SUBJECT: DID UFO CAUSE FLIGHT 427 CRASH ? FILE: UFO2624 BY NICK MANN for WWN WASHINGTON - Federal investigatiors are looking into the possibility that the crash fo USAir Flight 427 was caused by a collision with a UFO - a possibility supported by the discovery of a passenger's hastily scribbled note that says, "Massive, glowing, as big as a house. Oh my God! It's going to hit!" Authorities have been reluctant to discuss the matter to spare friends and family members of 132 crash victims the agony of a prolonged media circus. But as one National Transportation Safety Board insider puts it: "It is our responsibility to determine the cause of plane crashes to avoid more probllems in the future. We can't disregard evidence because we don't like the implications. "If a UFO caused the crash of Flight 427, we've got to say so. And even though it will be months before we are ready to make a determination, our investigators are, in fact, looking into the possiblity that a UFO somehow precipitated the crash." According to the insider, investigators began to look into the possibility that a UFO had something to do with the crash of Flight 427 after determining the components that most commonly fail in airliners were not to blame for the disaster. Early speculation that a pilot or computer accidentally deployed the airliner's thrust reversers, a braking device, proved to be false, for example. Investigators also looked into the possibility that an engine mount snapped but found no evidence to support that theory. One of the more intriguing clues in the mystery crash came from the USAir pilot a few seconds before the plane went down. In a frantic and mysterious radio transmission recorded seconds before air traffic control lost contact with the plane, the pilot shrieked: "Oh (unintelligible) Oh God. Traffic emergency. (Unintelligible) Oh (expletive)." The NTSB insider said: "To a layman, the transmission might suggest that another airplane or a helicopter entered the airliner's flight path, but 'traffic emergency' is unknown terminology - it simply is not used to describe distress in flight. "Knowing that, it is not unreasonable to assume that the crew encountered something extraordinary. And that something might have been a UFO. A brief note found on a scrap of paper might support the idea," he added. "It appears to have been written by a passenger in the 30 or so seconds after the plane got into trouble and crashed. "Though chared and torn, you can still read the words, 'massive, glowing, as big as a house.' The note also says 'Oh my God. It's going to hit.' That's not much to go on, but it may provide the breakthrough we need to find the cause of the crash." While federal investigators continue to sift through and analyze the wreckage, civilian UFO researchers like Phil Brunei, of Washington, are calling on President Bill Clinton to personally involve himself in the investigation. "We call on President Clinton to take a leadership role in this matter," said Brunei. "If a starship or UFO had something to do with the crash, it is incumbent upon him to formulate a national policy to deal with starship traffic in U.S. air space." Expert refutes UFO theory in NEWS interview. As the investigation into the crash fo Flight 427 continues, some experts are vehemently denying UFO involvement. WWN interviewed Lester McCronell, a Washington-based former air disaster investigator and author of Fire In the Skies - The Dangers of American Air Travel. The NEWS: In your view, was this tragedy caused by a UFO? McCronell: Impossible. The UFO theory is nothing more than a smoke screen, intended to cover what is probably the real cause - mechanical failure or pilot error. The NEWS: But there's absolutely no evidence to indicate incompetence on the airline's part. McCronell: I feel certain further probing will turn it up. The NEWS: What about the radio transmission in which the pilot called out, "Traffic emergency"? There were no other planes int he area. McCronell: The pilot was probably confused. The NEWS: But why would he say, "traffic"? McCronell: He may have seen something ... I don't know. The NEWS: Nothing else was nearby. What might he have seen? McCronell: I don't know. Not a UFO. The NEWS: How can you be sure? McCronell: I've investigated hundreds of airplane accidents. All of them have logical causes that can be explained scientifically. There's no reason to believe this one's any different. The NEWS: What about the mysterious note authorities found in which a passenger wrote ... McCronell: It's not relevant. The NEWS: But the note specifically says, "massive, glowing ... It's going to hit." What could it mean? McCronell: It could be part of a science fiction manuscript penned by a writer with an overactive imagination. It probably doesn't mean anthing at all. ********************************************** * THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo * **********************************************