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of his speaking out about the incident when he was approached by the BBC. His airline offered every support he needed, and the local air traffic control released recorded information to journalists and researchers who asked about the case. "I did not feel that I was in any danger of being ridiculed, because all I did was report what actually happened, as was my Especially after learning about the O'Hare Airport case, which occurred only months before his sighting, Bowyer noted the differences between the British and U.S. reporting systems, and also between the Official attitudes within the two countries. The fact that crews and ground personnel were pressured by their company not to discuss the incident, and that the FAA did not investigate, surprised him. "I would have been shocked if I was told that the CAA would not be investigating, or if the CAA told me that what I had seen was something entirely different," he commented in response to the FAA's claim that witnesses were actually observing weather. "But it seems that pilots in America are used to this kind of thing, as far as I can tell" I first met Captain Bowyer at our Washington, D.C., press conference six months after his sighting, when I also met General De Brouwer. He attended for a few days with the full cooperation of his airline, Aurigny Air Services, which flies between the Channel Islands and both France and the UK. I found Bowyer to be a remarkably frank, down- to-earth, utterly incorruptible British everyman; in other words, a naturally honest man, blessed also with a great sense of humor. His account that follows, though at times alarming, gives expression to these personal qualities, and stands in interesting confrast to the more formal and restrained writing styles of our military contributors. There has always been a strong connection to flying in my family, and even though I initially trained as a production and research engineer, I always had a hankering to get airborne. So in 19851 began to fly, and four years later I qualified as a commercial pilot. Since then, I have worked for many airlines in Britain, Europe, and the Middle East. I spent ten years, beginning in 1999, with Aurigny Air Services, based in the Channel Islands, which lie between southern Great Britain and northern France. Aurigny flies between the three largest islands— Alderney, Jersey, and Guernsey—and western France and England. I have completed some 5,000 hours and 8,000 landings for Aurigny in Britten- Norman Trislander aircraft. Although very basic and rather noisy, these eighteen-seat, three-engined aeroplanes are strong and ideal for short- sector work into short runways such as those at Alderney, the most northerly and smallest of the islands serviced by the airline. The flight deck area of the Trislander is not separated from passengers—we all sit in essentially one open cabin. While piloting the aircraft, I can literally turn around and talk to the passenger behind me. On April 23, 2007, my passengers and I witnessed multiple, as yet unidentified objects over these to-earth, in everyman, 7 . the three duty," he stated.