Claim: C-130 buzzed by TicTac in Florida

[flarkey]

This story has been hitting the headlines on Reddit and Twitter

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/hercules-cargo-plane-buzzed-mystery-28756668

Thi article has more details:

https://curiosmos.com/police-office...ng-ufo/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Bradenton Beach Police Officer has snapped a fascinating photograph that shows a US Coast Guard airplane chasing a saucer-shaped UFO.

In Manatee County, Florida, Anna Maria Island is known for its heavy tourism. But what are the odds that some of its visitors are from outer space? Well, I am not sure, but after looking at the photograph of a Coast Guard plane chasing a UFO, I might be convinced that some of th visitors are not of this world. While patrolling Coquina Beach on November 5, a Bradenton Beach police officer snapped the odd photograph. In it, we see a Coast Guard plane chasing a flying saucer. "I watched a Coast Guard plane fly over the bay, then turn back toward the Gulf. I looked up and saw a big black thing in the sky," Bradenton Beach Police Officer Charles Morose told the Ana Maria Island Sun.

Traveling at 500mph

As explained by the police officer, based on the size of the US coast guard airplane, the object that was being pursued was around the size of a car or maybe a small aircraft. Based on the fact that the Coast Guard plane changed course and returned toward the Gulf, Morose believes it may have seen the object. As soon as the aircraft started following the object, which was nearly stationary when he first spotted it, its speed and trajectory quickly changed. In Morose's estimation, the UFO was traveling at least 500 mph. "It just shot off like a rocket toward the horizon, and it was just gone. I'm no UFO conspiracy theorist, and I'm not saying it was from space or anything like that, but there was something in the sky, and it was hauling butt."

Not a drone

As revealed by the Sun, the officer argues that whatever the object was, it was neither a drone nor a bird. As someone who lives in the area on a daily basis, Morose is familiar with drones and the birds that live there. In his eyes, it's an exciting encounter with something strange that will remain a mystery for some time to come. People around the world have become quite interested in UFO sightings. And even more so now that NASA has officially stated it is investigating unidentified flying objects. The Pentagon, too, has publicly stated it is researching UFOs in an attempt to figure out what these objects are and whether they are a threat to national security.

And this one says:

https://lifeinjonestown.substack.co...title&publication_id=329483&post_id=89893488&

At a quarter past 11 on Saturday morning, November 5, Bradenton Beach Police Officer Chuck Marose was driving south along Coquina Beach when something weird caught his eye. What he saw made him pull over onto the soft shoulder just north of the drawbridge at Longboat Key to get a better look.

The UFO up close. It looks kinda like a bug, there are some blurry bits (technical term) at either side of the body whoch I suppose could be wings.

Method.

First thing to do is to check the flight trackers for the time of the picture -as per the article the photo was taken on November 5 2002 at 11.15am EST, which is 16.15 UTC, near Sarasota in Florida,

Checking ADSBExhange at November 5 2002 at 11.15am EST, which is 16.15 UTC is doesnt show any C-130 aircraft in the area....

However there was a Coast Guard C130 in the area about 35 minutes before this....which would have been 10.42am

This is the plane" https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10481287

Could this have been the plane that the witness saw...? I reached out to the witness Trooper Chuck Marose on Facebook, in order to try and confirm the time of the photos...

So the internet articales about the time of the event were wrong. I did ask Trooper Marose for the original files or a screen shot of metadata, but he said that he only had cropped images of the original photos.

The artice above also says that the USCG crew had ot take evasive action to stop it crashing into the TicTac.

The USCG crew evidently noticed the object as well, and responded by shifting course, as if to pursue. Marose pulled out his Samsung Android as the C-130 closed to within "maybe less than one tenth of a mile" of the UFO. He managed to squeeze off a single shot that caught both vehicles in the same frame.

I checked ADSB Exchange and it does apear that the C-130 did change course at this time. But not only the C-130, another aircraft had to change course at exactly the same time - a Cessna 172 registration N54067

The witness said his location was on Anna Maria aisland, with the artical saying:

What he saw made him pull over onto the soft shoulder just north of the drawbridge at Longboat Key to get a better look.

Hypothesis: Could the witness have actually seen the Cessna172 flying towards the C130 and then both tuning to avoid each other...?

 

[flarkey]

The Cessna 172 was flying directly towards the witness, so could have had the appearance of 'standing still'.

 

[flarkey]

This A319 was also in the line of sight of the witness and the C130, but its bright yellow and would probably have been easily visible

 

[Mick West]

A comment on Reddit unearths a similar photo:

Article:

I've taken almost the exact same picture of a 'tic tac' following an Airbus A400m as it flew over my house last summer.

It turned out to be a tactical retractable tethered drone, designed to fool MANPAD system.

Edit: I found my pictures.

towed decoy?

Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/O0CvNkz

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/zje0b7/comment/izw34kb/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

Although I'm not convinced this isn't also a fly.

 

[Mendel]

towed decoy?

Note that this picture shows an optical illusion: it appears as though the aircraft is flying towards the decoy, although we know it is towed and must be behind.

I expect that witnesses can easily be mistaken when describing the 3D motion of unidentifiable objects in the sky, as most of the visual clues we normally use to perceive distance are absent. (Stereoscopic vision is useless at that range.) This is especially true when the witness has the wrong idea about the size of the object, e.g. a smaller nearby decoy vs. a bigger distant UFO.

 

[Duke]

If you look closely at the original photo showing the 130 and the UFO, it looks like the cargo ramp is deployed and the cargo door is raised. This is the configuration (see below) in which the Hercules drops/deploys articles from the rear of the aircraft. If a decoy was towed from inside the a/c, as opposed to from an underwing station, you'd expect the door and ramp in the configuration shown, and in the police officer's UFO photo.

So now the question is does the USCG operate these decoys from their HC-130Hs?


https://www.stripes.com/afghan-airdrops-rely-on-timing-precision-1.180793

 

[Duke]

After looking at that photo again, I think we might be looking at a raft. HC-130s carry rafts to airdrop to mariners in distress, plus all C-130s carry life rafts in the wings for use by crew/passengers in the event of a ditching. From personal experience working C-130 mishaps, I know those wing mounted rafts can deploy inadvertently during flight. They are attached to the a/c by a lanyard, which breaks when a raft is deployed in flight.

If I survive the winter storm, I'll contact the Public Affairs officer at CGAS Clearwater and ask if they were either dropping a raft during an exercise or lost one that inadvertently deployed. If I had to bet, I'd put money on the latter.

Addendum: I found a video of a C-130 wing raft being deployed on the ground. Notice it is orange, then look at the enlarged photo @flarkey posted in this thread's initial post. See the orange/red tint of the UFO?


Source: https://youtu.be/34ecdzYBzKU

 

[Calvin 77]

Hi all
I found fighter jets also tow decoys.
Source:
https://theaviationist.com/2012/04/16/towed-decoy/

 

[deirdre]

. HC-130s carry rafts to airdrop to mariners in distress,

that altitude seems awfully high to drop a raft.
and in this vid they have parachutes attached (so the guy would have seen it float down with parachute, no?

plus i looked for rescue articles and not seeing any that day.
there was a hurricane approaching but still pretty far out int he Atlantic on the 5th and not really expected to hit west coast much. (as far as a possible reason to drone surveillance something)

some random visuals i saw:

 

[Duke]

that altitude seems awfully high to drop a raft.
and in this vid they have parachutes attached (so the guy would have seen it float down with parachute, no?
View attachment 56828


plus i looked for rescue articles and not seeing any that day.
there was a hurricane approaching but still pretty far out int he Atlantic on the 5th and not really expected to hit west coast much.

some random visuals i saw:
View attachment 56829

View attachment 56830

Parachutes fail, but as I said, I'm more inclined to believe it was one of the wing mounted rafts that inadvertently deployed.

 

[deirdre]

Parachutes fail, but as I said, I'm more inclined to believe it was one of the wing mounted rafts that inadvertently deployed.

then why was the cargo door open? and why did the observer not see it fall to the "ground"? and are you telling me bits often fall off airplanes that fly over land?

 

[flarkey]

I doubt that they'd intentionally deploy a life raft or towed decoy in the part of a flight so close to the land and so close to landing back at their home base.

 

[Duke]

then why was the cargo door open? and why did the observer not see it fall to the "ground"? and are you telling me bits often fall off airplanes that fly over land?

Any number of reasons the cargo ramp/door could be open in a training exercise, from a simulated airdrop to simulating clearing smoke in the cabin. Or could have been open to drop a raft that had a parachute failure.

Eyewitnesses are unreliable, both in what they see and don't see. We already think he was incorrect in seeing the UFO in front of the a/c, as opposed to being towed behind.

Yes, pieces fall off a/c. Not often, but it happens. In this case, the inadvertent deployment of wing mounted rafts in C-130s is a known problem.

