A Higher Plane

By Richard Rokeby

Two Commercial Pilots share their stories of UFO sightings, Maori healers and a very close encounter

It is a bright spring morning on the 30th May 2009 and a Bombardier DASH 8 Q400 aircraft is flying a routine passenger flight north from the English Channel Island of Jersey to Southampton, UK at a height of around 19,000 feet. This is a fast plane and it is traveling at approximately Mach 0.6. The two pilots are experienced flyers and both have had spells in the Emergency Services before realizing their dreams of being commercial pilots. Both have a natural air of calm assurance and for reasons that will become clear I will refer to them as Pilot A and Pilot B. Pilot A describes himself as a man of science, a self confessed cynic and has a keen sense of humor. Pilot B is extremely interested in all manner of flying craft and is open minded as to what is currently flying around earth's skies. Both are about to have an encounter that they would find strange to say the least.

It is now 10 am and Pilot A and B are carrying out theirin flight checks and scanning the sky. Pilot B becomes aware of a glint on the horizon. The unidentified object is below their position and it's moving at high speed towards them. Within seconds both pilots see a craft flying over the top of their airplane and get a split second view of the underneath of this strange craft. The pilot B estimated that the object was travelling at around Mach 0.4 and this combined with their own speed means it was moving at the speed of sound and very close to them. Due to the speed they can't give accurate data on distance or the size of the object as in a second it is gone but both men look at each other knowing that it was unusual. Pilot B requests that Pilot A tells him what he saw to ensure he does not taint his account. Pilot A states that he saw what looked like a large silver box, the size and shape of a traditional American caravan or trailer. Pilot B states he saw what looked like a silver tear drop shape but with two clearly visible windows at the bottom of the craft. Pilot B notes that there is no contrail from the craft and it is flying in the wrong direction for that flight lane. Pilot B asks Air Traffic Control (ATC) if there are other aircraft in the area but receives a negative reply. Pilot B also confirms with ATC that there are no Traffic Collision Alert System (TCAS) notices in effect. Being the professionals they are, they then quickly return to the task of flying the plane safely to its destination. Once landed Pilot B records the incident in his flying log and sketches what he saw ,he also visits Ground Control to see if anything was picked up on radar, however this is also negative. Pilot B was intrigued as to what this object was and suspects the rational explanation was that it was a weather balloon although he believes there are good reasons to suggest it wasn't, such as the speed, movement and texture of the craft. I have researched the incident further and can not find any records of a weather balloon launch in that area. The closest in 2009 was some miles off the West Coast of Southern Ireland and weeks prior to this incident. Pilot A believes that it could have been an Italian Piaggio T180 airplane although accepts that no other aircraft were known to be in the area. However for Pilot A this is not his first or strangest UFO experience for he has a remarkable story which, for the first time, he has chosen to share.

First let us explore the relationship between commercial pilots and UFO sightings. Commercial pilots are the real eyes in the sky. Whilst passengers are enjoying the latest film release or a book, the pilots are ever vigilant to what is in the air around them. Commercial pilots spend more hours in the sky than other flyers including military personnel, at all times of day and night and across the whole world. Yet where are all the sighting reports?

It is understandable that there would be a reluctance to report these sightings by professional and responsible men and women who may fear it would negatively impact their careers. But both Pilots A and B suggest that UFO sightings are not the taboo in aviation circles that the public may think and actually the lack of reporting is very often down to a lack of time. Pilots are busy people, whether flying or not, and often the time taken to make a UFO report and all that goes with it, for what may only be the merest of glimpses, could be spent on other critical matters. Of course it can be argued that UFOs are a “critical” matter when one considers the impact on air safety and the scientific interest. However I can see how UFO reports could be put into the “to do'' box in the general churn of a normal working day. In fact UFO’s and its impact on air safety has been looked at and in some detail. In 2010 a 90 page report was released under the title “Aviation Safety in America - A neglected factor” written by Dr Richard Haines, a former senior scientific researcher from NASA. The report detailed over a hundred accounts from pilots, passengers and ground crew of UFO sightings including 56 near misses.

