O'Hare UFO video shooter speaks out

Roger Marsh


UFO Examiner

The recent O'Hare Airport Youtube video shooter says he stands behind the authenticity of his capture - and wants to offer more proof.

Username Ohareufowitness responded to my request for an interview since the video posted March 21, 2009, created more controversy than evidence. You can read my original story from March 24 here.

After the first UFO video was posted, he also uploaded a second video from another source which purports to be a video shot on the same day.

And a third video was recently posted which shows an image supposedly shot from inside an aircraft at O'Hare on the same day.

He continues to remain anonymous though.

The following interview was conducted, at his request, through messages sent through youtube. His answers are unedited. We have asked for a copy of the original video to be given to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) for analysis.

OHAREUFOWITNESS: Here's the exclusive interview as promised. Sorry i've only just got round to answering your questions but i've been swamped with messages from all over the world, including t.v, radio, newspapers, mags, websites, etc. I decided to give Roger the exclusive, simply because he was the first to ask, and because I'm sick of big media companies thinking they should get it first, just because they have lots of green coloured pieces of paper!!!, other people are just as important.

EXAMINER: Where were you filming from?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I was at some distance from the airport, and remember I was filming at 4xdigital zoom, but I was facing Concourse C as far as I can remember.

EXAMINER: Details as far as height and distance away from being directly under it.
OHAREUFOWITNESS: O, I was roughly 100 meters away from the saucer, UFO looked to be be at a height of 750 feet from the ground. The reason I got the incredible angle I got, was because I was stood on a wall with my camera held at arm's length, held high above my head and I was filming at full zoom of 4x.

EXAMINER: How long did you observe it? Is this all the footage you have?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I just turned around Roger and it was there, I observed it for 2 minutes. I only got 1 miute of film because my cell phone memory was full.

EXAMINER: How many people were with you , around looking at it?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I was alone but I could see about 7 other people in the distance all with cell phones going bonkers, shouting, so others must have footage and pics. One guy had what looked like a camcorder???

EXAMINER: Do you know of any one else with footage or photos?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: The other people I know with footage and photos, contacted me through youtube after I came forward, I have met these 2 witnesses and posted their evidence, all I can say is that they seemed like credible men. I've had other people contact me, and I have arranged meetings to view their evidence, if it's credible and they check out, and they let me post the footage, I will.

EXAMINER: Which direction were you facing?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I was facing Concourse C.

EXAMINER: What was weather condition like?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: Weather was overcast, cloudy, but with some breaks in the clouds, where blue sky could be seen, thats why the clip looks like it does.

EXAMINER: How light was it at that time?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: sky could be seen, thats why the clip looks like it does.

EXAMINER: What model phone camera was it that you used?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: The phone was a Samsung SGH-D900 3 Megapixel camera phone.

EXAMINER: Did you zoom in on it?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: Filming all the time at 4x digital zoom.

EXAMINER: Describe the characteristic of the object as far as color, shape, motion, sound, anything.
OHAREUFOWITNESS: UFO looked gigantic, hazy, dark, metallic, silent, cigar/saucer shaped, frozen still. Then it shot off upwards after 2 minutes at what I would estimate to be 30-40,000 mph.

EXAMINER: Did you run into more people since then that claim to have seen it, have photos, or video footage?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: Only people I have run into with o'hare UFO claims are through youtube since I came forward.

EXAMINER: Would you talk to Sam Maranto who investigated this case with NARCAP?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I refuse to get involved with skeptics/debunkers/researchers/believers. People can think what the hell they like, no way am I throwing myself to the dogs, so they can all attack my credibility, I've had enough of this on youtube since I came forward. It is what it is, think what they want, but trust me, my footage is genuine, and shows a real UFO. Lots of people are now trying to debunk the other 2 pieces of evidence, but they cant get an exact match on the clouds on the extraterrestrial tourists clip, which proves it's real, and I cant wait for the sorry ass excuses regarding captain Smiths 35mm photo.

EXAMINER: Can a better copy be sent to him for evaluation?
OHAREUFOWITNESS: I will consider sending a better copy of my clip, this will be to you Roger, I will let you know soon, probably will actually to have it looked at by experts to shut the debunkers up.

