Belgian UFO wave

The Belgian UFO wave began in November 1989. Reports were filed, most many weeks after the events. Many of the reports related a large object flying at low altitude. Some reports also stated that the craft was of a flat, triangular shape, with lights underneath.{{cite web|title=The Belgium UFO Wave |url=http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc404.htm |website=ufoevidence.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824010135/http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc404.htm |archive-date=24 August 2014 }}

The Belgian UFO wave peaked with the events of the night of March 30th, 1990. On that night, one unknown object was tracked on radar, and two Belgian Air Force F-16s were sent to investigate, with neither pilot reporting seeing the object. No reports were received from the public on the date. But over the next 2 weeks reports from 143 people who claimed to have witnessed the object were received, all of them after the event. Over the ensuing months, many others claimed to have witnessed these events as well.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc418.htm|access-date=21 March 2008|title='Sunday Express' article on Belgium UFO|work=Sunday Express|date=17 September 1995|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225170152/http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc418.htm|url-status=live}} Following the incident, the Belgian Air Force released a report detailing the events of that night.{{Cite journal |last=Abrassart |first=Jean-Michel |date=2019-01-01 |title=S'intéresser au paranormal |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3917/cape.550.0042 |journal=Cahiers pédagogiques |volume=550 |issue=1 |pages=42–43 |doi=10.3917/cape.550.0042 |issn=0008-042X|url-access=subscription }}

File:Vaguebelge(reconstitution).png

At around 23:00 on March 30th, 1990, the supervisor for the Control Reporting Center (CRC) at Glons received reports that three unusual lights were seen moving towards Thorembais-Gembloux, which lies to the southeast of Brussels. Glons CRC requested the Wavre gendarmerie send a patrol to confirm the sighting.

Some later reports stated that, approximately 10 minutes later, a second set of lights were seen moving towards the first triangle. Traffic Center Control at Semmerzake tracked one object on its radar, and an order to scramble two F-16 fighters from Beauvechain Air Base was given. In reports after the event, multiple witnesses claimed that the phenomenon was visible from the ground, and described the whole formation as "maintaining their relative positions while moving slowly across the sky".

Over the next hour, the two scrambled F-16s attempted nine separate interceptions of the targets. On three occasions, they managed to obtain a radar lock for a few seconds, but these were later shown to be Radar-locks on each other. The pilots never reported seeing any of the claimed sightings, saw none of the claimed manoeuvres, and never got a lock on any objects apart from the other F16. The other contacts were all found to be the result of a well-known atmospheric interference called Bragg scattering.

After 00:30, radar contact became much more sporadic and the final confirmed lock took place at 00:40. Following several further unconfirmed contacts, the F-16s eventually returned to base shortly after 01:00.

Members of the Wavre gendarmerie who had been sent to confirm the original report, describe four lights now being arranged in a square formation, all making short jerky movements, before gradually losing their luminosity and disappearing in four separate directions at around 01:30. They also reported that a low engine noise was heard and that it seemed to have a stick coming out one end with a turbine on it, which has led many to conclude the object was a helicopter.{{Cite web

|url= http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc408.htm

|access-date= 21 March 2008

|title= Report concerning the observation of UFOs in the night from March 30 to March 31, 1990 – ufoevidence.org

|archive-date= 4 November 2020

|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201104202208/http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc408.htm

|url-status= live

}}

File:Patrick_Maréchal_UFO_photo_uncropped.jpg triangle with four lightbulbs.]]

In April 1990, a photo of a black triangular object with three lights at its corners was released by an anonymous photographer. Released at the height of the wave, the photo was widely seen in newspapers and other sources, known as the "Petit-Rechain photo". The photograph was examined by a number of sources, including NASA, the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the Belgian Royal Military Academy, but none could positively identify it or find obvious signs of fakery.{{cite web |last1=Vey |first1=Tristan |title=La photo d'un ovni belge célèbre était un trucage |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2011/07/28/01008-20110728ARTFIG00353-la-photo-d-un-ovni-belge-celebre-etait-un-trucage.php |work=Le Figaro |date=28 July 2011 |access-date=18 April 2023 |archive-date=18 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418202927/https://www.lefigaro.fr/sciences/2011/07/28/01008-20110728ARTFIG00353-la-photo-d-un-ovni-belge-celebre-etait-un-trucage.php |url-status=live }} There were concerns about its authenticity due to the anonymous release, but these were argued away. For 20 years, the UFOlogical organization Société belge d'étude des phénomènes spatiaux (SOBEPS) claimed that this picture was genuine, while others like Les repas ufologiques parisiens were not sure.[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713201620/http://www.les-repas-ufologiques.com/LA%20PHOTO%20DE%20PETIT%20RECHAIN.pdf Le flou de bougé de la photo de petit-rechain par la calcul matriciel]

