Orb UAP photographed by pilot on tarmac and flying during the day in Manchester

[Candycane7]

Twitter account @captainbiggalow posted pictures and one video of an object looking like an orb at Manchester airport. The post is from the 25th of November but the footage was recorded months ago.

Additional information provided on twitter:

The object descended vertically in 15kts of wind. Was the size of a small car. It hovered perfectly stationary a few feet off the ground.ATC sent out an Ops vehicle. As the vehicle approached the object it took off vertically.

The world needs to see that this isn't just happening in the US. Several of my collegues have seen things they can't explain recently. We spend 1000's of hours in the air and know when something isn't a balloon or a plane.

This was recorded within the past few months. The first officer reported to Manchester Tower. They sent out an ops vehicle to investigate. As the vehicle approached the orb took off. Not sure how many other witnesses there were.

Our company doesn't like us partaking in social media and has been quite heavy handed on previous occasions. It's best our identities remain anonymous.

There is a reddit thread about this case here

I obtained the (supposedly) original photos and videos with metadata by email from reddit user Own-Resolution-8476

I don't have the technical knowledge to evaluate CGI use or do anything with the metadata. Anyone has any idea what we are looking at here?

 

[jarlrmai]

Looks like a balloon with a story attached that the evidence conveniently doesn't back up.

 

[flarkey]

First thing to realise is that @captainbiggalow is probably not a pilot and created their account one day ago just to post these pictures. They call themselves a 'bit of a technophobe' on Twitter and follows all the usual suspects which are almost all UFO-related accounts.


Source: https://x.com/captainbiggalow/status/1861783929465766139?t=uMefJElDMAUu0teBp-TwVQ&s=19

following:

 

[flarkey]

Looks like a balloon with a story attached that the evidence conveniently doesn't back up.

a balloon that was agitated and elevated by the jetwash form the KLM 737 ...?

Location 53.36076508226033, -2.264893158367947

https://www.google.com/maps/place/M...try=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTEyNC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

 

[Harabeck]

I see no evidence for behavior that can't be explained by a beach ball. Is there more information on its supposed vertical take off?

 

[Mendel]

unfortunately, for legal reasons liveatc does not cover British airports (EGCC), so the alleged report to the tower can't be verified through that

 

[jarlrmai]

Looks like a balloon with a story attached that the evidence conveniently doesn't back up.

One that was at or approaching neutral buoyancy, or even some other type of inflatable like a beach ball etc.

 

[Ravi]

The video does not show any vertical motion of the "orb", sadly.

 

[Duke]

Twitter account @captainbiggalow posted pictures and one video of an object looking like an orb at Manchester airport. The post is from the 25th of November but the footage was recorded months ago.

View attachment 73641

Additional information provided on twitter:


There is a reddit thread about this case here

I obtained the (supposedly) original photos and videos with metadata by email from reddit user Own-Resolution-8476

I don't have the technical knowledge to evaluate CGI use or do anything with the metadata. Anyone has any idea what we are looking at here?

To make sure I'm understanding this, are we referring to the blue ball looking unit I've circled? (And yes, I saw the airborne video clip, as well.)

Not sure I buy the "size of a small car" as mentioned in the Twitter in post #1 above. Certainly looks small enough it could fit into one side of the baggage cart sitting just outside my blue circle at about the 9 o'clock position.

 

[Mendel]

Not sure I buy the "size of a small car" as mentioned in the Twitter in post #1 above. Certainly looks small enough it could fit into one side of the baggage cart sitting just outside my blue circle at about the 9 o'clock position.

I see runway/taxiway signage where you indicate the "baggage cart"; that's no place for one, either.

Here's how a car compares to a 737 engine (as on the aircraft in the background):

(from the crash in Vilnius)

 

[jarlrmai]

a balloon that was agitated and elevated by the jetwash form the KLM 737 ...?

Location 53.36076508226033, -2.264893158367947

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Manchester+Airport/@53.3614587,-2.2630662,505m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x487a52c0dfd893c5:0x8b0b8247e5e4a5e0!8m2!3d53.3553569!4d-2.277162!16zL20vMDFuaHd5?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTEyNC4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw==View attachment 73643

Trying to work out where the object is placed based on this..

 

[jarlrmai]

Okey the photo of the ball on ground the is very cropped / zoomed in, there's a lot of foreshortening.

As a far as I can tell the image is taken from around here here

The object on the ground is somewhere between the edge of the dark tarmac and the painted I heart MCR (seasonally in the latest GE imagery a pumpkin) MCR logo painted on the ground.