 

[deirdre]

I doubt that they'd intentionally deploy a life raft or towed decoy in the part of a flight so close to the land and so close to landing back at their home base.
View attachment 56832

oh that circling thing...might be related to the hurricane clean up. Fort myers is a bit south of their circling. Not that it explains the "ufo" or why the cargo door is open

Article:

Today, November 4, the state took the first step in removing shrimp boats stranded on dry land in Fort Myers Beach. A 160-foot-tall crane and other specialized equipment have been reconfigured to move shrimp and fishing boats weighing 100 or more tons back into the water. The start of this process marks the beginning of the state's commitment to getting our vital fishing community back on its feet in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Source: https://www.floridadisaster.org/news-media/news/20221104-state-of-florida-issues-updates-on-hurricane-ian-recovery-efforts/

 

[Duke]

Hi all
I found fighter jets also tow decoys.
Source:
https://theaviationist.com/2012/04/16/towed-decoy/

The towed decoys were developed for combat jets, but apparently are also used by some military airlifters like the A400 shown in a previous post. I'm skeptical USCG SAR aircraft carry them, however. If they do, it's probably because drug cartels have been found with MANPADs. Could be for protection from those shoulder launched SAMs from drug smuggling ships in the Caribbean and the Gulf.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Would a Coast Guard aircraft need to be equipped with a towed decoy? In other words are they deployed in potential combat zones?

Yes.

https://www.uscg.mil/About/Force-Laydown/#:~:text=The Coast Guard has a,outside of the United States.

The Coast Guard has a robust international presence, including three permanent international units. Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) is the Coast Guard's largest unit outside of the United States. PATFORSWA is currently supporting the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

Are they? Don't know.


What would cause the sudden tremendous acceleration?

First, let's call it the perceived acceleration.

A classic scenario in IFO (solved UFO) cases:
The witness lost sight of the object and this was perceived as enormous acceleration.
It disappeared because I can't see it anymore = it disappeared because it moved away.

Assuming this was a towed drone...

I have some ideas:

-It entered the shadow of the plane because the drone was being reeled in, or because the plane was turning.

-If the witness was seeing it because it was a dark shape silhouetted against the sky, the decoy was obscured as it came into the witness line of sight with the plane. It was hidden within the silhouette of the plane.

-As the plane turned, the witness lost sight of the decoy because it was not following the path the witness inferred it should follow. The witness perceived the decoy as ahead of the plane. His eyes followed the path he thought the decoy should follow. The decoy was something towed behind the plane and followed a different path than expected.

However. I don't think it was a towed decoy. There are too many unlikely events that would have to come together:

- How many Coast Guard C-130's are equipped with towed decoys? Probably not many... if any.
- How many stateside Coast Guard C-130's are equipped with towed decoys? Probably none(?)
- A training exercise in this area? Not likely.
- Ditto at this time in the flight.

Also it doesn't match the profile of a towed decoy, even allowing for motion blur. And the direction of motion to cause that blur seems unlikely.


I think it was an unrelated small and close object perceived as a related large and distant object.

Another classic IFO scenario: The witness inferred that two unrelated objects were related. And they were woven into a single story.

Innumerable unrelated objects have been reported as:
-Chasing planes
-Being chased by planes

Stars, balloons, meteors, satellites, unrelated aircraft, Venus, radar angels, birds (on radar and otherwise), floating plastic bags, spider web, and _____ , and likewise ______.
♫ The task of filling up the blanks I'd rather leave to you. ♪



If it's a bug, we have to account for the estimated 15 seconds it was visible to the witness, and the reported hovering. It can't be a bug zipping by.

And I don't think it could be a bug flying along the line of sight of the witness. A distant aircraft flying along the line of sight can appear to "hover" for 15 seconds because its apparent size doesn't change much over that length of time. But a bug is too small and too close for the hovering illusion. The apparent size would change too quickly.

How about a relatively large bug that really hovers?

My suspect of interest is a hovering dragonfly.

Screenshot

In this dragonfly scenario...

Because of the relatively large distance of the dragonfly from the witness, it was only a small image in the frame. Because of the resulting low resolution and the glare of the sky, we only see the larger part of the insect - the head and thorax. No tail.

Farther away than this one. Maybe 50 feet?


This would put the dragonfly in the Low Information Zone for both the witness and the camera.

In this UFO shot, the thorax and head are slightly motion blurred. The tail is not visible at all. We see a hint of the wings.

In this scenario the sudden acceleration is due to real acceleration away from the witness. The speed is grossly over estimated due to witness size/distance misperception.

Two scenarios here:

- The dragonfly flew away along the witness line of sight, directly away from the witness. The apparent size of the insect would quickly decrease and it would get lost to sight. The decrease in apparent size of a small/close object moving at low speed would mimic the same decrease in the apparent size of a large/distant object at 500 mph.

- Away from the witness but a least somewhat diagonally to the witness line of sight. Much the same effect as above.

- Toward the witness. Or, across the witness line of sight. Or up, or whatever. He just lost sight of it and the witness experienced the classic - It disappeared because I can't see it anymore = it disappeared because it moved away very fast - misperception. He just lost sight.

In this scenario, it really did move away, but in a different direction than expected. That's an entirely consistent scenario.

 

[Ann K]

Stars, balloons, meteors, satellites, unrelated aircraft, Venus, radar angels, birds (on radar and otherwise), floating plastic bags, spider web, and _____ , and likewise ______.

And dragonflies ... I've got 'em on my list...