Satellite view of Cleveland-Hopkins International. Wikipedia image.
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Ohio MUFON web site
The objects reported nightly over Lake Erie skies at Euclid, Ohio, are incoming jet traffic from Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, according to Ohio Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) Field Investigator Tom Wertman.
Wertman was reached by telephone late Thursday for a final disposition on the case.
Euclid, OH, resident Eugene Erlikh, 20, originally reported unusual objects out over Lake Erie that were appearing in the same spot night after night. The story was picked up by Fox News, Cleveland; and also by MSNBC.
The network stories brought the case to the attention of Ohio MUFON and Wertman was assigned to move to the site and have a look for himself.
Wertman, like many other ufologists who called or wrote to the UFO Examiner on this case were suspicious of the case from the beginning. The suspicion, they say, is when a sighting repeats itself in the same spot over many nights. Ufologists seem to agree that sightings like this generally have a natural or manmade ending.
Wertman specifically tracked lights from the same area where Erlikh says he was seeing lights. The two even spoke on the telephone, with Wertman outside and nearby. Erlikh was talking on the telephone from inside his high rise apartment.
"I was with him on the phone the other night," Wertman said, "and he described the exact same lights that we were both looking at. As each object came out, we matched the same time frames. He even went back at the end of the night and reviewed the three major sightings of the night. And all three were a match. The only difference was our watches, but the time frames were the same."
After Wertman was sure that the lights he was seeing were the same that Erlikh was seeing, his investigation began.
Wertman began comparing the movement of the lights to incoming air traffic at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport. In addition, Wertman was using a computer to track incoming flights in real time.
On one of those evenings, Wertman and Erlikh had agreed on the three objects.
Wertman said the first object was a flight coming in from Chicago.
"Once spotted over Lake Erie, the object stayed relatively stationary for about two minutes," Wertman said, "then a second light popped up at thumb's length (if held at arm's length) from the first one. The flight tracking software was then showing a second flight coming in behind the first."
The data from the flight tracking web site was matching what Wertman was seeing.
"The first object appeared at about 8:40 p.m.. The light appeared in the northwest at 300 degrees at approximately 5 degrees above the horizon. It was a short time later - one to two minutes later - a second object appeared beside the first one. And holding my thumb at arm's length - the two objects were a thumb's width apart."
"The intensity of the second light was the same as the first. The web site used to track the air traffic showed two aircraft in that same area. The first was coming from Chicago. A short time later a third light appeared. One of the first lights was moving, getting dim, and moving toward the southwest. The second light was still stationary and it gave the appearance of hovering. It appeared to be stationary or hovering for about 3 to 4 minutes."
Cleveland airport is southwest of Erlikh's location.
"The web site was now showing that the first plane from Chicago would land then at 8:44 p.m. The second aircraft landed at 8:49 p.m. That was evidently the two planes that were close together."
Each object moved from the lake area to the southwest and toward the airport, matching the arrival time of the flights.
CASE CLOSURE
Wertman said he is marking this one - case closed. "It's air traffic for Cleveland-Hopkins," Wertman said. "The flights take a swing out over the lake where they can, at times, appear to be stationary. Then they move, one by one, to the southwest and into position to land - and right on time - according to the flight data available on the web."
Can someone mistake lights in a night sky for something anomalous? Happens all the time, according to ufologists.
Wertman said he was talking with Erlikh during one of the investigation evenings, when Erlikh shouted, "Did you see that? An F-16 just flew over my building."
But Wertman, standing just outside Erlikh's building, had seen what had just gone over his building at between 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the building. "I corrected him and told him it was a small business jet. Most likely landing at nearby Burke Lakefront Airport."
And by the way, Tom Wertman was just named Ohio State Section Director by State Director William Jones. Congratulations, Tom.
Comments
Case closed MY ASS! I don't believe that for 1 nanosecond! I am a frequent flyer and most of the time I fly at night. These are not planes, my friend! Thank goodness I didn't send you my videos! I agree with Eugene 100% on this one because I saw what he saw and I live about 4 miles from him. The other night when he saw an F-16 fly over his house...I too saw something very strange fly over my house. It had a big white strobe light with blue and red lights which seemed like they were rotating around. Coulda been an F-16???? Wasn't a chopper, it didn't make any sound, One never knows. Amazing how this turned into a promotion for Tom Wertman when all he had to say was "case closed". HMMMMMM!