Possibly closer depending on the actual placement of the bollards, the images I have found of the I <3 MCR logo suggest y has bollards around it and the object seems to be in front of the bollards

 

[Mick West]

Manchester has had balloon problems before:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...lloon-floating-runway-Manchester-airport.html

And they have tried to set up a 5-mile balloon exclusion zone.
https://assets.live.dxp.maginfrastr...works-toy-balloons-sky-lanterns-2024-2025.pdf

I used to live in that area (Didsbury and Withington) about 5 miles from the airport.

 

[jarlrmai]

This is 1m object added in GE at the periphery of the tarmac intersection and the FOV approximated

 

[NoParty]

Orbs? Really? We have so few proper "flying saucer" etc. alleged sightings in this day of a videocamera on every person, that we're supposed to get excited now by vague "orbs"?

Sheesh. The bar seems sooo low, now. Even Peppa Pig can step over it...

 

[john.phil]

Someone created a gif from both stills that were made available, the original account has been deleted.

 

[flarkey]

Orbs? Really? We have so few proper "flying saucer" etc. alleged sightings in this day of a videocamera on every person, that we're supposed to get excited now by vague "orbs"?

The position of the 'ufo community' seems to be that if someone sees any object that they couldn't immediately identify then that object becomes unidentifiable by anyone in the future and is by definition 'anomalous' and therefore evidence of a non-human intelligence.

 

[Mauro]

The position of the 'ufo community' seems to be that if someone sees any object that they couldn't immediately identify then that object becomes unidentifiable by anyone in the future and is by definition 'anomalous' and therefore evidence of a non-human intelligence.

Extra-dimensional non-human intelligence, possibly supernatural!!

 

[Mendel]

some

This is 1m object added in GE at the periphery of the tarmac intersection and the FOV approximated

What's your camera height? Jet pilots are fairly high up, but your Google Earth image feels low to me, compared to the photo.

 

[jarlrmai]

During the video this cockpit control is visible.

Googling "BRK FAN control" seems to only return hits for the A320

https://ccntservice.airbus.com/apps/cockpits/a320/

This panel in an A320 interactive cockpit matches the video, but does not have the BRK FAN control, so possibly a different variant of the A320

 

[jarlrmai]

some
What's your camera height? Jet pilots are fairly high up, but your Google Earth image feels low to me, compared to the photo.

It's hard to position things so it's just representative, @Mick West is better with the Google Earth fu

 

[Ann K]

Possibly closer depending on the actual placement of the bollards, the images I have found of the I <3 MCR logo suggest y has bollards around it and the object seems to be in front of the bollards

Do we know how tall the bollards are? Because the image shows the ball as being well in front of them, so that it might be about bollard-sized.

 

[john.phil]

Googling "BRK FAN control" seems to only return hits for the A320

It seems to be a feature of airbus aircraft only (A310, A320, A330, A340 and A350), related to carbon brakes, operating at airports fitted with relatively short runways, and quick turnaround times. The button is for activating the brake fan when the conditions require:

Airbus A320 brake fan:


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHkTQ_kLw7Q


Airbus A320 vs A350 brake fan noise comparison:


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whQ44VrQ-9I


A330 brake fan:


Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@primecaptain_tz/video/7264798214119787781

 

[Mick West]

This is 1m object added in GE at the periphery of the tarmac intersection and the FOV approximated

Similar, with a 1m blue sphere and a 0.5m blue sphere. It's pretty close to 0.5m, so roughly 18"

KMZ attached. The sphere comes from making a sphere in Blender, exporting as Collada, and then "Add Model"

 

[JMartJr]

Similar, with a 1m blue sphere and a 0.5m blue sphere. It's pretty close to 0.5m, so roughly 18"

Hmmm...

 

[Pilaf]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zebra-Balloons-Earth-Balloon-22inch/dp/B0B1P31FZ8

 

[saucerpilot]

Someone created a gif from both stills that were made available, the original account has been deleted.

View attachment 73660

Is there any significance that it appears to move along with the flares or whatever those are in the lower right corner?

 

[JMartJr]

Is there any significance that it appears to move along with the flares or whatever those are in the lower right corner?

I think the "flares" are raindrops on the aircraft windshield -- if so, I don;t see how the movement can be correlated unless he orb is on or nearly on the windshield. But it is an interesting catch, well spotted -- and perhaps I am wrong?

 

[MapperGuy]

Do we know how tall the bollards are? Because the image shows the ball as being well in front of them, so that it might be about bollard-sized.

Those objects sticking up are probably lights to show the edges of the taxiway at night. The ones at US airports appear to be about a foot tall.
The bottom image in post #12 of this thread shows them closer up.
The blue ball appears to be on the ground in the photo in post #1, you can see its shadow around its base.
My estimate (guess if you prefer) based on that height and the apparent distance between the ball and the bollards is that the ball is about 2 feet in diameter.

