PENNSYLVANIA
UFO FLAP OF 2008
CASE REPORT BY THE UFO RESEARCH CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA
January 20, 2011
COPYRIGHT 2011
UFO RESEARCH CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA
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BUCKS COUNTY FLAP
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All sightings information in this report come from the
CMS Files of MUFON readily available on their website
www.mufon.com
A special thanks to Tracey Roy, MUFON Pa. State Section Director and Field
Investigator, for her willingness in presenting the below Power Point
presentation on the alleged Bucks County Pa. flap of 2008.
Investigating a UFO case is a question being asked and answered by a
question. Sometimes two and two don’t add up to four as in the case
of the Pennsylvania Bucks County UFO Flap of 2008.
Many things must be taken into account. Much talked about by the
media. Even the UFO Hunters TV Show is involved. At the time it was
almost a daily thing to see a PA MUFON investigator on the TV or hear
them on the radio. Even the International MUFON Director and the
head of the Star Team show up. The PA MUFON State Director gets
involved in the cases personally and talks of UFO reports that have
UFO’s coming into Pennsylvania via OHIO. Numbers are batted about
that almost become mind boggling, and it seems The Great UFO
Invasion so many ufologists talk about has begun in the state of
Pennsylvania.
This case is about numbers and the media and not about UFOs. The
following Power Point presentation is the best way to understand
what we are saying.
Notice the amount of sightings on the presentation and then they are
broken down into classification such as unknown, historical, IFO
(identified) and hoax.
As the presentation continues you will see that the sightings have a
common denominator. The media, PA MUFONS Awareness Day, PA
MUFON Conferences, The Discovery Channel, are to name a few
including my favorite “METOOISMS”
The best example of which is Joe sees a UFO and calls the media and
David his neighbor two blocks away sees the TV crew at Joe’s house
and as Joe is being interviewed and is asked if he saw a UFO, he says
yes I did, and David yells ME TOO!
Pennsylvania Flap ????
Number of Reports Received by MUFON
January 2008 – to the end of April 2009
Date Report
Submitted
Total
Reports
# of Historical
Sightings
# of Recent
Sightings
Reported
# of Hoaxs
from Recent
Sightings
Recent reports
Explained
(IFOs)
# of Reports with
Insufficient or
Unknown Status
Jan-08 1 2 5 7 0 1 6
Feb-08 7 3 4 1 0 3
Mar-08 9 3 6 0 1 5
Apr-08 1 1 5 6 2 0 4
May-08 1 0 6 4 0 0 4
Jun-08 1 6 5 11 1 0 10
Jul-08 63 5 58 10 4 44
Aug-08 25 2 23 0 2 21
Sep-08 34 6 28 8 1 19
Oct-08 26 3 23 4 2 17
Nov-08 60 9 51 3 7 41
Dec-08 33 2 31 4 6 21
Jan-09 43 8 35 2 6 27
Feb-09 29 6 23 1 4 18
Mar-09 20 2 18 1 4 13
Apr-09 15 4 11 2 1 8
Totals 413 74 339 39 39 261
Overall Trends
A More Accurate Look at the Flap
Summary
• There were a total of 413 reports recorded in CMS from
January 2008 to April 30, 2009
• 82% (339) were recent sightings and 18% (74) were
historical sightings
• 11% (39) of the recent sightings were classified as hoaxes
• 11% (39) of the recent sightings were classified as IFOs
(Identified objects)
• 77% (261)of the recent sighting were classified as
Unknown status or insufficient data
Pennsylvania Chronology of 2008-2009 Events/Coverage
• January 27, 2008 - Falls police officer -Don Pablo's, Pizza delivery report
• April 3, 2008 - The Philadelphia Inquirer - "UFO Hoaxes Charged in NJ"
• April 25, 2008 - Newtown orange ball of fire
• July 2, 2008 - Bucks County Courier Times, "UFO Investigators drawn to Bucks" MUFON info
• July 2, 2008 - ABC News Channel Six with John Rawlins
• July 3, 2008 - Philadelphia's CBS Channel 3 July 3, 2008 ABC News Channel Six with Chad Pradellistory about the
Intergalactic Fireworks hoax
• July 8, 2008 - Bucks County Courier Times, JDMullane, "UFO from Planet Blockbuster"
• July 10, 2008 - Bucks County Courier Times, JDMullane, "80 year old witness"
• July 11, 2008 - The Philadelphia Inquirer -piece on Bob Gardner, MUFON and the UFO Awareness Day
• July 13, 2008 - Philadelphia UFO Awareness Day at Germ Books - 55 attendees
• August 5, 2008 - The Intelligence "Fireball streaks across Bucks Sky" Bob Gardner gives MUFON information in the
Comments section
• August 7, 2008 - Hanover Evening Sun Article on David Dietz sighting in York County
• August 18, 2008 - Fox News 29 Philadelphia coverage
• October 25, 2008 - MUFON Conference in Westmoreland, PA
• October 27, 2008 - Discovery Channel's UFO documentary - "UFO's Over Earth" first episode
• November 18, 2008 -Dateline Langhorne, PA Walter Perez with ABC News Channel Six
• November 23, 2008 - Buck's County Courier-Times commentary by Jerry
• November 24, 2008 -Discovery Channel's UFO documentary on Bucks County Sightings