More
OHAREUFOWITNESS: One woman contacted me who says she saw a green reptilian man with glowing red eyes on that day, she says he evaporated before her very eyes at the airport.

One man says he saw a beautiful blue woman dressed in a black cat suit, complete with weapons belt and a laser gun in one of the airport toilets on that day, he said she was holding a long silver tube with 3 red lights on it, she pushed one and vanished, he claims he sufferd physical effects after this.

A man says he is a doctor and that he was boarding an aircraft, and he witnessed a dark saucer pop in and out of the clouds for a few brief seconds on that day.

Anyway roger, I have no way of proving these claims, I have told them to come forward.

Have to go, take care Roger, I will be in touch soon with the original clip for analysis.

Cheers.

END OF INTERVIEW

On March 27, 2009, Ohareufowitness posted a second video from another source. Here is both the video and what his unedited description.

"Since I posted my video clip, I have been contacted through You Tube by many, many people. One guy sent me his telephone number and over a detailed conversation he told me that he had also witnessed and filmed a UFO at the airport on the same day, and on Wednesday 25th I met up with him, he seemed like a credible and honest man, and I have no reason to doubt his claims.

"He told me that he has never come forward because he does not want to be the subject of ridicule, and he does not want to be involved with the media, UFO researchers and UFO fanatics, and who can blame him?, just look at the reaction I have received in less than a week. He told me that on November 7th 2006 he was at Chicago O'hare International Airport when he saw a huge Flying Saucer, he said he grabbed his cell phone and started filming the UFO, he witnessed the Flying Saucer hovering for 1 minute over the airport after which time he said it just simply vanished before his very eyes. He said that after 45 seconds his cell phone suddenly cut off and went dead, which he cant explain as it was fully charged. He said that the UFO was a huge, silent, dark, hazy, saucer-shaped, metallic craft. He thinks that several different UFO'S were witnessed that day as his sighting was at 4.28 p:m, and he believes that the true, full story has still yet to be told.

"He has decided to share his stunning evidence with the world, and here it is, he wishes to remain anonymous, and wants to simply get on with his life without any hassle. The sound from his clip has been removed to protect his identity as he can be clearly heard speaking. Believe what you want, but I believe his footage is genuine and shows an Unidentified Flying Object of unknown origin. Photo copyright 2009 ohareufowitness

On March 30, 2009, Ohareufowitness posted the following story and video - claiming a third source. I could not get the link in the story below to work.

After over 2 years, is the truth regarding the Chicago O'hare UFO incident finally coming to light??? I met up with a Pilot on Saturday 28th and he had this to say.

"On November 7th 2006 we had just left Chicago O'hare Airport, roughly 10 minutes into the flight at 3:45 p.m we were cruising smoothly at 37,000 feet when suddenly our attention was drawn to a dark, solid, wingless, cigar/disc shaped UFO which suddenly appeared in our view through the cockpit window. The UFO was dangerously close and roughly 100 feet in diameter. We immediately contacted Air Traffic Control, but was told that no unknown object was being picked up on radar. Myself the captain, my co-pilot and a flight attendant all observed the UFO for 1 minute before it shot off at incredible speed, the quick thinking flight attendant reached for his 35 mm camera and took several photographs of the UFO. We decided we would keep our story to ourselves, but are now ready to disclose it to the public".

I look forward to hearing the debunkers explanations for this one. To see the incredible photos goto
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ohareufo...

I had an expert look at the photos and he concluded that they were genuine, and that the UFO is at some distance from the aircraft.

Photos used with kind permission, photo copyright 2009 Captain Smith

O'Hare UFO video surfaces on Youtube

Roger Marsh
UFO Examiner
March 24, 5:23 PM


A video posted March 21, 2009, on Youtube claims to be the real deal of the Nov. 7, 2006, Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO sighting.

The video is posted with the headline - "Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO Witness Breaks His Silence." The username is ohareufowitness, age 39, someone who joined Youtube on the same day as the posting.

Illinois MUFON Director Sam Maranto, who has studied this case extensively, was able to watch the video from his Chicago area home today.

"The footage is shot at an impossible angle," Maranto said. "It was 1500' to 1900' above gate c-17, 200' - 400' below the solid overcast...too bright of backdrop...too big of an object. Unless this person was in the tower where it could not have been seen."

Watch the video for yourself.