These encounters were often backed up by multiple witnesses and radar traces. Rather underwhelmingly, the report concluded that the reason why there was little to no concern amongst the US Government or Commercial Airlines was that the objects did not appear hostile or aggressive and were so manoeuvrable that they were able to avoid collisions at the last minute! Basically UFO’s were found not to be a threat to aviation safety and security despite the obvious dangers.

Despite the lack of a taboo, both pilots, who are known personally to me, have requested that I keep their details private and I have chosen to respect this. Pilot A is retired but still trains pilots and Pilot B is an active commercial pilot for a well known Airline. It should also be noted that they are recalling events from many years ago and dates are not as exact as they would like but they have used flying logs as reference where available.

Those UFO and commercial Airline encounters that are deemed the most remarkable often make the mainstream press, particularly in the 1950’s when there was more open minded reporting.

On 27th April 1950 a Trans World Airlines ( TWA) DC-3 passenger flight was cruising at a height of 18,000- 20,000 feet, around 90 miles from Chicago, Flying the plane were two highly experienced commercial pilots, Captain Robert Adickes and Captain Robert Manning. At 2025 hours that night both pilots reported seeing a strange red light moving at speed from the horizon towards their aircraft. They explained that this was not a wing tip light as it was too big and was increasing in size as it approached them. The DC -3 was traveling at 175 mph and the red and orange glowing orb was now very close to their craft. This orb was estimated to be between 20 to 50 feet in diameter and was radiating a bright red light in the darkening sky. Captain Adickes called for an Air hostess to look at the glowing UFO to verify what he was seeing and when she did she was reported to be amazed at the sight of the UFO flying parallel to the plane. The Air hostess then told the passengers, who at first were laughing at her insistence that there was a UFO next to the plane, looked on incredulously as a large red and orange ball of light could be clearly seen traveling alongside them. This glowing “disk”, as some of the passengers reported it, was witnessed for some time before speeding off north at an estimated 400mph. Captain Manning radioed to the Control Tower at the South Bend Radio Range explaining what the crew and passengers had seen and when the plane landed at Chicago the gathered masses of the press were there to take their accounts.

Much more recently a very well publicized UFO encounter was reported over the English Channel on the 23rd April 2007 by an experienced and highly regarded commercial pilot, Captain Ray Bowyer. This account was also supported by the passengers, another pilot and confirmed by radar. Captain Bowyer’s account was as follows. It is also worth noting that it is similar in location and the time of year to Pilot A and Pilot B’s joint sighting detailed at the start of the article. Captain Bowyer reported ‘ On the day I was flying a Britten- Norman Trislander 18 seat aircraft at 4000 feet. It was afternoon and the visibility was very good but with cloud cover at 10,000 feet. I was traveling from Southampton, England to Alderney in the Channel Islands. I suddenly became aware of an object emitting a bright yellow light around 20 miles away from my position. The object was huge. I thought it might be reflecting the sun but could see, via my binoculars, that it was producing the light from within the craft. It was a cigar or CD shaped object with a slight rise to the middle with a ratio of about 15:1. I could see clearly that it was emitting the light but had a dark band two- thirds along the side of the craft. Between the two layers there seemed to be a pulsating array of different colored lights sparking blue, greens and other hues which were strobing up and down every few seconds. As I flew closer I could now see that there was an identical second craft behind the first. Both were very large and very bright. I asked Air Traffic Control if they had the objects on radar and, after a bit of pushing, they confirmed that they did. It was clear that the passengers could now see the crafts but, not wanting to add to the panic, I decided not to make an announcement about them. I then started to make my landing descent into Alderney and the objects appeared to be stationary. I was later to find out that the radar contact had shown the two objects moving very slowly apart in different directions. Once I had landed I reported the incident straight away along with a number of passengers.

I also found out that Captain Patrick Patterson, who was flying to Jersey from the Isle of Man, had seen exactly the same craft as me and the passengers.”

Captain Bowyer stated that he felt supported in his reporting process

by his Airline and the aviation authorities which helped with the credibility of the story.

But this unfortunately is not always the case. A mass sighting of a number of UFO’s over Chicago’s O’ Hare Airport in November 2006 was strenuously denied by both airlines and the airport itself. This resulted in a public and media outcry suggesting the incident had been subject to a wide scale cover up.

