What happened
On April 23, 2007, at about 14:09 UTC, Captain Ray Bowyer, an experienced Aurigny pilot, was flying a Trislander from Southampton to the island of Alderney. In the distance he noticed a brilliant, yellowish-white, cigar-shaped light, and soon a second, similar one farther away. The objects appeared stationary and enormous – Bowyer initially compared them to a Boeing 737 and later even spoke of a length of one and a half kilometers. The sighting lasted about nine minutes, and the objects were also seen by passengers, including John and Kate Russell. The pilot of another aircraft, from Blue Islands, reported a similar object in the same area. Bowyer filed an official report, and the case was covered by media around the world.
Witnesses
Captain Ray Bowyer, several passengers on his aircraft, and Blue Islands pilot Patrick Patterson.
Explanations and hypotheses
The controller in Jersey did not record any clear radar returns, and the British Ministry of Defence did not investigate, noting that the sighting took place in French airspace. An independent report by a group of researchers, including David Clarke and Martin Shough, considered atmospheric phenomena, reflections of the sun, and so-called earthquake lights without reaching a conclusion. A local astronomer proposed sun dogs.
Unexplained There is no convincing explanation.
More: Wikipedia (en)