 

[john.phil]

Is there any significance that it appears to move along with the flares or whatever those are in the lower right corner?

As pointed out, those "flares" are rain drops on the aircraft's windshield. The images were aligned with the background in mind. If the foreground (i.e. the rain drops) was the reference for the alignment, the droplets would be overlapping with barely any apparent movement, but the aircraft in the background would be shifting instead.

 

[Myth]

My explanation for set of events.

1. Planes are in taxi

2. Falling balloon object was observed.

3. Quick video was recorded at location 1

4. Planes continue to taxi.

5. Object falls to ground level.

6. Pictures are taken at location 2.

7. The rest is all a story told with the set of events happening in reverse. Meaning here's an object on the runway, here's the pictures I took of it, and then it shot up in the sky, here's a video of the object in the sky.

This is the easy "hoax" if you will without doing any analysis on the video or photos.

 

[flarkey]

Confirmation of the location of the objects on Manchester Airports Taxiways B1 and G2.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...e79-b346-a74272ed6bde/353023.jpg?format=2500w

 

[jarlrmai]

My explanation for set of events.

1. Planes are in taxi

2. Falling balloon object was observed.

3. Quick video was recorded at location 1

4. Planes continue to taxi.

5. Object falls to ground level.

6. Pictures are taken at location 2.

7. The rest is all a story told with the set of events happening in reverse. Meaning here's an object on the runway, here's the pictures I took of it, and then it shot up in the sky, here's a video of the object in the sky.

This is the easy "hoax" if you will without doing any analysis on the video or photos.

The video is seemingly recorded from a position further down the taxiway than the photo, indicating the photo was taken 1st.

Perhaps the balloon was blown into the air from jet wash from the filming aircraft. If we had a date we could check local wind conditions on that day.

 

[Myth]

The video is seemingly recorded from a position further down the taxiway than the photo, indicating the photo was taken 1st.

Perhaps the balloon was blown into the air from jet wash from the filming aircraft. If we had a date we could check local wind conditions on that day.

If that's true then I would lean towards it being blown by a jet and bouncing off of something.

 

[jarlrmai]

If that's true then I would lean towards it being blown by a jet and bouncing off of something.

Once a balloon gets blown like that from something very strong like jet engine like that it appearing again in front of the aircraft is not unexpected it would enter turbulent flight with all sorts of unpredictable paths.

 

[Ann K]

Once a balloon gets blown like that from something very strong like jet engine like that it appearing again in front of the aircraft is not unexpected it would enter turbulent flight with all sorts of unpredictable paths.

If it's a balloon (and I really like @Pilaf 's earth-globe find as a match), it would perhaps be blown with force, but as it's very light it would have no momentum to speak of. BUT if it got heated by the outwash from a jet engine, that would cause it to rise, perhaps fitting the description as something that "took off vertically".

 

[JMartJr]

The video is seemingly recorded from a position further down the taxiway than the photo, indicating the photo was taken 1st.

Perhaps the balloon was blown into the air from jet wash from the filming aircraft. If we had a date we could check local wind conditions on that day.

It is always possible there was more than one balloon. Sometimes they are released (or escape) in multiples.

 

[Duke]

Those objects sticking up are probably lights to show the edges of the taxiway at night. The ones at US airports appear to be about a foot tall.
The bottom image in post #12 of this thread shows them closer up.
The blue ball appears to be on the ground in the photo in post #1, you can see its shadow around its base.
My estimate (guess if you prefer) based on that height and the apparent distance between the ball and the bollards is that the ball is about 2 feet in diameter.

That really is a small car.

 

[John J.]

Are we confident that the item on the tarmac is a real thing?
It appears to have a fairly clear shadow underneath it, although the weather looks overcast.

Blowing up the picture (no pun intended), a horizontal line on the ground seems to be visible through the object, but it might be coincidence, a feature or reflection on the object surface that might be mistaken as a continuation of the line behind.
The object appears to be approximately the shape of an upside-down party balloon, not spherical.

 

[jarlrmai]

Are we confident that the item on the tarmac is a real thing?
It appears to have a fairly clear shadow underneath it, although the weather looks overcast.

View attachment 73699

Blowing up the picture (no pun intended), a horizontal line on the ground seems to be visible through the object, but it might be coincidence, a feature or reflection on the object surface that might be mistaken as a continuation of the line behind.
The object appears to be approximately the shape of an upside-down party balloon, not spherical.

View attachment 73700View attachment 73701

Looks real enough to me, just a reflection probably i don't see any reason to doubt the authenticity here.

I think the 'shadow' is more likely a reflection on the wet concrete.