Pilot B has also had his own strange sightings throughout a sixteen year flying career. Pilot B is a former police officer and has an investigative nature and an analytical mind. He is driven by wanting to get to the truth of the matter. On 17th October 2006 Pilot B was flying a DASH 8 at night from Edinburgh to Norwich. He was flying at 23,000 feet over the East Riding of Yorkshire and it was a clear night but with a ridge of cloud down the center of the country and below his aircraft. Whilst scanning the horizon he noticed a very bright white flash in the clouds below him. He quickly ruled out it being a lighting strike due to its appearance, and remembers the flash more like an artillery shell going off. The flash occurred some distance below the aircraft and around 20-30 miles away. He continued to look in the same direction and 30 seconds later there was a second identical flash in the same location and a minute later a third. These flashes lit up the clouds with piercing white light for some distance around them. The flight then carried on without further incident. Once safely landed Pilot B consulted the Professional Pilot Network Forum and read that a number of other pilots have reported seeing the same event at the same time and location.

What was this strange event? There are no live firing artillery ranges in that area and if there were they would certainly not be firing within 30 miles of commercial flight lane. I have speculated that it could be an unknown propulsion system , a space or trans- dimensional entry point (certainly the East Yorkshire coast is well known for these types of light phenomena) or the residue as UFO’s leave our domain. But high strangeness I’m sure you would agree.

On another occasion in June 2017 Pilot B was coming into land at Birmingham International Airport flying an Embraer Jet for a commercial passenger flight. Pilot B’s aircraft was on the west side of the airport turning south and was about 4 miles out. The aircraft was traveling at approximately 200mph and was at a height of 6000 feet. Pilot B became aware of a small bright red/orange light stationary to the right hand side of his aircraft. At first it appeared that it was floating alongside the craft but Pilot B in hindsight felt it was actually stationary. The UFO did not affect the landing in any way but Pilot B felt that it was very unusual. The obvious explanation was that it was a Chinese lantern however Pilot B is only 50% sure that it was a lantern and there are good reasons to suggest it wasn't. The light was stationary as opposed to being blown along by the wind and air turbulence. It is also known that Chinese lanterns will lose momentum at around 1600 feet. Pilot B did report this at landing due it being near to the airport but there was no trace of it on any airport systems.

Pilot B is extremely open minded to the idea that unknown objects and craft are flying around our skies although he does not necessarily believe they are of alien origin. I recently showed him the Tic Tac video from the USS Nimitz sighting from 2004 and he offered an interesting theory on the UAP’s propulsion. Pilot B speculates that if a craft could be shielded from gravity, and that shielding could be switched on and off, then the natural rotation of the earth could be used to move a craft through the air by effectively staying in the same place and allowing the Earth to move at up 1000 mph below it. Furthermore by this method fantastic drops or gains in altitude could also be achieved. An interesting idea which I believe is worth further consideration.

We now come on to the fascinating account by Pilot A which, as with all good UFO stories, raises more questions than answers. My first impression of Pilot A is that he is reminiscent of the RAF pilots of the 1940’s. He has huge charisma and I can imagine him holding court in the RAF Pilots Bar, beer in hand, regaling stories of daring feats of flying the other pilots who he has in fits of laughter. But like the wartime pilots of old, this is only half of the work hard, play hard story. Pilot A was an experienced Paramedic before becoming a pilot. He has dealt with the worst that can happen to another human being and made life saving decisions in an instant. In short he has the perfect mix of confidence, competence and calmness you want in a pilot. He also has an amazing story which has never been told before.