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Yes you to can be a highly trained UFO investigator. Why you'll be able to tell if it's an airplane in less than seeing it a few dozen times! Amaze your friends with this uncanny ability!
Ohio Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) Field Investigator Tom Wertman. Oh Lord! How many days to decide it was just airplanes? Are you sure? Maybe go to the airport and look them over very closely before you ever go out to investigate anything else! If you need more than one trip to the airport, then you should quit investigating all together!
Should we expect anything else folks? Government will not allow it to be reported as real UFOs. Is this also why Billionaire Bigelow pulled funding from MUFON Star Team? He finally got a clue!
Hey even crap will sometimes float to the top. Just like Tom Wertman was just named Ohio State Section Director by State Director William Jones._-_-_ Oh I forgot! The best way to insure things are ran foolishly is to put idiots at the top! You can't have a clever pawn to push around, now can you?
Hey Tom stay there in Euclid, Ohio for another week or more to debunk more things! Maybe you will be President of the United States next! Maybe even the one in charge of the one world order?
If Wertman is correct, these sightings will continue indefinitely. If he is wrong, they may suddenly stop. This leaves the door open for others to investigate if they disagree with his findings.
I notice no one is rebutting the facts presented by Wertman. Do the "UFOs" match up with fight times out of Hopkins or not?
Oh, that's right...no one else actually did any organized observation, did they?
I know I was just finger-wagging at MUFON, but I've changed my opinion.Shallow-angle view of regular air traffic sounds about right.It's the repetitiveness that raises my doubts; UFOs just don't turn up in the same spot night after night.
It's the same sort of misidentification that happened with Alison Kruse.It was just a light, and it never did anything distinctly UFO-like.The overwhelming majority of the local residents remained unimpressed.
Here on the web people are seized by the notion that something big is about to happen.However, the Norway Spiral really was a failed Russian missile test, and the Haiti earthquake wasn't caused by HAARP.If anything big is coming along it wil be obvious and incontrovertible.
Some body go a black eye! MUFON, I think you're going to need more than a raw steak to put on this one.
Either way you look stupid! How many days and sightings to get a clue as to what it was? Then you promote the guy! I thought he should have been fired! MUFON and anybody else that try's to tell me other wise is purely F'ed Up!
Oh no! I just got another terrible realization of it all. If Tom Wertman is now a Sectional Director..........Imagine how cleaver the others are under him. Dumb and Dumber!
Ufology is made in to a joke, so this subject get laughed at once again! Thank you MUFON
Hey "DER" Who cares what it was at this point! How many freaking days and times do you have to see something to conclude what it is? It wasn't in out space! It was over a lake! It's the stupidity of it all.
Except it took days of sightings to identify an airplane, only to get promoted to sub-chief-retard.
Wouldn't it be funny if a real UFO came now and abducted half the town. Only to never bring them back!
It's a prime ufo landing place now, hurry ET!
MUFO-Debunking Association: State your opinion, but please no name-calling. "Days to call it an airplane?" I want you to go out there and set up a team that actually takes the time to match what someone is seeing with the airplanes. There is a lot of coordination involved on the ground level. If he did it in one hour, like I suspect you want, you would be here complaining that he didn't give it enough time. It's easy to bash someone - be a little more intelligent and add something to the conversation.
The bad part was also how long it took to recognize airplanes, then be promoted for it! Hahahaha
What makes me soooo angry these kids or whatever knew what it was and was laughing cause we all fell for it.So we need to get a grip and keep on plugging along.You guys were not there no sound how do we really know>??????
In the initial reports the light was changing colors.
Roger, don't take offense at these 'De-Bunkers' with all their name calling. I think they like to read their own sarcasem and bloated sense of 'self'. They just are to be pitied for not having anything better to do than to make noises and other crap. I am glad you are there to try and keep a running record of sitings and information from people. Keep up the good work!
I was out their when MUFON was I believed that theory at first but tonight it was so clear and the lights are now over the city as well as the lake.
It was easy to tell what was a plane and what was a hovering ball of redish light.
