UFO Case Report:

Chinese Air Force pilot chases 'mushroom-shaped' UFO

Date: October 19, 1998
Location: Changzhou, China

The [Chinese] air force had a prolonged up-close encounter with a UFO last month that one fighter pilot described as "just like ones in foreign movies," a government-controlled newspaper reported Thursday. At least 140 people on the ground also saw the object. They described an object with a mushroom-shaped dome on top and a flat bottom covered with bright, continually rotating lights.

A Chinese interceptor aircraft.

Classification & Features

Type of Case/Report: PressReport
Hynek Classification: 
Shape of Object(s): Disc
# of Witnesses: Multiple
Special Features/Characteristics: Group Sighting, Pilot/Aircrew, Military, Radar, Body Lights

Full Report / Article

Source: AFP (Agence France Presse) - November, 1998

Summary from UFO Roundup newsletter:

UFO Roundup, November, 1998
Chinese Jet Fighter Pursues a UFO

On Monday, October 19, 1998, four military radar stations in Hebei province, China, reported the presence of an unidentified blip hovering above a military flight training school in Changzhou. Once authorities determined that the intruder was not a military or civilian flight, Colonel Li, the base commander, ordered a Jianjiao 6 jet fighter to take off and intercept the UFO. At least 140 people on the ground saw the object. To observers at the base, the UFO first appeared to be "a small star" and then grew larger and larger, perhaps as it descended to a lower altitude, the report said. They described an object with a mushroom-shaped dome on top and a flat bottom covered with bright, continually-rotating lights.

The crew of the Jianjiao 6 interceptor consisted of a pilot and a radar officer. The two officers said "the object clearly resembled depictions they had seen in foreign science fiction films. When they got within 4,000 meters (13,200 feet) of the UFO over Qing county, it abruptly shot upward, easily evading subsequent attempts to get closer. It appeared to be toying with the fighter by repeatedly outdistancing it and then reappearing right above it, the report said. The pilot requested permission to fire on the UFO with the plane's automatic 20mm cannon. He was denied permission to shoot by ground control and was told to continue to pursue and observe the object. The pilot broke off pursuit at an altitude of 12,000 meters (39,600 feet) when the jet began running low on fuel. The UFO then disappeared before two more modern (Chinese fighter) planes could arrive in the area.

Changzhou is 150 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Shanghai. (See the Hong Kong Standard for November 4, 1998. The story apparently first ran in the Hebei Daily around October 22 and was picked up by the Chinese weekly newsmagazine Baokhan Wenzhai. Many thanks to Errol Bruce-Knapp and Andy Denne of A.U.R.A. for forwarding the article.)

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AFP (Agence-France Presse) news article (Nov. 5, 1998):

Chinese Air Force Pilot Chases UFO

SHANGHAI -- (Agence France Presse) The air force had a prolonged up-close encounter with a UFO last month that one fighter pilot described as "just like ones in foreign movies," a government-controlled newspaper reported Thursday.

A Hebei Daily report -- carried in the news digest Baokan Wenzhai -- gave a detailed pilot's account of an aerial cat-and-mouse game played between the object and a jet fighter ordered to intercept it.

At least 140 people on the ground also saw the object, it said.

An editor with the Hebei Daily said the events took place on Oct. 19 and were still being investigated by local government departments.

The newspaper's report and military sources quoted show an openness that contrast sharply with Washington's notorious secrecy on the topic of unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

It said the encounter began when four different radar stations in northern Hebei province picked up an unknown moving target in airspace directly above a military flight training base near Changzhou city.

To observers at the base, the UFO first appeared like "a small star," and then grew larger and larger, perhaps as it descended to a lower altitude, the report said.

They described an object with a mushroom-shaped dome on top and a flat bottom covered with bright, continually rotating lights.

A base commander surnamed Li reported to his superiors, who ordered a Jianjiao-6 armed interceptor airborne to pursue the object once checks showed no other civilian or military aircraft in the area.

The two pilots aboard said the object closely resembled depictions they had seen in foreign science fiction films.

When they got within 4,000 meters (13,200 feet) of the UFO over Qing county, it abruptly shot upward, easily evading subsequent attempts to get closer.

It appeared to be toying with the fighter by repeatedly outdistancing it and then reappearing just above it, the pilots said.

The report said a request for permission to fire on the UFO with an onboard cannon was denied by ground command at one point.

The interceptor was eventually forced to return to base after it ran out of fuel at an altitude of 12,000 meters (39,600 feet). The UFO then disappeared before two newer-model planes could get airborne, the article said.

While China's racy tabloids often run stories of strange phenomena alongside celebrity-gossip and crime stories, UFO reports are seldom carried by more official papers like the Hebei Daily. (1998 Agence France Presse)

Case ID: 1074 edit: 1074

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