UFOCaseReview | UFO Case Review - Belgian UFO Wave, 1989 - 1991 @UFOCaseReview | Uploaded 9 years ago | Updated 3 hours ago
Because most of the "classic" UFO cases come from the United States, we are used to seeing witnesses come up against the brick wall of government secrecy in their search for explanations. The wave of sightings over Belgium in the late 80s and early 90s offers a striking contrast to this pattern; government authorities cooperated with witnesses and civilian research groups to investigate the string of unusual phenomena, and in the end, an Air Force study concluded that craft of unknown origin were indeed violating Belgian airspace. This honest admission from the Belgian government effectively disproves the idea that public disclosure would incite mass panic, and the transparent operation of the Air Force study provides a useful precedent for the kind of government-backed UFO science that could operate in the U.S. and elsewhere.
This video contains footage from an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, available for viewing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge7c-aa-U6s
*Edit: much to my regret, my original video glossed over the controversy surrounding the Petit-Rechain photograph. In 2011, more than a decade after the incident, a photographer named Patrick Marechal, claiming to be "Patrick," the original source, said that he had hoaxed the photograph.
It's impossible to know if he is telling the truth, as the original source came forward anonymously. Also, Marechal refused to produce the contact information for his then-girlfriend, the only corroborating witness, and his attempt at recreating the photo using this original method did not produce a convincing copy.
In addition, there are the light anomalies discovered in laboratory analyses that would indicate the photograph is genuine. However, the photograph did not come forward until 4 months after the original incident, and it contains too little information for a reliable assessment of its authenticity. The photograph should approached with extreme skepticism.
See the following links for more on the Petit-Rechain controversy:
Original RTL article revealing the hoax:
http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faitsdivers/812149/le-mystere-du-celebre-ovni-des-annees-90-elucide-une-supercherie
Bad UFOs blog reporting on controversy:
http://badufos.blogspot.ca/2011/07/classic-ufo-photo-from-belgian-wave.html
Is the Petit Rechain UFO photo Hoax a Hoax itself?:
http://www.paranormalpeopleonline.com/is-the-petit-recain-ufo-photo-hoax-a-hoax-itself
Leslie Kean explaining the problems with the hoax theory:
http://www.theufochronicles.com/2011/09/ufo-news-update-petit-rechain-ufo-photo.html
New UFO Case Reviews: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc9zbu1ZOD2vmqHj-Lttz-oAX4lDBXC4r
New Channel: youtube.com/c/thinkanomalous
Website & Blog: http://www.ThinkAnomalous.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ThinkAnomalous
Twitter: twitter.com/Think_Anomalous
Support new videos on Patreon: patreon.com/user?u=3375417
Because most of the "classic" UFO cases come from the United States, we are used to seeing witnesses come up against the brick wall of government secrecy in their search for explanations. The wave of sightings over Belgium in the late 80s and early 90s offers a striking contrast to this pattern; government authorities cooperated with witnesses and civilian research groups to investigate the string of unusual phenomena, and in the end, an Air Force study concluded that craft of unknown origin were indeed violating Belgian airspace. This honest admission from the Belgian government effectively disproves the idea that public disclosure would incite mass panic, and the transparent operation of the Air Force study provides a useful precedent for the kind of government-backed UFO science that could operate in the U.S. and elsewhere.
This video contains footage from an episode of Unsolved Mysteries, available for viewing here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge7c-aa-U6s
*Edit: much to my regret, my original video glossed over the controversy surrounding the Petit-Rechain photograph. In 2011, more than a decade after the incident, a photographer named Patrick Marechal, claiming to be "Patrick," the original source, said that he had hoaxed the photograph.
It's impossible to know if he is telling the truth, as the original source came forward anonymously. Also, Marechal refused to produce the contact information for his then-girlfriend, the only corroborating witness, and his attempt at recreating the photo using this original method did not produce a convincing copy.
In addition, there are the light anomalies discovered in laboratory analyses that would indicate the photograph is genuine. However, the photograph did not come forward until 4 months after the original incident, and it contains too little information for a reliable assessment of its authenticity. The photograph should approached with extreme skepticism.
See the following links for more on the Petit-Rechain controversy:
Original RTL article revealing the hoax:
http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faitsdivers/812149/le-mystere-du-celebre-ovni-des-annees-90-elucide-une-supercherie
Bad UFOs blog reporting on controversy:
http://badufos.blogspot.ca/2011/07/classic-ufo-photo-from-belgian-wave.html
Is the Petit Rechain UFO photo Hoax a Hoax itself?:
http://www.paranormalpeopleonline.com/is-the-petit-recain-ufo-photo-hoax-a-hoax-itself
Leslie Kean explaining the problems with the hoax theory:
http://www.theufochronicles.com/2011/09/ufo-news-update-petit-rechain-ufo-photo.html
New UFO Case Reviews: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc9zbu1ZOD2vmqHj-Lttz-oAX4lDBXC4r
New Channel: youtube.com/c/thinkanomalous
Website & Blog: http://www.ThinkAnomalous.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ThinkAnomalous
Twitter: twitter.com/Think_Anomalous
Support new videos on Patreon: patreon.com/user?u=3375417
