{"id":1602,"date":"2021-10-01T05:47:49","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T05:47:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkingtheshadowlands.com\/?p=1602"},"modified":"2024-11-15T21:54:55","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T08:54:55","slug":"episode-25-the-kaikoura-incidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkingtheshadowlands.com\/?p=1602","title":{"rendered":"Episode 25: The Kaikoura Incidents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Episode 25: The Kaikoura Incidents
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New Zealand is a small country in the South Pacific for those who don\u2019t know us. Comprising of two main Islands, the North and the South Islands. We are the last stop, and the main gateway to most countries in the world who have bases in the Antarctic. So geographically we are a fairly isolated country, however, our isolation does not preclude us from our fair share of UFO sightings and encounters. I clearly recall that in late 1978 New Zealand had a small flap of UFO sightings, primarily off the coast of the South Island, which was all over our media then. And given my interest in the subject considering my childhood experiences, I was eagerly following what news the public was given.<\/p>\n

These sightings initially began on December 21 when the crew of a Safe Air Ltd cargo plane observed strange lighted objects around their Argosy aircraft. The lights, ranging in size to that of a house, tracked them for several minutes before disappearing, and reappearing elsewhere. They appeared on Wellington ATC radar, on the aircraft radar, and were sighted by hundreds of people.<\/p>\n

Nine days later, late in the late evening of December the 31st, more extraordinary events took place off the coast of New Zealand.\u00a0 Another Argosy freight plane, this time carrying an Australian television crew, became involved in a series of UFO sightings that made headlines world-wide. What was extraordinary about these sightings, is that not only were they filmed by the film crew on the plane, and witnessed by them all and the pilots of the plane, but they were also tracked again by radar in the Wellington and Christchurch plane control centres.<\/p>\n

On board the Argosy that morning was the pilot Captain Bill Startup, and First Officer Bob Guard, both from Blenheim in the South Island of New Zealand. Also on board and in direct response to the first lot of UFO sightings was a small film crew. Mainly they were there due to the current Australian interest in UFO\u2019s, solely as a result of the disappearance of Frederick Valentich<\/a> in October 1978. A pilot whose Cessna<\/a> light aircraft disappeared over the Bass Straight after he informed Melbourne Air Traffic control that there was an \u2018aircraft\u2019 1,000 feet above him. The final words that were ever heard from him before he disappeared off the radar were \u201cIt\u2019s not an aircraft!\u201d<\/p>\n

So when the news about our first lot of sightings reached the ears of the Australian press they contacted a well-known reporter by the name of Quentin Fogarty, who at that stage worked for for channel 0 (now channel 10), Melbourne Television, to cover the story. Mainly because he was at that stage, on holiday in NZ. So he and a small film crew comprising of a freelance cameraman by the name of David Crockett, his wife Ngaire, a freelance sound-recordist, who both were from Wellington, New Zealand. Dennis Grant, a New Zealand television journalist. All managed to get on board an Argosy that was travelling the exact same route, in the same hours as the first lot of sightings. What was recorded on that flight is widely regarded as one of the world\u2019s top ten, most credible UFO sightings caught on film and would irrevocably change the lives of those all involved. Both in the air, and on the ground. The resulting story was shared world-wide. So, are you ready to walk with me into this part of the shadowlands and learn more about these experiences? Let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThree months after that flight, at a press conference in New York City on 26 March 1979, a group of American scientists stated that the light sources captured on film that December morning could not be explained by conventional means. Those at the press conference included Fogarty; Dr Bruce Maccabee, the scientist who headed the inquiry into the case; Professor J. Allen Hynek, director of the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS); and John Acuff, the former president of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP).\u00a0 Dr Maccabee, an optical physicist specialising in laser technology, then worked as a civilian scientist for the United States Navy\u2019s Surface Weapons Center at White Oak, Maryland. He was also a consultant to NICAP and it was in this capacity that he carried out his investigation into the New Zealand sightings.\u00a0 Maccabee spent three months on the case before releasing his findings and he travelled to Australia and New Zealand to interview all the witnesses. In addition, he subjected the original film to an exhaustive study and carried out computer-enhancement analysis on copies of the film. He then referred his findings to a further 20 scientists and experts in the fields of optics, physics and radar and they agreed that the light sources could not be explained by any known means.\u00a0 NICAP, which over a period of 22 years had investigated 20,000 reported UFO sightings, was for the first time prepared to endorse a film as showing a genuine unidentified flying object.\u201d1<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I have a very special guest \u00a0this episode, a gentleman, now in his late eighties, who was on duty and in control of the Wellington Air Traffic Control Center at the time of these incidents. He is so kind as to share his recollection of the events with us all. I personally feel very grateful and honoured to have John take time to share his memories of the events with us all. But before we get to his recollections, I am going to give a timeline rundown of what happened on the nights of the encounters. I also have some brief words from the actual conversations between the Wellington radar team and the aircraft pilot which I will share with you all.<\/p>\n

Timeline of The First Sightings \u2013 <\/strong>December 20-21 1978<\/strong><\/h3>\n