The story starts in the late February / early March of 2004. Pilot A is flying Fokker Cargo planes overnight, Tuesday to Thursday, from Hamburg to Paris and back again at regular intervals. He describes this as an easy and relaxed job which suits his purposes at the time. On one such flight, he does not remember the exact date, Pilot A is flying back to Hamburg and taking the northern route to the right of Brussels Liege and is close to the Holland and German border. Pilot A is in the company of a German Co- Pilot who is known by a nickname of “Hans “(although I am aware of his actual details I have made him anonymous). It's early in the morning and Pilot A has the aircrafts controls whilst Hans dozes in his chair. There is good visibility, despite a low layer of fog, and the rising sun casts a red glow across the land and sky. The Fokker Cargo Twin prop plane is cruising at 23,000 feet and Pilot A is monitoring his instruments and the horizon. Whilst looking out of his right hand window he suddenly notices a green light. He watches it as it crosses from right to left into his forward view. He knows this is “wrong” because if it was a wing light it would mean the plane it was attached to was flying backwards. It is difficult to judge the distance from his plane but he describes it as an “eerie, glowing, diffuse, fuzzy green light with no direct center “and it's now at his 11 O’clock position. Pilot A tells Hans to open his eyes and both pilots watch the UFO in front of them. Pilot A then notices that there are actually two identical lights with one slightly higher and set back from the other. He estimates that they were traveling at around 400- 500 mph. Suddenly, as if these green ominous lights have seen Pilots A’s aircraft, the lights move at tremendous speed towards his Airplane. Within a split second the lights are directly in front of them with one green light going over the top and the second one going underneath the plane. Both pilots then lose sight of these amazing objects. Pilot A calls Air Traffic control to see if there are any traces on radar but he is informed there is nothing for at least 60 miles. The two pilots exchange a quick glance and a sigh of relief and start to prepare for the upcoming landing. Pilot A states that the rest of the journey was uneventful and put it down as one of those strange things that happen. Both pilots decided not to make a formal report as both just wanted to get on with their flying careers. However as Pilot A was about to find out the UFO had not yet finished with him. In fact it may have just started,

Pilot A carried on with his flying career for some time after this incident just as he had done before. He did not feel any different and although he remembered it very clearly being a pragmatic individual it did not change his world view. However looking back, one experience does stick in his mind. In July 2005 Pilot A was staying in the Wiltshire area. One day, he doesn't remember the exact date; he is drawn to the area of East Kennet and the nearby Long Barrow at West Kennet. As he walked around the area he notices that there is a crop circle in a field leading up to the barrow, Being a man of science, as he often says, he never had much of a belief in crop circles and the associated stories however once he entered the space of the crop circle he noticed the change in atmosphere that is often reported. He believes that he was one of the first people into the circle and noticed that the crops had been bent to a 90 degree angle with no damage to the stem. He is sure that it was not man made and it had appeared overnight. Pilot A was amazed at its intricacy and the feelings of positivity it stirred in him. It should be noted that 2005 was an exceptionally active year for crop circle activity not just in the Avebury area but unusually wider afield in Hampshire and some of the other Home Counties. What was it that drew Pilot A there ? Was it just coincidence that he was one of the first to visit? Or was there a higher presence at work?

Late on in 2006 Pilot A was on the move again, this time to New Zealand. He accepts that at that time things were not going well in his personal life and he needed some space. Pilot A is well traveled and on one of his previous trips to New Zealand he had started a relationship with a Maori lady who I will refer to as “Kiri”. Although the relationship was short lived they had remained friends and were in very occasional email contact. Pilot A emailed Kiri and asked if he could come to visit and she agreed.

Now, one can imagine that Pilot A was quite nervous about meeting an old flame, especially after a long period of time. However he was not prepared for the reaction he got when they met in arrivals. It should be noted that Kiri was no ordinary lady, she was a spiritual Maori heeler and on first seeing Pilot A she was immediately very concerned for him. Straight away Kiri gave him a blessing and looked him straight in the eyes and said in a concerned but gentle tone “There is something wrong with you”.

It is worth understanding a bit more about the fascinating Maori traditions and their enlightened approach to spiritual healing. The Maori people came from the Polynesian Islands to New Zealand around 500 years ago and brought their history and traditions with them but adapted them for their new landscape. At that time the Maori peoples did not write anything down and their history and healing practices were passed down from their ancestors in an oral tradition. The Maori people worship their ancestors and believe that the spirit lives on after death. Their most spiritual place in New Zealand is Cape Reinga and it is situated on the most northern tip of the North Island. The exact place is marked by an ancient pohtukawa tree and a much more modern lighthouse. When a Maori spirit or any other entity leaves a human body it will travel north up the coast to Cape Reginga. It is at the Pohtukawa tree that after death the spirit descends into the underworld by sliding down a root of the tree into the sea. The spirits then travel underwater to Three Kings Islands (interestingly named after the three wise men from the Christmas story) where the spirit climbs out onto Ohaua, the highest point of the Islands. Here the Spirit says farewell to this life before going on to the land of their ancestors. The Maori believe that illnesses are caused by supernatural creatures called Taniwha. These can take many forms from serpents to spirits and can often have a malign influence on human beings. TeOomaiReia healing is a magical form of healing which is passed down through generations. Practitioners like Kiri can read the human body and spirit and remove malicious Taniwha by the use of their skills as a spiritual healer.

