

On October 7th divers from HMS Keddleston had examined the wreckage and said that Captain Schaffners body was still in the cockpit but the biggest mystery is that when the aircraft was brought to the surface and returned to Binbrook there was no trace of the Captain just an empty cockpit.

[AbeFroman]

Interesting. Never heard of this. None of this seems to explain why the canopy still appears to be unopened and without a body.

[Marsch]

One explaination is that the pilot left the aircraft after it ditched (ejection seat was malfunctioning) and that he closed it before leaving it or that it got closed by (the) water(pressure) on its way down to the bed of the ocean.

[gaz]

Depending upon what online source you read the airframe of XS894 was either broken up at Binbrook or it was quietly shipped to the States.

The Board of Inquiry into the incident is restricted and isn't allowed to be accessed by the public until 2025 but you could always try a Freedom of Information request and see what it gets you - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/c...ID=8880566&j=1