The Ministry of Defence's position on possible UFO crash into wind turbine at Conisholme in Lincolnshire

Dear Mr Bowman,

Thank you for your e-mail of 9 February 2009 asking what the Ministry of
Defence's position was regarding the recent damage to a wind turbine in
Lincolnshire and whether the cause of the damage had been determined.

Firstly, it may be helpful if I explain that the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
examines any reports of `unidentified flying objects' it receives solely
to establish whether what was seen might have some defence significance;
namely, whether there is any evidence that the United Kingdom's airspace
might have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised air activity.

Unless there is evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom from
an external source, and to date no UFO report has revealed such evidence,
we do not attempt to identify the precise nature of each sighting reported
to us. We believe that rational explanations, such as aircraft lights or
natural phenomena, could be found for them if resources were diverted for
this purpose, but it is not the function of the MoD to provide this kind
of aerial identification service. It would be an inappropriate use of
defence resources if we were to do so.

The MoD does not have any expertise or role in respect of `UFO/flying
saucer' matters or the question of the existence or otherwise of
extraterrestrial life forms, about which it remains totally open-minded. I
should add that to date, the MoD knows of no evidence which substantiates
the existence of these alleged phenomena.

Turning to this particular incident, I can confirm that it was not
officially reported to the MoD but, clearly, we were aware of the media
reports. We are not aware of any substantive evidence to suggest the
turbine was hit by a UFO and unless we receive clear physical evidence of
an aircraft or other object flying into the turbine, we would not
investigate the matter.

I hope this is helpful.

Paul Webb

RAF Bus Sec 13

Room 2E03

Spitfire Block

HQ Air Command

RAF High Wycombe

HP14 4UE

Tel: 01494 49 6254

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