Pegasus - 1987 February

Magazine Overview

Title: PEGASUS
Issue: FEBRUARY 1987
Volume: 2/87
Publisher: SIGAP
Country: UK
Language: English

This issue of PEGASUS, a publication likely from the UFO research group SIGAP, covers a variety of UFO-related news and reports from late 1986 and early 1987. The magazine opens with news of SIGAP founders Omar and Deena Fowler bidding farewell as they settle in Spain, with plans for their return to the UK in March for a SIGAP meeting. Omar Fowler, who founded SIGAP 20 years prior, is noted for reporting on major UFO cases and managing to find explanations for some, while others remained baffling. He has sent a report from Spain.

UFO Spotters, Come Out of the Closet

The editorial discusses the decision by 'Flying Saucer Review' to decline publishing a report sent by SIGAP. The editor, Gordon Creighton, is noted as having been advised by a well-informed source that "The Palace" (likely the Queen and her advisors) were anxious about Prince Charles' image, especially after he had spoken about his interest in the psychic. The article suggests that while it's acceptable for a future King to pursue interests like alternative medicine and ghosts, UFOs are viewed differently by the press.

It is speculated that Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and the late Earl Mountbatten made inquiries into the "truth" behind the UFO enigma years ago, possibly with the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The article questions why the Princes would have continued their interest if UFOs were merely explainable phenomena like clouds or dandruff.

News Items

Timothy Good's Book: Author and FSR consultant Timothy Good has a book due out in the summer that promises to expose a supposed "international conspiracy" of government cover-ups concerning UFO experiences. PEGASUS plans to review it.

UFO Reports: SIGAP now subscribes to a news clipping service, and this issue features some of the more genuine or controversial reports. One notable report is from the crew of an airliner flying between Iceland and Alaska, who observed a recently-seen UFO. The article dismisses explanations by UFO debunker Philip Klass and James Oberg that the object was the planet Jupiter, calling it an insult to the witnesses.

Death of Alfred Burtoo: The magazine reports with regret the death of Alfred Burtoo, a SIGAP member, at the age of 80. Burtoo had gained attention at age 77 for claiming to have been taken aboard a flying saucer in 1983 near the Basingstoke Canal in Aldershot. He is described as cheerful and down-to-earth, and his close encounter story is considered baffling.

From Your Spanish Correspondent (Omar Fowler)

Omar Fowler writes from Spain, detailing his efforts to contact Spanish UFO researcher and FSR consultant Antonio Ribera. Ribera is a regular in the Spanish press, gives lectures, and has appeared on Spanish TV, having written around thirty books. He has had an adventurous life, including leading an underwater diving team to Easter Island. Fowler participated in a Spanish TV program about UFOs with Ribera, where he showed English "circle" photographs. Ribera discussed UFO reports from the sea near Mallorca, referring to a "Barcelona/Balearic Islands-Tarragona 'Triangle'." Spanish papers frequently cover sightings from this area and the Canary Islands.

Fowler also recounts his experiences during the Christmas and New Year holiday, visiting Mallorca. He participated in a two-hour English radio show, answering questions about UFOs. An ex-RAF fighter pilot called in during the program to say he had chased UFOs in Scotland, reinforcing the idea that "UFOs are truly International."

Top U.S. Senator Saw Two UFOs

This section details a significant report obtained by 'The ENQUIRER' from the Fund for UFO Research, concerning U.S. Senator Richard B. Russell Jr. (D.-Ga.). The report, based on declassified CIA, FBI, and Air Force documents, states that Senator Russell witnessed two UFOs on October 4, 1955, while on a train in Russia. The objects were described as disc-shaped, ascending vertically at a slow speed, and then heading north at increased speed. Russell, who was chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and his companions reported the sighting to the U.S. Air Force upon returning from Russia. The Air Force Intelligence report, classified top secret, stated the three observers were "firmly convinced that they saw a genuine flying saucer or flying disc." The report by Lieut. Col. Thomas Ryan, who interviewed Russell's companions, called the sightings "an eyewitness account of the ascent and flight of an unconventional aircraft by three highly reliable United States observers."

Ruben Efron, an interpreter, described one UFO as having a "slight dome on top" and a "white light on top," with its edge glowing pinkish-white. He noted the object rose "vertically with the glow moving slowly around the perimeter in a clockwise direction, giving the appearance of a pin-wheel." Efron stated visibility was excellent and that the object gave the impression of gliding with no noise or exhaust glow.

Senator Russell reportedly told his companions, "We saw a flying saucer. I wanted you boys to see it so that I would have witnesses." An FBI memo also discussed the sighting, acknowledging that Col. Hathaway's testimony "would support existence of a flying saucer." Dr. Bruce Maccabee of the Fund for UFO Research suggests that Russell and his group were likely advised not to talk about the sightings.

