International Declaration, transcripts of NPC presentations, photographs & worldwide media coverage
http://www.freedomofinfo.org
Photo by Bernard Thouanel
The 14 members of the panel with James Fox and Leslie Kean, after the press conference on Novermber 12th, 2007
Read release on press conference here
Photo by Bernard Thouanel
First meeting at the hotel, Sunday morning, Nov. 11th
Photo by Bernard Thouanel
UK pilot Ray Bowyer presents his statement at the National Press Club
Photo by Bernard Thouanel
The day after the event, Nov. 13th, in Washington D.C.
Photo by Bernard Thouanel
Leslie Kean with Iranian General and former Air Force pilot Parviz Jafari
Wilfried DE BROUWER, Major General, Ret.
After
spending 20 years as a fighter pilot, he was appointed to the Strategic
Planning Branch in NATO while a Colonel in 1983. He then became Wing
Commander of the Belgian Air Force Transport Wing and, in 1989, chief
of the Operations Division in the Air Staff. It was in this function
that he was confronted with the Belgian UFO wave. Promoted to Major
General in 1991, he became Deputy Chief of Staff of the Belgian Air
Force, in charge of Operations, Planning and Human Resources. General
De Brouwer retired in 1995 and subsequently worked more than ten years
as consultant in the United Nations to improve the UN Logistics rapid
response capabilities during emergencies.
Dr. Claude POHER, engineer, astronomer and astrophysicist.
Had
a 33 year career in space research at CNES (Centre National d’Etudes
Spatiales), the French equivilant of NASA and was awarded the National
Order of Merit. In 1977, he created and directed, at CNES, the GEPAN
(Groupe d’Etude des Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés ; Group for
the Study of Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena), the official French
agency dedicated to the investigation and analysis of UFO reports.
(Today, the agency is called GEIPAN.) He investigated numerous
well-documented UFO cases while training investigators for GEPAN.
Jean-Charles DUBOC, Captain, Air France, Ret.
While
piloting an Airbus A 320 over France in 1994, he observed a large
lens-shaped UFO at about 25 NM to the left of the plane, also seen by
the copilot and one steward. It didn’t move and then disappeared after
one minute almost instantaneously. Duboc reported the sighting to Air
Traffic Control and Air Defense Operations (CODA); simultaneously CODA
recorded an unidentified object on radar crossing the track of the
plane. The object seemed to disappear from the radar scope at the same
instant as it did from the view of the crew. CODA investigations ruled
out a weather balloon or any other aircraft.
Dr. Jean-Claude RIBES, Astrophysicist.
Radio
Astronomer, Paris Observatory and associate director of National
Institute for Astronomy and Geophysics. Member, New York Academy of
Sciences. Contributed to the COMETA report, 1999, and the new book
"Phenomenes spatiaux non identifies." As a long term consultant to
GEIPAN, he was asked by the Steering Committee to represent GEIPAN at
this event.
Parviz JAFARI, General, Iranian Air Force, Ret.
In
1976, as a major and squadron commander, he was ordered by the Air
Force Command to approach, in his Phantom F-4 jet, a large UFO observed
over Tehran. During a wild cat and mouse chase, he attempted to launch
a Sidewinder missile at the brilliant object but at that instant his
fire control consul became inoperable. The UFO exhibited an
extraordinary degree of maneuverability. Other electromagnetic effects
were reported. The object was pursued by a second pilot, recorded on
radar and witnessed by a General and experienced air navigation crews.
A US Government officer interviewed Jafari in Tehran and the incident
was described in a detailed US Defense Intelligence Agency document,
released through the Freedom of Information Act. The DIA assessment
said “This case is a classic that meets all the necessary conditions
for a legitimate study of the UFO phenomenon.” Later, as a General,
Jafari became the coordinating officer between the Iranian Army, Navy
and Air Force. He retired in 1989.
Rodrigo Bravo GARRIDO, Captain and Pilot for the Aviation Army of Chile.
In
2000, he was assigned to conduct an internal study titled "Introduction
to Anomalous Aerial Phenomenon and their considerations for aerospace
security" involving previous case reports military planes encounters
with UAP. For the last several years he has continued this research on
recent and current cases affecting aviation safety in cooperation with
the Committee for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena (CEFAA), a
branch of the General Administration of Civil Aeronautics, Chile's FAA.
