Research balloon offered as explanation for 1966 Westall UFO incident
The 1966 Westall UFO incident is hailed by some as one of the best mass UFO sightings of the modern UFO era. But recently discovered government documents have some suspecting that the UFO was actually a government research balloon.
The incident occurred on the morning of April 6, 1966 in the Australian suburb of Clayton South in Melbourne near Westall High School. Hundreds of students, staff, and nearby residents watched the strange object hover, land, and quickly fly away. Witnesses describe the craft as a silver or grey shining object shaped like a flying saucer or “a cup turned upside down on a saucer.” The UFO was reportedly accompanied by five light aircraft. According to the witnesses, the incident lasted twenty minutes.
Some report that men in uniforms arrived at the location of the craft’s landing, removing extensive soil samples. Some witnesses even claim that these unidentified men in uniforms scorched the landing area to eliminate any potential evidence of the UFO’s presence. And The Dandenong Journal reported that “students and staff have been instructed to ‘talk to no-one’ about the incident.”
Witnesses were, and still are, adamant that what they observed was absolutely not a light aircraft or a weather balloon. But, based on recently uncovered documents, some believe a balloon is actually the culprit.
Unexplained phenomenon researcher Keith Basterfield believes a rogue balloon from the HIBAL (high altitude balloon) project is the likely explanation for the Westall UFO. And, more specifically, he thinks it was HIBAL flight 292. The HIBAL project was reportedly a joint US-Australian initiative between 1960 and 1969 to monitor atmospheric radiation levels. The project accomplished this by using large silver balloons with payloads of sophisticated sensors. Basterfield formulated his hypothesis after reviewing all available documentation, including what he unearthed with Freedom of Information searches.
The Herald Sun explains, “Documents held by the National Archives and former Department of Supply indicate one test balloon launched from Mildura may have been blown off course and came down in Clayton South in a paddock near Westall High School, alarming and baffling hundreds of eyewitnesses, including teachers and students.” The Herald Sun points out that, despite government records of several HIBAL test flights, “the paperwork for the launches scheduled for the day before Westall appear to have been lost or destroyed.” Basterfield comments, “What is strikingly missing is a memo reporting on the actual four launches for April 1966, one of which was scheduled for 5 April 1966, the day before Westall . . . So we have no (official) knowledge of where flight 292 went.”
Despite claims of discovered government documents, many, including those who witnessed the UFO in 1966, are sure to find the HIBAL hypothesis hard to swallow.
The 1966 Westall UFO incident was recently commemorated with a $150,000 UFO-themed playground that features a nearly eleven-foot-high, large, silver flying saucer that can accommodate up to seven children. It is trimmed with blue LED lights and is loosely based on what witnesses saw in 1966.
WAIT…. The reporter at The Sun did not even BOTHER to follow up, ask or even quote ANY of the original eyewitnesses to the event, to see if they felt it was a balloon. The entire article is based on research, with no documents to back up the specific incident.
The document he does mention, does not include a date, only that it was launched in the vicinity. When was it launched?
What is this nonsense?
Seems like more lies to keep the public ignorant. The more I read articles like this one ( from the Herald Sun ) the more suspicious I get.
The doco on this incident is a must see. Interviews with actual witnesses, of which none mention a balloon type object, and the story of a teacher taking photo’s and her camera being confiscated by police etc.. All very interesting indeed. I am not easily fooled and l find these explanations very patronising and embarrassing. Fess up all you Governments. Educate the masses on this subject.
The “Herald Sun” newspaper’s “article” on the explanation for the Westall Incident is still being reported around the world, the latest being here on the Open Minds web site. It’s a pity the journalist concerned didn’t actually communicate the views of Keith Basterfield correctly, or speak with any of the primary witnesses, or produce any actual documentation supporting the thrust of the article’s argument. I agree with Keith Basterfield in terms of saying that all avenues should be pursued in our attempts to solve this mystery, and that after all our efforts, it still remains an open case at this point in time. Several people are actively working still on solving the Westall enigma, and I know Keith is one of them…and I am too. Those who know me would know I don’t lean much towards the conspiratorial side of things, but it is true that this article appeared within days, literally, of me putting in a request to the Defence Intelligence Organisation for documents relating to the Westall Incident, after having been informed that several files, containing such documents, are held there.
a weather balloon would not leave radiation worth looking into, a crop circle, and burning the field, and why would it have caused Tanya to pass out and be taken away?! I think it’s linked to what is demonic and material and that high ups in government have probably been using all avenues including communication with dead spirits which the bible forbids or demons pretending to be aliens and messing with the military agencies that engage these spirits. These spirits play tricks or demonstrate their power, imitate things that can be passed off as planes and air balloons at times to confuse things on purpose. I also believe some of these aliens either are aliens that get possessed when they come to this cursed planet where Satan has his throne and/or are hybrid demon-aliens and or hybridized with humans creating a three-way being. I believe some UFOs are total illusory or the spirits themselves and sometimes actual “alien-demon” tech that was stolen from the aliens that got possessed or that was created from the knowledge gained from aliens AND human researchers, researchers that often get no where because these demons are fighting against such tech being widespread, and God allows this because just as he destroyed the Babel Tower he still doesn’t want all of humanity becoming so advanced that they would easily wipe out his eternal children the Christians, who love and obey him, unlike the rest of the world, a world which probably includes aliens all over the universe, who no doubt are also under the curse of death for having rebelled.
But here’s the thing; Witnesses repeatedly state there were “discs” in the field. “DISCS”! And NOT ONE of them has EVER mentioned ANYTHING about a balloon.
To be fair to Basterfield, he is more interested in the balloon payloads, rather than the balloons, in regards to Westall. These payloads could be of various shapes and were often the size of a car. They were connected by extremely long lines to a parachute that would make a 45 minute descent to earth after being released from the balloon at very high altitudes. The balloon would, almost certainly, not even be visible as the payload made its way down in sight of any viewers on the ground.