Lights in Sky Baffle Benelux Boffins

This article from the Belfast Newsletter (Sept 24, 1986) reports on a mysterious object seen over Luxembourg and Belgium, described as five or six bright green lights travelling at high speed. Police and air traffic controllers were baffled, and radar screens did not detect it. Later, Belgian officials suggested space debris re-entering the atmosphere was the likely cause.

Probe into Sighting of 'UFO'

A Derby Evening Telegraph article (Sept 25, 1986) mentions UFO investigators looking into claims of mysterious green lights seen over Derbyshire. Miss Sue Fisher and three friends reported seeing a green light arch across the sky. A local UFO investigation group leader stated they would investigate.

UFOs 'just space rubbish'

An Irish Times report (Sept 24, 1986) describes people in Paris, Belgium, and Luxembourg spotting unidentified flying objects – glowing blue-green lights – streaking across the dawn sky. Police counted at least five or six. An official from the Belgium Society for the Study of Space Phenomena suggested the objects were likely parts of discarded satellite rockets entering the atmosphere. NORAD confirmed that debris from two Soviet rockets was expected in mid-September.

UFO alert drives York to distraction

A Bristol Local Paper article (Oct 11, 1986) details an incident where the York City football team coach was "buzzed by a UFO." The team members reported seeing a bright, odd-shaped object hover for ten minutes about 50 miles north of Bristol on the M5 motorway. They reported the sighting to the police, who had not received other reports but commented that "some P-c at a station out in the sticks still trembling from the after-effects of such a sighting." The witnesses were convinced it was not a reflection of the sun.

UFO Sighting – 19 Years On

A Cambrian News article (Oct 10, 1986) reports that UFO investigators plan to interview James Lupton of Hartlepool about a strange sighting from the summer of 1967. Lupton reported seeing three lights on the underside of a dark circular object. He described becoming paralysed and hearing a voice say, "You have a great secret." The case has been published in Northern UFO News.

A ghost of Xmas past – or a UFO

This piece from 'WEIRD WONDERS OF WALES' (Cambrian News, Oct 10, 1986) recounts a story from the late 1950s in Aberystwyth. A friend of the author's saw a "Christmas bell shaped object" hovering above a pub, with green and red lights. The object moved in a pattern, then zoomed off at high speed. The friend mentioned the incident to a policeman who admitted to also witnessing something odd in the sky that night, which he reported as having landed on Constitution Hill, but was not believed by his colleagues.

Encounter of the blurred kind..

A Barnsley Chronicle article (Aug 29, 1986) details an encounter by John Brook of Barnsley. He reported fleeing in fright after a UFO emitted a blinding white fluorescent beam. The oval-shaped, 60-feet wide object hovered about 50 feet above the ground, with flashing red and purple lights. Brook felt a tingling sensation and described the object as spinning on its axis. He stated he had only drunk three pints that night. His wife, Josephine, confirmed he was extremely frightened. This was Brook's third UFO encounter; the second was reported to the Royal Air Force.

JP sees UFO

A Western Times & Gazette article (Aug 8, 1986) reports a UFO resembling a Zeppelin spotted by a barbecue party in North Devon. Local magistrate John Garnsey witnessed the object, which made no noise and discharged a rocket before disappearing. Seventeen witnesses saw the event. A spokesman for RAF Chivenor stated their helicopters were not flying in the area, and RNAS Culdrose indicated no aircraft were present.

Tel Aviv UFOs

An East Anglian Times report (Sept 11, 1986) mentions two brightly lit unidentified flying objects spotted over Tel Aviv, alarming residents and prompting calls to police and the weather service.

The Iceland-Alaska UFO

This section, featuring articles from The Times (Jan 6, 1987) and the Sunday Mirror (Jan 4, 1987), details the sighting by the crew of Japan Air Lines Flight JAL 1628. Captain Kenju Terauchi, his co-pilot, and flight engineer reported seeing an enormous, walnut-shaped UFO, described as being at least as big as their Boeing 747 cargo jet, following them for 32 minutes and 400 miles between Iceland and Alaska. The object displayed unusual lights and patterns. Air traffic control confirmed radar picked up an unidentified object. The FAA investigated and found the crew to be "normal, professional, rational," but stated they had "no idea what it was." The Sunday Mirror article includes expert calls for governments to disclose information on UFOs, citing this incident as significant and difficult for governments to dismiss.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue of PEGASUS revolve around UFO sightings, government secrecy, and the potential implications of these phenomena. The magazine appears to adopt a stance that UFOs are a genuine subject worthy of investigation and that official explanations are often insufficient or deliberately misleading. There is a clear skepticism towards official debunking efforts, as seen in the dismissal of the Jupiter explanation for the Iceland-Alaska sighting. The inclusion of the Senator Russell case, supported by declassified documents, underscores a belief in the reality of UFOs and the government's efforts to conceal information. The magazine also highlights the historical interest of prominent figures, including royalty, in the UFO subject, suggesting a broader societal engagement with the topic than publicly acknowledged. The editorial tone is one of earnest inquiry, presenting witness testimonies and investigative reports as evidence of an ongoing, unexplained phenomenon.