Part 1: Introduction
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey It was a story which could have been lifted straight out of a plot from the X-Files TV series: An unidentified flying object hovering in the clear night sky; callers jamming police switchboards to report a light aircraft skimming rooftops on a collision course with the hills west...
Part 2: The Aircrash Which Never Was…
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey This was how news of what was to become one of the most controversial incidents in British UFOlogy was first broken by the local newspaper the Sheffield Star on the morning of Wednesday, March 25, 1997: “Emergency services from four counties were today involved in a massive operation...
Part 3: Witness Testimony
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey Monday, March 24, 1997 was a clear, cold spring evening with a full moon and many people from Sheffield and the neighbouring areas took advantage of the fine weather conditions to venture out onto the Peak District moors west of Sheffield to watch the comet Hale-Bopp which was...
Part 4: Tracked by Radar?
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey Claims have been made that a UFO was tracked on radar at 9.55 pm that night by the Royal Signals based at RAF Linton-upon-Ouse in North Yorkshire. The claim, made by Max Burns, is based upon information allegedly supplied by an un-named radar operator who was a schoolfriend...
Part 5: Space Debris
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey One theory considered by the BGS as an explanation for the unexplained sonic events recorded in the Sheffield region was a Bolide meteor or man-made space junk burning up on re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. Debris such as this can appear as flashing lights or strings of moving...
Part 6: Military Denials
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey Military Denials…and questions in the House South Yorkshire Police and the Mountain Rescue Service contacted RAF sources as part of their routine checks as the search and rescue operation moved into full swing around midnight on March 24. Both Chief Inspector Burbeary, who was in charge of the...
Part 7: Theories and Context
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey This report aims to stick to the known facts with the minimum of speculation in an attempt to reach the truth behind an event which to this day is categorised as “unexplained” by South Yorkshire Police who were the main investigators. Clearly, a real phenomena, or series of...
Part 8: Crashed UFO Theory
UFO investigator Max Burns, who makes no secret of his belief in aliens and a huge cover-up by the authorities, in a posting on the Internet has proclaimed the case as: “One of the biggest UFO incidents in recent years involving a huge flying triangle, military jets, sonic booms, a bolide meteor, unmarked helicopters, glowing...
Part 9: Opinions
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey South Yorkshire Police’s conclusion about the incident (taken directly from the police log of incident) reads: “Enquiries reveal a combination of circumstances that would lead people to believe a plane might have crashed. Mountain rescue, police and RAF completed a thorough search between 11pm on March 24 and...
Part 10: Conclusions
By Dr David Clarke and Martin Jeffrey The two year investigation of the Howden Moor incident has taken many twists and turns in the pursuit of an explanation which can take into account all the many and varied facts which have subsequently come to light. The involvement of the military, initially denied, but confirmed with...