• December 15, 2008 -Philadelphia Weekly story by Steven Wells - "Itemized Abductions"
• January 24, 2008 - MUFON Conference in Bucks County, PA
• May 6, 2008 - UFO Hunters - Relics , Story on Buck's County witness, Denise
Pennsylvania Sightings and Timeline of News/events
DateEvent/Coverage
• January 27, 2008 Falls police officer - Don Pablo's, Pizza delivery report
• April 3, 2008 The Philadelphia Inquirer - "UFO Hoaxes Charged in NJ"
• April 25, 2008 Newtown orange ball of fire
• July 2, 2008 Bucks County Courier Times,"UFO Investigators drawn to
Bucks" MUFON info
• July 2, 2008 ABC News Channel Six with John Rawlins July 3, 2008
Philadelphia's CBS Channel 3
• July 3, 2008 ABC News Channel Six with ChadPradelli story about the
Intergalactic Fireworks hoax
• July 8, 2008 Bucks County Courier Times, JDMullane, "UFO from Planet
Blockbuster“
• July 10, 2008 Bucks County Courier Times, JD Mullane, "80 year old
witness"
• July 11, 2008 The Philadelphia Inquirer -piece on Bob Gardner, MUFON
and the UFO Awareness Day
• July 13, 2008 Philadelphia UFO Awareness Day at Germ Books -55
attendees
• August 5, 2008 The Intelligence "Fireball streaks across Bucks Sky" Bob
Gardner gives MUFON in Comments section
• August 8, Hanover Evening Sun – DietizUFO Sighting in York
• August 18, 2008 Fox News 29 Philadelphia
• October 25, 2008 MUFON Conference in West Moreland, PA October 27,
2008 Discovery Channel's UFO documentary - "UFO's Over Earth" first
episode
• November 18, 2008 Dateline Langhorne, PA Walter Perez with ABC News
Channel SIX
• November 23, 2008 Buck's County Courier-Times commentary by Jerry
Jonas, Sightings - " UFOs Over Earth“
• November 24, 2008 Discovery Channel's UFO documentary on Bucks
County Sightings
• December 15, 2008 Philadelphia Weekly story by Steven Wells - "Itemized
Abductions"
• January 24, 2008 MUFON Conference in Bucks County, PA May 6, 2008
UFO Hunters -Relics , Story on Buck's County witness, Denise
The above charts clearly show a substantial jump in sightings reports
whenever a media event or PA MUFON event takes place. Although
the media are quick to dismiss a UFO account they are also the cause
of many hoax sightings. Let me share with you an email written from
one Investigator to another during the flap period.
“Witness was outside in Roxborough area. Had binoculars and video
cam handy due to interest in astronomy. Witness sounds very
credible and excited at time of interview. Neighbors came out
because of bright orange lights flying in pattern. Witness got last two
discs which fiancée describes as having some swirling mist like fire in
the middle of the disc. Witness interested in being interviewed on the
air for any upcoming show e.g. Discovery Channel. Willing to sign a
waiver and include video taken on you tube.”
Why would a witness say that? Has he been watching all the local
coverage or the TV show or did the investigator mention that during
the interview?
Another point is that no credible evidence was turned over to MUFON
for verification. No photos were turned in for verification that we are
aware of. Some vegetation gleaned at one sight was turned over to
two independent labs but they too come to different conclusions as to
what they were sampling and what they found. There were some
drawings and there were some credible witnesses but nowhere near
the numbers that would warrant a flap investigation. When it is
looked at overall PA MUFON had approximately the same number of
sightings percentage wise minus the “METOOISMS” it has had for the
past two years. That number is 15 to 20 per month. Remember the
above numbers are from MUFON CMS not UFORCOP.
We are not saying there were no significant reports, or the
investigators didn’t do their job. Remember whether or not the case
turned out to be an unknown or a hoax an investigator was on the
scene doing what they are taught to do. Investigate. What we are
saying is a large number of these reports were created by outside
forces like the media, and events. Hence the larger numbers of
reports in the time line with media or other events occurring.
Another issue that arises is that no clear definition of a “UFO Flap”
exists. Single sightings witnessed by a number of people have been
called a flap while multiple sightings within a given area by individuals
are not.
MUFON FLAP DEFINITION
There are three definitions or thresholds for a flap as described
below:
1. Any event, or series of seemingly related events, that involves
more than ten witnesses or sightings in a given geographical
area (city, county, state, or country) over a short period of time,
(fewer than five days).
2. Any event or series of seemingly related events that garners
large national or international media attention.
3. Any event, or series of seemingly related events, deemed a flap
by the International Director (ID).
THE FLAP THAT WASN’T
COPYRIGHT 2011
UFO RESEARCH CENTER OF PENNSYLVANIA
“NOS PETO VERUM”
We Seek the Truth
UFORCOP
