textfiles/ufo/SIGHTINGS/westpa.ufo

RECENT SIGHTINGS "UNEXPLAINABLE"

[Western Pennsylvania] Tribune Review, Sunday, Nov. 15, 1987
by Dave Lester

      A  metallic  object  twice the size of the Goodyear blimp hovers over 
an  electrical  power  plant.  Lights suddenly flicker at a nearby shopping 
mall.
      An  incredibly  bright  light  from an overhead object one evening is 
beamed at a woman in her back yard, leaving her temporarily paralyzed.
      Sound  far  out?  Such  occurrences  may  be  closer to home than you 
think,  say  UFO  investigators  who  have been deluged with reports of UFO 
sightings in recent months.
      By  one account, a huge object was seen hovering over a power station 
near  Greengate  Mall  in Hempfield Township. Its appearance coincided with 
an  electrical  disturbance at the big retail complex. In Southwest Greens-
burg,  a  woman  putting the trash out at her home was suddenly overwhelmed 
by a strange light that she says she was unable to move from.
      "These  are  definitely very significant sightings, says Stan Gordon, 
director  of the Pennsylvania Association for the Study of the Unexplained. 
"What's  been  reported here is very similar to what's been reported around 
the country and throughout the world."
      As  with  previous reports of UFO sightings, Gordon says many of them 
can  be  explained  as  natural phenomenon [sic] - a bright planet, exhaust 
trails  from  a rocket launch, even a low-flying plane displaying advertis-
ing signs. 
      But  Gordon  says  he has not been able to draw any quick conclusions 
about  the  latest  sightings. Similar reports from a wide area of Pennsyl-
vania  have  convinced  him  that what the observers witnessed are not iso-
lated occurrences.
      "Something  seems  to be going on," says Gordon. "We have no definit-
ive idea what this all means."
      Three  off-duty  policemen  were  among the four who could make out a 
large  metallic shape at dusk near the mall. It travelled from west to east 
more or less crossing Route 30 near McDonald's Restaurant.
      Red  lights could be seen on the front and back and white lights run-
ning lengthwise, including a stationary white light.
      One  observer  said  what struck him about the object was that it did 
not make a sound. Nor was there an exhaust trail.
      They  observed it for five to six minutes, then drove to another area 
where  they  witnessed  an  even  stranger spectacle. The oblong object ap-
peared  to  pivot on its axis, executing a 90-degree turn before disappear-
ing  beyond  the  treeline.  When  it hove [sic] into sight again, it was a 
much greater distance away.
      "I've  never  seen  anything like that before," said one of [the] of-
ficers. It definitely was not an airplane.
      The  object  that  reportedly directed a beam of light at a Southwest 
Greensburg woman also was described as noiseless.
      "It  was above me and illuminated the whole yard, a huge object, with 
stationary  pulsating  lights,"  the woman said, recalling the incident one 
night in her back yard. "I was so scared I couldn't move."
      The  lights  from the platter-like object were arranged in a circular 
pattern  and  were  pulsating  rapidly. Despite the intense light, no noise 
other than what was perhaps a faint hum emanated from the object.
      "It took off slowly," she said. "That's when I screamed for Mom."
      Aside  from the momentary paralysis that the women reported, both she 
and her mother complained of headaches.
      The  object  tilted  somewhat as it took off over the treetops slowly 
in a northeasterly direction and then accelerated.
      PASU,  a  Greensburg-based  clearinghouse for such reports, saw their 
number  peak in May and June. That was followed by a "big wave" of reported 
sightings  in  July  and August. In October PASU sent directives to federal 
and state agencies alerting them of the unusual amount of UFO activity.
      Warm-weather  months  generally  bring  more  sighting reports, which 
Gordon  says can be attributed to a greater number of people staying out of 
doors  for longer periods. But what makes the reports unusual, Gordon says, 
is  the  number  that  cannot be easily explained. He says the objects were 
first  reported  being  seen   here in early August, though not publicized. 
That  was  followed  by incidents in Virginia, which drew widespread atten-
tion.
      Gordon  also  described  them  as "high quality." The objects were at 
low-level  and  clearly visible rather than distant lights in the sky. Even 
the reports of strange lights have been unusual.
      While  PASU  occasionally publicizes some of its reports, their sour-
ces are kept confidential.
      "A  lot  of  people  are  reluctant to talk publicly about it because 
they're  concerned  their reputations would suffer; they're afraid of being 
ridiculed and laughed at," says Gordon.
      Gordon  decided to publicize the two unusual occurrences because they 
occurred in heavily populated areas and may have been observed by others.
      "We  feel  that  other  people  did see these things and didn't call, 
possibly because they didn't know who to call," says Gordon.
      But  PASU  delayed  the release of information to the media to see if 
other reports would come in.
      Reports  of  similar  occurrences  in western Virginia have generated 
great  attention. Gordon has exchanged information with investigators there 
but  again  says he can draw no conclusions at this point. "I can't say its 
the  same  thing  but  a  number  of the reports from there seem to be very 
similar in description," says Gordon.

------

The  Pennsylvania  Association  for  the  Study  of  the  Unexplained  is a 
volunteer,  statewide  scientific organization for the investigation of UFO 
sightings  and  other  phenomenon  [sic]. Its members are for the most part 
drawn  from  scientific,  engineering, and other technical fields. The PASU 
center  can  be reached at 412-838-7768. The address is: 6 Oak Hill Avenue, 
Greensburg, PA 15601.