1981: Reading England UFO Sighting

THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT

Date:  April 15 1981

Sighting Time:  10:00

Day/Night:  This particular day was warm, bright blue skies, with a little wispy broken white cloud. Very clear, very bright.

Location:  Reading England

Urban or Rural: – Urban/Suburban (The sighting took place at Westwood Farm school in Reading, a residential area under the Heathrow flight path).

No. of Entity(‘s): None reported (The witnesses only observed the craft itself).

Entity Type: N/A.

Entity Description: N/A.

Hynek Classification:  DD (Daylight Disc) Metallic or whitish object seen in the day.

Duration:  30-40 seconds

No. of Object(s):  1

Height & Speed: Low Altitude / ~170-250 Knots (The witness states the Concorde was “very low in the sky” on final approach, and the disc matched its speed “perfectly”).

Size of Object(s):  smaller than the plane, but still large enough to be clearly seen.

Distance to Object(s): Low Altitude (The witness notes the Concorde was “very low in the sky” on its final approach to Heathrow, and the disc was “right alongside”).

Shape of Object(s):  disc

Color/Description of Object(s):  silver

Number of Witnesses: 5–8 (The narrator mentions himself and approximately 5–8 other children in the school playground).

Source:  MUFON

Summary/Description:I know this was a long time ago, and I don’t know if it of interest being in the UK. I cannot remember the exact time or date, as I was only 11 at the time – 23 years ago! However, I can remember EVERY second of the actual event. 

Reading is appx 50 miles west of London, and was on the flight path for Concorde coming into Heathrow. As it was so close to landing at the time it went overhead, it was very low in the sky, and extremely loud. Our windows would shake, and phone conversations were impossible for the 20-30 seconds that Concorde was passing overhead. This particular day was warm, bright blue skies, with a little wispy broken white cloud. Very clear, very bright.

Myself and appx 5-8 other children were watching Concorde go over, as we always did. Someone called out: “What’s that? Is that a helicopter?” Someone else: “Thats NOT a helicopter!” It was in fact a classic silver disc. It was flying alongside Concorde (elevations are impossible to judge, but that was the impression). It flew alongside Concorde, matching it perfectly, for about 30-40 seconds. It then flew off (flew is the wrong term – it shot off like a bullet!) at a right-angle to it’s previous direction of flight. It flew away and up until it vanished into the clouds. 

My brother and I have since independently remembered TWO further events (one while we were at dinner with Budd Hopkins at the Leeds UFO conference funnily enough!). One was a triangle of white lights hovering over the car, and the other was a bright blue sphere hovering over some woods visible from our (shared) bedroom window at 4.01 am in the morning. Both of these events were since forgotten, and we independently remembered particular details which agreed. The concorde sighting has always been crystal clear in my memory. A couple of years ago I was remembering the Concorde event. Shortly afterwards I returned to Reading to visit relatives. I bumped into a friend who I hadn’t seen in about 12 years – but I remembered him being there in that playground. Before we could talk about anything else, I said “This’ll sound weird – do you remember back at Westwood Farm (the school) looking up at Concorde and seeing something?” He instantly said “Yeah – a silver disc that shot off” I replied “Thank you, I didn’t imagine it!”

((FOLLOW-UP CORRESPONDENCE WITH WITNESS))

Peter, Thanks very much for coming back to me – I have submitted this report to various places before, but never had a single response! Thanks. I will try my best with your questions:

1) “At the time of your sighting, which side of the Concorde were you viewing, the right, or left?”- I was on the ground looking straight up at it as it passed overhead. EG if I was facing West, it was flying west, and therefore would have been travelling from ‘behind’ us, overhead, and away in front of us into the distance.

2) “Also, where was the disc, relative to the Concorde, e.g. “above” or “below” the aircraft, as you faced it, or ahead or behind it?” – It’s hard to judge relative vertical distances from the ground looking straight up. But the impression that we all had was that it was flying right alongside. If that was the case, I don’t see how passengers could have missed it!

3) “In addition, can you provide a detailed description of how the disc moved, relative to the aircraft, i.e. from what direction did it approach; if it hovered close to the aircraft, where was it located; where did the disc go, relative to the flight path of the aircraft?” – We didn’t see it approach unfortunately. When we all looked up at the concorde it was already there. Someone spotted it and said “What’s that? Is that a helicopter?” Once it had been pointed out it was glaringly obvious, as it was shiny silver. It flew right alongside the plane, matching it’s speed perfectly, and then flew off very fast at a right angle to it’s previous flight direction. It may also have been going up at this point, as it disappeared into some clouds.

4) “Also, what was the relative size of the disc, compared, for example to the diameter of the fuselage of the aircraft?” – I have attached a (very poor – forgive me!) picture which should indicate the relative sizes. It was considerably smaller than the plane, but still large enough to be clearly seen.

I have heard you ask people on the Jeff Rense show to do the arms’ length description? I have tried this, and would estimate that at arm’s length Concorde would have been appx as long as my thumb at the height it was. It used to go over pretty low! The picture (sorry again!) shows the size relative to that. The dotted line is the departure angle it took. I hope this helps you to get a picture of the event. I know how hard it is to picture it without seeing it, as it’s so clear to me! The other witness I have mentioned isn’t really a friend, just someone I was at school with. Apart from that chance encounter a few years back we’ve never spoken since school. He was pretty taken aback when this was the first thing I asked him about! However, I will try my best to find out where he is now and ask him to submit a report.

Best regards, ((name deleted))

Researcher’s Notes: Aerodynamic Anomalies and the Concorde Factor

The Reading encounter is a significant Daylight Disc case because of the presence of a “standard” of comparison—the Concorde supersonic jet:

• The Right-Angle Maneuver: The witness describes the silver disc shooting off “like a bullet” at a right-angle to its previous flight path. According to Newtonian physics, a physical object traveling at several hundred knots (matching the Concorde’s approach speed) cannot make an instantaneous 90-degree turn without experiencing catastrophic G-forces. This suggests the craft utilized non-inertial propulsion.

• Formation Interaction: UFOs are frequently reported shadowing high-performance aircraft. The fact that the disc matched the Concorde’s speed “perfectly” for 30–40 seconds indicates intelligent control rather than an atmospheric or optical illusion.

• Witness Correlation: The independent recollection by a school friend 12 years later provides strong testimonial validation. This reduces the likelihood of “false memory” and confirms that the event was glaringly obvious to multiple observers in the Westwood Farm playground.

• Geographical Context: Reading is situated directly under the final approach path for Heathrow Airport. The low altitude of the aircraft (under 2,000 feet) means the witnesses had a clear, unobstructed view of both the jet and the silver disc.

The April 15, 1981 sighting stands as a classic example of the phenomenon’s interest in human aerospace technology. By pacing the world’s most advanced passenger jet of the era and then executing a physics-defying departure, the object demonstrated a clear technological superiority.

For researchers, the Westwood Farm school encounter highlights the importance of multi-witness testimony in validating high-strangeness events. The silver disc’s brief but profound appearance alongside the Concorde remains a compelling piece of UK ufology, leaving a lifelong impression on the children who watched from the playground below.