{{UFO photographs}}

On 26 July 2011, in an interview for the Belgian TV channel RTL, Patrick Maréchal explained that it was a hoax that he had constructed to fool with his workmates.{{Cite news |date=August 2011 |title=Le mystère du célèbre OVNI des années 90 élucidé : "Une supercherie" |work=RTL |url=http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faitsdivers/812149/le-mystere-du-celebre-ovni-des-annees-90-elucide-une-supercherie- |url-status=dead |access-date=13 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929132212/http://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/faitsdivers/812149/le-mystere-du-celebre-ovni-des-annees-90-elucide-une-supercherie- |archive-date=2011-09-29}}{{cite web|url=http://badufos.blogspot.com/2011/07/classic-ufo-photo-from-belgian-wave.html|title="Classic" UFO Photo from Belgian Wave – the Hoaxer Confesses|first=Robert|last=Sheaffer|date=26 July 2011|access-date=28 July 2011|archive-date=18 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018205319/http://badufos.blogspot.com/2011/07/classic-ufo-photo-from-belgian-wave.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.caelestia.be/article05ad.html|title=CAELESTIA Triangles over Belgium (addendum)|first=W.Van|last=Utrecht|website=caelestia.be|access-date=22 May 2013|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127235213/https://caelestia.be/article05ad.html|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418202927/https://www.science-et-vie.com/article-magazine/photos-dovnis-la-plus-celebre-etait-fausse |url=https://www.science-et-vie.com/article-magazine/photos-dovnis-la-plus-celebre-etait-fausse |archive-date=18 April 2023 |title=Photos d’ovnis : la plus célèbre était fausse |date=29 September 2011 |magazine=Science et vie}}

In his 27 September 2016, Skeptoid podcast episode titled "The Belgian UFO Wave," author Brian Dunning discussed the photographic evidence and said that the single photograph is emblematic of the quality of all the evidence that characterized the Belgian UFO wave. In 2011, Patrick Maréchal demonstrated how he had created the hoax UFO, by cutting a piece of styrofoam into a triangle, painting it black, embedding a flashlight in each corner, and hanging it from a string.

In 1992, about three years after the first sighting, which occurred on 29 November 1989, in Eupen, Marc Hallet wrote an essay about the Belgian UFO wave criticizing the work done by the SOBEPS: La Vague OVNI Belge ou le triomphe de la désinformation,Hallet, M. (1992). La Vague OVNI Belge ou le triomphe de la désinformation. Liège : Chez L’auteur arguing that this UFOlogical organisation was spreading misinformation in the media. Hallet's thesis is that the Belgian UFO wave was mostly a mass delusion, boosted by the work done by the SOBEPS. This mass delusion would have followed Philip J. Klass's law: "Once news coverage leads the public to believe that UFOs may be in the vicinity, there are numerous natural and man-made objects which, especially seen at night, can take on unusual characteristics in the minds of hopeful viewers. Their UFO reports in turn add to the mass excitement, which encourages still more observers to watch for UFOs. This situation feeds upon itself until such time as the media lose interest in the subject, and then the flap quickly runs out of steam."{{Skeptoid|id=4538|number=538|title=The Belgian UFO Wave|access-date=30 September 2016}}Klass, P. J. (1986). UFOs : The public deceived. New York, USA : Prometheus Books.

In 1993, Pierre Magain and Marc Remy published an article in Physicalia Magazine,Pierre Magain & Marc Remy (1993). « Les OVNI : un sujet de recherche ? », Physicalia Magazine, vol. 15, n°4, pp. 311–18. in which their conclusions don't match those from the SOBEPS. They also state that the Belgian UFO wave would be better studied by people in the human sciences than by physicists.

In The Belgian UFO Wave of 1989–1992 – A Neglected Hypothesis, Renaud Leclet & co. discuss the fact that some sightings can be explained by helicopters. Most witnesses reported that the objects were silent. This report argues that the lack of noise could be due to the engine noise in the witnesses' automobiles, or strong natural wind blowing away from the witnesses.{{Cite web|url= http://gmh.chez-alice.fr/RLT/BUW-RLT-10-2008.pdf|access-date= 9 January 2010|title= The Belgian UFO Wave of 1989–1992 – A Neglected Hypothesis|archive-date= 24 February 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200224182116/http://gmh.chez-alice.fr/RLT/BUW-RLT-10-2008.pdf|url-status= live}}