On the Youtube page, this person related the following story.

"I have sat on this evidence for over 2 years, mainly because of the nature of my background, if you knew who I was then you would understand.

"Back on November 7th 2006, I was near Chicago O'hare International airport when I was witness to what was arguably one of the most important UFO incidents in modern times. After the incident, many people jumped on the UFO bandwagon and came forward with false evidence, I can't speak for these individuals, I can only speak for myself.

"I witnessed a gigantic UFO hovering over the Airport at precisely 4:32 p.m. The UFO was a dark, hazy metallic disc/cigar shaped craft. It was at a height of roughly 750 feet from the ground, completely silent, frozen still, and was well over 100 meters in length. I managed to film the UFO on my cell phone for 1 minute, I observed the UFO for a further 1 minute, after which time it took off, and went upwards at tremendous speed and was gone.

"If you watch the clip properly, at the start of the clip you can clearly see a large passenger jet taking off, and flying directly under the UFO, which shows just how huge this thing was. The UFO was completely frozen still, and any movement on the video clip is camera movement and camera shake. I filmed the UFO on my cell phone with the zoom set to full.

"This is arguably one of the most important pieces of UFO photographic evidence in existence, and to ever be posted on the internet, simply because I know it was a genuine Unidentified Flying Object, and it was witnessed by many credible individuals, including pilots.

"Yes I would love to come forward and go public with my story, but this is just not an option for me, due to my job. So that is why I have posted the clip on You Tube. For those who don't want to believe the truth, thats up to you, but what you are seeing is genuine footage of an unknown craft, and shame on the worlds media for all the ridicule they threw at this unbelievable incident."

And defending himself March 24 from critics, the video photographer writes this.

"Ok, so I will answer some of the main questions directed at me. All I can say is that the footage is 100% real and genuine. The reason it's not great quality is because it's only 3 mega pixel cell phone footage, and yes we had zoom 2 years ago, and to say I filmed it of a screen is untrue and insane. The sound is crappy because I was at some distance from the aircraft, and cell phone's dont pick up much sound, they only have a tiny microphone for recording sound. The reason I only got one minute's worth of footage is because my cell phone's memory was full and? it stopped recording. Dont you think I would just pay somebody to create me a stunning piece of evidence if I really wanted to pull a hoax???? Think about it..........."

We will try and see if this person will come forward for an interview here.

Watch this series of video from the History Channel's UFO Hunters series.



Another interesting clip with this case - "The following video was leaked from a News room, showing unedited discussion of the Chicago O'Hare Airport UFO case among news broadcasters.
2006 O'Hare International Airport UFO sighting."

United Airlines denies its workers filed reports about saucerlike object hovering at O'Hare

It sounds like a tired joke--but a group of airline employees insist they are in earnest, and they are upset that neither their bosses nor the government will take them seriously.

A flying saucerlike object hovered low over O'Hare International Airport for several minutes before bolting through thick clouds with such intense energy that it left an eerie hole in overcast skies, said some United Airlines employees who observed the phenomenon.Was it an alien spaceship? A weather balloon lost in the airspace over the world's second-busiest airport? A top-secret military craft? Or simply a reflection from lights that played a trick on the eyes?

Officials at United professed no knowledge of the Nov. 7 event--which was reported to the airline by as many as a dozen of its own workers--when the Tribune started asking questions recently. But the Federal Aviation Administration said its air traffic control tower at O'Hare did receive a call from a United supervisor asking if controllers had spotted a mysterious elliptical-shaped craft sitting motionless over Concourse C of the United terminal.

No controllers saw the object, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said. The FAA is not conducting a further investigation, Cory said. The theory is the sighting was caused by a "weather phenomenon," she said.

The UFO report has sparked some chuckles among controllers in O'Hare tower.

"To fly 7 million light years to O'Hare and then have to turn around and go home because your gate was occupied is simply unacceptable," said O'Hare controller and union official Craig Burzych.

Some of the witnesses, interviewed by the Tribune, said they are upset that neither the government nor the airline is probing the incident.

Whatever the object was, it could have interfered with O'Hare's radar and other equipment, and even created a collision risk, they said.

The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (the term that extraterrestrial-watchers nowadays prefer over Unidentified Flying Object) was first seen by a United ramp worker who was directing back a United plane at Gate C17, according to an account the worker provided to the National UFO Reporting Center.

