The incident involving a Boeing 737 coming in to land remains unsolved to this day
16:37, 01 Nov 2025Updated 17:31, 01 Nov 2025
In 1995 a Boeing 737 flying from Milan into Manchester had what can only be described as a ‘close encounter’
In our modern world, scientific advancements have enabled incredible breakthroughs in how we understand the universe. The James Webb telescope orbits the Sun one million miles away from the Earth, exposing the secrets of the darkest corners of our Solar System. Its images are truly mind-bending.
However, in other ways, technological advancements have also made it more challenging to make sense of the world around us. In the last century, most unexplained sightings, such as UFOs (more recently referred to as UAP – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), could be dismissed by examining shoddy examples of ‘evidence’ captured on camera.
A well-timed frisbee thrown at an indeterminate height and caught on film could be seen for what it obviously was. Yet, in an age of autonomous drones and realistic AI-generated video, all readily available to the public, the waters have well and truly been muddied. The old adage that the camera never lies no longer rings true.
So, when we look back at the handful of strange and still unexplained incidents from 40 years ago, some can still leave us grasping for answers.
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On a grey winter night on January 5, 1995, a British Airways flight was heading into Manchester Airport. Nothing unusual.
The Boeing 737, inbound from Milan, was following the standard approach over the Pennines, easing down through cloud and strong winds as the crew prepared to land.
As the 737 began its final descent towards Manchester, First Officer Mark Stewart and Captain Roger Wills saw something flash silently by, which made them both duck.
They radioed into traffic control with the startling message that they had been buzzed by a V-shaped, high-speed unidentified craft. The team in Manchester Airport’s control tower confirmed that theirs was the only plane appearing on their radar screens.
After touching down at Manchester Airport 10 minutes later, the 60 passengers onboard knew nothing of the hair-raising encounter the two men in charge of flying the aircraft had just experienced.
Reluctantly, the two pilots decided they had to officially report the unexplained event. The tower had already asked if they wanted to file an air miss report, but as soon as the Boeing 737-200 was stationary at Terminal One, they went even further.
They began to sketch what they had seen. The 38-year-old Captain Wills thought the craft was brightly lit like a Christmas tree. At the same time, his 25-year-old First Officer drew an almost identical triangular shape, which he thought had a stripe down the side.
The two men never discussed what they saw in detail until they had landed the plane safely and began to sketch independently.
Drawings made by the Boeing 737 pilots following their close encounter
The fact that the drawings were so similar has given rise to speculation that whatever they encountered may not have been of this world.
The UFO theorists at the time believed the pilots may have encountered the Silent Vulcan, a nickname for the mysterious triangular craft that had apparently been stalking the skies of Europe and the US since 1983.
Of course, there are other theories. One was that they had caught a rare glimpse of a top-secret stealth bomber.
This was the theory that one of the pilots, Mark Stewart, believed was most likely to be true when he gave an exclusive interview with the Manchester Evening News just over a year later.
An artist’s impression of the encounter published in the Manchester Evening News – Friday 28 June 1996
The First Officer living in Knutsford told the M.E.N.: “It’s a UFO in the strict use of the phrase, but as a practical person I personally believe that what I saw was a Stealth.”
Mark had been flying short-haul European flights for BA from Manchester for over two years. It was the day before his 24th birthday when he looked up from monitoring the plane’s instruments, and he got the shock of his life.
“There was something straight ahead which then in a split second passed down the right-hand side and disappeared,” Mark said.
‘Riddle in the sky’ Manchester Metro News – Friday 09 February 1996
“My reaction was to reach out for the controls but by then the object was gone. I said to the captain, ‘Did you see that?’, and he said: ‘Yes.’ It was very dark grey and wedge-shaped, with an even darker stripe down it. There were no visible windows.
He added: “Because of its speed, it was very difficult to judge the relative size and exact distance from us. However, it was not too far from our starboard wing-tip.
“People have said to me it must have been a kite or a balloon, but there is absolutely no chance. It was a solid grey object, possibly with a black stripe.”
Just over a year after the pilots’ near-miss report was officially filed, the Civil Aviation Authority investigation was found to be inconclusive.
Mark Stewart, one of the two BA pilots involved in the UFO incident pictured the following year
Following the report, the CAA released the air traffic control transcript to the public.
Wills: “We just had something go down the right-hand side just above us, very fast.”Control tower: “Well, there’s nothing seen on radar. Was it – er – an aircraft?”Wills: “Well, it had lights, it went down the starboard side very quick.”Control tower: “And above you?”Wills: “Er, just slightly above us, yeah.”Control tower: “Keep an eye out for something – er – I can’t see anything at all, so – er – must have been very fast or gone down very quickly after it passed you, I think.”Bemused Wills ended the conversion by remarking: “OK. Well, there you go!”
The investigators said there was a “remote” possibility that an unknown military plane might be in the area, and checks had been made with the RAF and USAF.
Both pilots were targeted by UFO investigators and the media from all over the world following the sighting. Following the investigation, they were officially praised for their courage and “enlightened attitude” as pilots are often derided for reporting unusual sightings.
In summary, the CAA investigation reported: “There are, of course, a few sightings which defy explanation, and thus fuel the imagination of those who are convinced that there is something going on out there.
Mark Stewart spoke to the Manchester Evening News following the conclusion of the investigation
“Usually, activity of this kind is accompanied by a rash of ground sightings. In this case, there were no other reports. The military said they had no planes in the area and the possibility it was a model aircraft has been ruled out.
“No microlite or hang-glider could operate in the dark or in such a strong wind. Having debated the various hypotheses at length, the group concluded that in the absence of any firm evidence which could identify or explain this object, it was not possible to assess either the cause or the risk by any of the normal criteria applicable to air miss reports.
“The incident therefore remains unsolved.”
This ‘near miss’ incident involving a commercial aircraft near Manchester Airport in 1995 still stands out as one of the strongest documented UK sightings – at least in an aviation context.
The report by the UK Civil Aviation Authority shows that the unusual experience of the two trustworthy pilots was taken seriously, and all avenues, including the possibility of an encounter with a top-secret military aircraft, were investigated.