In his article The Beginning of the Belgian UFO wave, Jean-Michel Abrassart argues that the beginning of the wave does not contradict the psychosocial hypothesis,Abrassart, J-M (2010). The Beginning of the Belgian UFO wave. [http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite2_6.pdf SUNLite, vol. 2, num. 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227022345/http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite2_6.pdf |date=27 December 2010 }}, pp. 21–23. contrary to what the SOBEPS claimed in his work. In an article published on his website in 2011, The Belgian Wave and the photos of stuff, Auguste MeessenMeessen, A. (2011). [http://www.meessen.net/AMeessen/Ramillies.pdf The Belgian Wave and the photos of Ramillies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723211034/http://www.meessen.net/AMeessen/Ramillies.pdf |date=23 July 2011 }}, pp. 21–23. replied to several criticisms (by Roger Paquay and Jean-Michel Abrassart) and argues that, according to him, the Belgian UFO wave is completely unexplained. Roger PaquayPaquay, R. (2011). Answer to "The Belgian wave and the photos of Ramillies". [http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite3_3.pdf SUNLite, vol. 3, n°3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811235024/http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite3_3.pdf |date=11 August 2011 }}, pp. 20–22. and Jean-Michel AbrassartAbrassart, J-M. (2011). In defense of the psychosociological hypothesis – Another reply to Auguste Meessen. [http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite3_4.pdf SUNLite, vol. 3, n°4] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128025219/http://home.comcast.net/~tprinty/UFO/SUNlite3_4.pdf |date=28 January 2012 }}, pp. 9–12. both wrote rebuttals to the Belgian physicist's article.

In "The Belgian UFO Wave" Skeptoid podcast episode, Brian Dunning discussed the F-16 chase and reported that

{{blockquote|text=The pilots also got intermittent contact with objects, but they appeared and disappeared and moved up and down too fast, including going underground. The pilots never saw anything at all. SOBEPS reported that they obtained radar lock on targets nine times; but the Belgian military only reported three such locks, and upon analyzing the data, all three radar locks were on each other. The other contacts were all found to be the result of a well-known atmospheric interference called Bragg scattering.{{cite web|last1=Wolff|first1=Christian|title=Radar Basics: Bragg-Scattering|url=http://www.radartutorial.eu/07.waves/wa52.en.html|website=RadarTutorial.eu|access-date=2 October 2016|archive-date=29 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229133838/https://www.radartutorial.eu/07.waves/wa52.en.html|url-status=live}}}}

Regarding the "wave" of eye-witness reports and lack of photographic evidence, Dunning concludes

{{blockquote|text=You read a story in the paper that a UFO was seen flying over your town a night or two ago. You remember that you saw something you took for a bright star or an airplane, thought nothing of it at the time, but this amazing new story makes you realize that what you saw must have been this UFO. You and I might not necessarily make that connection, but it's perfectly reasonable that a lot of people will; and so they follow the instructions in the newspaper article and send a report to SOBEPS. With so many articles over a period of years in a small country, it's no great surprise that SOBEPS reported they eventually received as many as 2,600 in all. The 143 reports Meessen claims for the original 29 November incident were indeed received, but only after more than a week of aggressive and repeated solicitation in the mass media. It is only much later retellings of the story that wrongly assume all 2,600 were reported as people were watching the F-16s chase the UFOs, or that all 143 initial reports came independently on that first night. All the reports were after the fact, and were only made after prompting and solicitation by SOBEPS and the media.

It was simply a psycho-social phenomenon, which is why there is no evidence and only the one questionable photograph. If 13,500 people did all actually see something that they took for a UFO at the time, I guarantee you that more than just a single photograph would have resulted.}}

General Wilfried De Brouwer, who was Chief of Operations of the Air Staff at the time, initially interpreted the sightings as being caused by experimental American craft, to which American authorities "confirmed that 'no USAF stealth aircraft were operating in the ... area during the periods in question.'"https://theweek.com/articles/905215/30-years-later-still-dont-know-what-really-happened-during-belgian-ufo-wave

• UFO sightings in Belgium
• List of UFO-related hoaxes
• Black triangle UFO

{{Reflist}}

• SOBEPS: Vague OVNI sur la Belgique (UFO wave over Belgium)

• [http://www.astronomyufo.com/UFO/Belg.htm Belgium 1990: A Case for Radar-Visual UFOS? – Tim Printy]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120312171933/http://www.skepticreport.com/sr/?p=162 Skeptic Report]
• [http://www.caelestia.be/article05.html Triangles over Belgium (Wim Van Utrecht)]
• [http://badufos.blogspot.com/2011/07/classic-ufo-photo-from-belgian-wave.html "Classic" UFO Photo from Belgian Wave – the Hoaxer Confesses]
• [https://archive.today/20130714223945/http://www.bnd.com/2013/07/13/2692946/althoff-grad-writes-book-about.html David Marler's UFO book, Belleville News Democrat 7/14/13]
• [http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/ovni-rencontre-1type.htm Le triangle belge (189-1991), LUXORION]
• [http://www.astrosurf.com/luxorion/ovni-petit-rechain-canular.htm Le canular de l'OVNI de Petit-Rechain, LUXORION]

{{UFOs}}

Category:Alleged UFO-related aviation incidents

Category:Black triangle UFOs

Category:General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

Category:Collective UFO sightings

Category:1989 in Belgium

Category:1990 in Belgium

Category:Photography forgeries

Category:UFO photographs

Category:UFO sightings in Belgium