The sighting occurred during daylight, about 4:30 p.m., just before sunset.

All the witnesses said the object was dark gray and well defined in the overcast skies. They said the craft, estimated by different accounts to be 6 feet to 24 feet in diameter, did not display any lights.

Some said it looked like a rotating Frisbee, while others said it did not appear to be spinning. All agreed the object made no noise and it was at a fixed position in the sky, just below the 1,900-foot cloud deck, until shooting off into the clouds.

Witnesses shaken by sighting

"I tend to be scientific by nature, and I don't understand why aliens would hover over a busy airport," said a United mechanic who was in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 that he was taxiing to a maintenance hangar when he observed the metallic-looking object above Gate C17.

"But I know that what I saw and what a lot of other people saw stood out very clearly, and it definitely was not an [Earth] aircraft," the mechanic said.

One United employee appeared emotionally shaken by the sighting and "experienced some religious issues" over it, one co-worker said.

A United manager said he ran outside his office in Concourse B after hearing the report about the sighting on an internal airline radio frequency.

"I stood outside in the gate area not knowing what to think, just trying to figure out what it was," he said. "I knew no one would make a false call like that. But if somebody was bouncing a weather balloon or something else over O'Hare, we had to stop it because it was in very close proximity to our flight operations."

Some joke, others research

The databases of various UFO-watching groups are full of accounts filed by pilots about sightings of unknown aircraft and anomalies that affected navigational equipment onboard planes.

Whether any of the UFO incidents are real or merely the result of individual perceptions, some experts say the events pose a potential safety risk to pilots and their passengers.

"There have been documented cases where safety appears to have been implicated, and more and more we are coming to the point of view that we are dealing with an intelligent phenomenon," said Richard Haines, science director at the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena, a private agency.

"We must be proactive before an aircraft goes down," said Haines, a former chief of the Space Human Factors Office at NASA's Ames Research Center.
Haines is investigating the O'Hare incident. He said he has determined that no weather balloons were launched in the vicinity of O'Hare on Nov. 7.

"It's absurd that the military would be conducting aerial test flights" near the airport, Haines said.

All the witnesses to the O'Hare event, who included at least several pilots, said they are certain based on the disc's appearance and flight characteristics that it was not an airplane, helicopter, weather balloon or any other craft known to man.

United denies UFO report

They're not sure what was hanging out for several minutes in the restricted airspace, but they are upset that no one in power has taken the matter seriously.

A United spokeswoman said there is no record of the UFO report. She said United officials do not recall discussion of any such incident.

"There's nothing in the duty manager log, which is used to report unusual incidents," said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy. "I checked around. There's no record of anything."

The pilots of the United plane being directed back from Gate C17 also were notified by United personnel of the sighting, and one of the pilots reportedly opened a windscreen in the cockpit to get a better view of the object estimated to be hovering 1,500 feet above the ground.

The object was seen to suddenly accelerate straight up through the solid overcast skies, which the FAA reported had 1,900-foot cloud ceilings at the time.

"It was like somebody punched a hole in the sky," said one United employee.

Witnesses said they had a hard time visually tracking the object as it streaked through the dense clouds.

It left behind an open hole of clear air in the cloud layer, the witnesses said, adding that the hole disappeared within a few minutes.

The United employees interviewed by the Tribune spoke on condition of anonymity.

Some said they were interviewed by United officials and instructed to write reports and draw pictures of what they observed, and that they were advised by United officials to refrain from speaking about what they saw.

Federal agency backtracks

Like United, the FAA originally told the Tribune that it had no information on the alleged UFO sighting. But the federal agency quickly reversed its position after the newspaper filed a Freedom of Information Act request.

An internal FAA review of air-traffic communications tapes, a step toward complying with the Tribune request, turned up the call by the United supervisor to an FAA manager in the airport tower, Cory said.

Cory said the weather might have factored into what the witnesses thought they saw.

"Our theory on this is that it was a weather phenomenon," she said. "That night was a perfect atmospheric condition in terms of low [cloud] ceiling and a lot of airport lights. When the lights shine up into the clouds, sometimes you can see funny things. That's our take on it."

Source: Chicago Tribune