Delibrate prank, maybe. Do we know how long the 20yr old witness lived in the apartment? Had he any experience with large commercial aircraft flying nearby? I lived in Michigan City, Indiana with a ton of flight traffic going into Midway and o'hare airports. It took me a minute to figure it out that first night on the beach. There's plenty of other reports much more mysterious, I think the guy can be forgiven if his imagination was a little fired. The local TV News? I'm not so forgiving.
Phil, You sound credible. Get some photos and I'm with ya.
Carol,
Try not to care so much as to negative chatter of others. Your negative chatter towards them will only fare things up more. Let it go. Key on what makes you happy and discard the rest. * A good point to remember....."They always go after the one with the ball"
wow so its a plane, huh???
well where are the FAA lights?
doesnt anybody think to ask the right questions?
DUUUUUUHHHHHHH! :)
There are videos of these crafts on Youtube as recent as March 18.
Decide for yourselves if you think they are planes.
lets not forget MUFON are not exactly respected as any kind of authority on UFOs and related, and thank the Living God for that, seeing as theyre either a fully-fledged government organisation, or are full of government agents amassing public opinions and sightings for the American governments nosy little files. They are to be ignored for the good of Ufology and everything related.
Everybody knows Mufon is UFO disinformation. Waiting for a credibility attack of the main witness at the end of the article……and Bam, there it is, just as expected.
Toma...... yep it was predicted too, before hand. As one said, no surprise here. You also have to remember, this is a pro mufon run website. Your just going to get flack for negative mufon comments.
Why are we supposed to believe the word of some 20 year old twerp? Keep investigating!
more than one witness >> keep watching *~*
MUFON did a good job here and I don't understand the negative comments at all. If UFO "believers" (and I'm one, or at least willing to entertain good evidence) really want the truth then it's in their interest to have false sightings identified correctly. I had a similar "sighting" 20 years ago caused by distant oncoming commercial air traffic; it was a very compelling illusion and very mysterious until I figured it out a few days later. None of my friends who saw it with me wanted to let go of the UFO explanation.
I do wonder with all of Mufon's time on subject.It's still stagnate ~ How many reports that get explained away-SO EASY, IF NOT FIGURED OUT !!! - another one down the hole .I feel for those witnesses who wanted to tell their story in truth- Yet >>> Blocked by the so called experts of what the witness observed : (
Damn if you do, damned if you don't. The video is just a video of lights. No strange movement or behavior was recorded. Again he claimed he was there for 10 days, use a damn tripod, no excuse for that. People have no idea how difficult it is to investigate this phenomenon. Everyone's credibility is on the line and all these hacks on here want is for use to "believe" in the phenomenon like people believe in Jesus. Not happening folks. I would say the witness is telling the truth but he like myself can make mistakes. The MUFON team on this case did a through job aside from jumping a boat and speeding towards the lights at a moments notice. It's funny, people on the net treat us like a service and expect way too much from us. This cases probability of being a miss-identification is astronomically high. If you want us to just believe this is a alien space craft without logical and scientific process then go join the Raelians or Scientology.
Wow Roger, lol I got flame baited into this on
Yeah we really go out to discredit. Did you see how MUFON treated the 2008 Texas sightings? No, I guess you guys were not watching TV that year. Very good case with much more credible witnesses and evidence. And MUFON called out the Air Force on there "inaccurate statements". I doubt we are government spies TOMA and no it was not discrediting the witness, it's simple mistaken identification.
Rrrr here I go again.
You people are so so funny.Who's right ? Who's wrong ? I think all the comments of not really knowing.One would have to be there in witnessing something whether natural or paranormal.Please don't judge others-when your NOT the witness.yes their are stupid people and people with EGO
@ Ordinary human,
Excellent! Well said. I agree.
Hi- Flying Saucer **** Thx for your + comment.Is the human race ready to evolve /? Needs a kick start of LOVE :)
I've seen this happen before, where planes seem to stand still in the iar right before they land over Tampa Bay. But I have seen a UFO, it flew faster than anything manmade and came to an instant sudden stop then flew a different direction came to an instant flew a different direction made turns jets cannot do (90 degree turns) and then flew straight up out of sight. I saw it twice that day but haven't seen since...this was in the late 1970's.
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