RICHARD HAINES – UAP AND FLIGHT SAFETY: THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP
I will describe a number of in-flight close encounters with unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), as reported by air crews from around the world, in which safety was seriously impacted. In short, some UAP are a threat to flight safety. Three kinds of such incidents are documented: electro-magnetic effects on various airplane instruments and systems, disruption of cockpit coordination and communication, and sudden flight path disruption and/or near miss incidents. Despite their continuing occurrences around the world, these events are not reported sufficiently because of open ridicule and the invisible walls of silence that have been erected around this serious subject. To discard UAP evidence only because it does not fit easily or conveniently into the paradigms of science is not only non-scientific but is also stupid and potentially dangerous, leaving us blind to reality. I will make specific recommendations for improving this situation.
RICHARD HAINES is a senior research scientist who worked at NASA-Ames Research Center from 1967 – 1988 on projects such as Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and the International Space Station, and managed the Joint FAA/NASA Head-up Display Evaluation Program. He was appointed Chief of the Space Human Factors Office at NASA-Ames in 1986. Dr. Haines has published more than seventy-five papers in leading scientific journals and over twenty-five U.S. government reports for NASA. Since retiring in 1988, he worked as a senior research scientist for the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, RECOM Technologies, Inc., and Raytheon Corporation. Currently, he serves as Chief Scientist for the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP), www.narcap.org.
One year later, at the 1983 MUFON UFO Symposium in Pasadena, California, the steering committee’s work resulted in the formation of the North American UFO Federation (NAUFOF). Dr. Richard Haines was selected as the first director of the new organization. Although the federation lasted less than two years, due to lack of financial support from other organizations, it was a very important test case for bringing people with an interest in UFOs together.When Dr. Haines saw an opportunity for cooperation between Russian and U.S. ufologists and formed the Joint USA-CIS Aerial Anomaly Federation, MUFON pledged support this new venture. A major meeting of the participants, including representatives from Russia and the Ukraine, was held in conjunction with the 1994 MUFON UFO Symposium in Austin, Texas.In 1994, Robert Bigelow suggested working with a coalition of U.S. UFO organizations comprised of MUFON, the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR). By 1995, the groups involved had formed the UFO Research Coalition (URC), and they have continued working together on a number of very successful projects including the Ambient Monitoring Project aimed at measuring environmental changes during on-going abduction experiences.