Back at the airport Kiri has taken Pilot A to her converted sleepout ( a small one story garage type building often used as accommodation) which she uses as her healing studio. This is situated on North Island in the Hawkes Bay area. Kiri is sufficiently concerned to call for spiritual backup and is joined at her healing studio by another female healer called “ Ana”. Pilot A is not overly concerned at this point and, wanting to keep Kiri onside, goes along with her suggestions. He is about to be both shocked and amazed at the results. He is placed face down on a Massage couch and is subject to the start of the spiritual healing ritual. Kiri starts with prayers and the placing of herbs around the body. As this is spiritual healing there is very little physical contact. Pilot A feels that there is an atmosphere building which he can’t quite explain and Kiri tells him that she is coaxing his body to release the illness or Taniwha that is inside him. Kiri and Ana then start to use Green stones or rods called Pounamu to gently prod and poke Pilots A body while they focus their prayers on the channelling of their spirit guides into Pilots A’s body and soul in order to remove the Taniwha. Without warning Pilot A hears to the two females scream in terror. He then hears Kiri exclaim in a shaky voice,'' That's not normal, that's not right!”.

Pilot A turns around to see the two spiritual healers with their backs against the wall of the studio, open mouthed and a look of horror crossed with amazement on their faces.

Now concerned Pilot A askes “What is it?! “

Kiri, still clearly shocked, explained.

“ A green light, a green fuzzy light came out of your back! “

Ana is shaking her head in disbelief. Kiri goes on.

“The light was a strange green and it did not act as Taniwha usually do and head north. It came out of your body and flew off straight up into the sky. This was not a type of Taniwha I have experienced before.”

Pilot A is now sitting up on the bench drenched in a cold sweat. His mind goes back to 2004 and the eerie green light he and Hans saw at 23,000 feet. Maybe one of the lights did not go under the craft at all. Maybe it went inside him! Even as he thinks of it, it seems incredible to him. But the reactions of Kiri and Ana have convinced him something has happened and he believes their account 100%.Pilot A collapses back onto the massage bed and holds his head as he deals with the implications.

Pilot A remained in New Zealand for sometime, now cleansed of whatever it was within him, and despite other treatments the strange green light was never seen again. Pilot A told me there was no way that Kiri could know about his encounter in 2004 as only he and Hans had ever known about it and he had not discussed it with anyone before. Looking back Pilot A believes that he was in a symbiotic relationship with an intelligent light form or alien or trans-dimensional entity. He believed this started with the UFO encounter over Holland in Spring 2004 and the spiritual healing carried out by Kiri in the autumn of 2006. Pilot A does not believe he was influenced in any way by its presence and that this entity was a passive observer of the human condition. Despite the strange eerie green color of the light form he does not believe it was malicious and he is sure he was unharmed by the experience. His scientific, pragmatic brain tells him that this type of cohabitation would be the most logical way for other lifeforms to truly understand what it is to be human and overall, he was grateful for the experience.

Commercial pilots are the eyes in the sky and I am truly honored that Pilot A and Pilot B have chosen to share their experiences with me. They have both given me new perspectives on the Alien Phenomenon as well as previous unrecorded sightings. Pilot A’s encounter is a fascinating one that suggests perhaps there is another level of close encounter available to the human race. On this occasion it appears the entity was expelled from the body by the powerful energies created by the Maori spiritual healing process which suggest a spiritual element to it. But it also suggests that this type of Alien/Trans- dimensional presence on Earth is to simply observe and experience what we humans do and feel in our relatively short lives. I am sure that other people have had similar encounters and if that is the case then please contact me and together we can find out more about this higher plane of existence.

Richard Rokeby is author of “ The Lights Upon The Hills - The Burton Dassett UFO events of 1923” which is available on Amazon and at Flying Disk Press. He can be contacted at:

richard.rokeby@yahoo.com

THE LIGHTS UPON THE HILLS BY RICHARD ROKEBY IS OUT NOW ON AMAZON.