Comandante Oscar Alfonso SANTA MARIA HUERTAS
Commander
with the Peruvian Air Force (FAP), Ret. Specialization as an Air Force
fighter jet pilot. In 1980, while a FAP Lieutenant, he encountered a
UFO while flying his SU-22 "SUKOI" jet over the La Joya Military Base.
He fired at the object, strafing it with sixty-four 30mm rounds, but
the UFO remained unaffected. A US Department of Defense document for
the CIA and the NSA, titled “UFO Sighted in Peru,” describes the
incident. “The Peruvian Air Force tried to intercept and destroy the
UFO, but without success," it states, adding that the vehicle’s origin
remains unknown. CMDT Santa Maris is currently a Flight Safety and
Accident Prevention Consultant for the airline industry.
Dr. Anthony CHOY
Lawyer
and founding member in 2001 of the Air Anomalous Phenomenon
Investigation Office (OIFAA), of the Peruvian Air Force, with a Masters
from the Peruvian Air Force in High Management in Defense and Aerospace
Development. He conducted a three year investigation on a sequence of
sightings and landings of a UFO on behalf of the OIFAA in 2002, which
were recorded on video. In 2003, this case became the first official
UFO investigation in Perú to be disclosed by the Air Force.
Ray BOWYER, Captain, Aurigny Airlines.
In
April 2007 he observed a UFO estimated as being up to a mile long,
visible from about 50 miles away, in the vicinity of the Channel
Islands. Some of his passengers saw the object, as did at least one
other pilot in the area. An anomalous radar return was detected and the
incident was reported by the BBC.
Nick POPE, official for the UK's Ministry of Defence from 1985 to 2006.
From
1991 to 1994, he was the desk officer responsible for investigating
officially documented UFO sightings to determine whether they involved
any potential threat to the UK. As a result of his thorough study of
some incidents involving the police and military during his watch, he
and some colleagues became privately convinced that there were
important defense, national security and flight safety issues involved
with the unexplained phenomenon.
Jim PENNISTON, TSgt USAF Ret.
Also
stationed at RAF Bentwaters, he witnessed a landed UFO with two
military patrolman in nearby Rendlesham Forest. He conducted a 45
minute ground investigation and filed an official report. He has the
original log book with drawings including details of symbols on the
craft; radiation records; and plaster casts of landing gear imprints.
He is the only person out the three witnesses that actually touched the
UFO.
Charles HALT, Col. USAF Ret.
Deputy
Base Commander of RAF Bentwaters, former US Air Force facility in the
UK. He witnessed multiple UFOs at close range with six other military
personnel in December, 1980, and documented this event on a pocket tape
recorder. He also saw a UFO shooting beams into sensitive weapons
storage areas at the base. He wrote an official memorandum for the
Ministry of Defence (MOD) describing a UFO maneuvering through the
forest and ascending, which was released through the US Freedom of
Information Act.
John CALLAHAN, Ret.
Division
Chief of the Accidents and Investigations Branch of the FAA in
Washington DC, for 6 years during the 1980’s. He investigated an
incident in which a 1986 Japanese Airlines 747 flight was followed by
an unidentified object for 31 minutes over Alaska. The UFO also trailed
a United Airlines flight until the flight landed. Data includes visual
confirmation, air-based and ground-based radar confirmation, videotape
radar evidence, air traffic voice communications and official reports.
Fife SYMINGTON
Two
term Governor of Arizona in the nineties; cousin of the late Missouri
Senator Stuart Symington; former Captain, USAF. While Governor, he
witnessed to a massive craft up to a mile across over Arizona in 1997,
also seen by hundreds of citizens. Although he attempted to investigate
at the time, he also publicly spoofed the sighting so as not to add to
the public hysteria, while keeping his own observation secret. He first
revealed his sighting last March, and states that the craft is of
unknown origin and the incident remains unsolved.
International Declaration to the U.S. Government
Requesting the re-opening of the U.S. Government's investigation
into UFOs
For links to the extensive, worldwide media coverage on the press
conference, go to
http://www.ufomediawatch.com/
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