UFO blamed for wind turbine damage

[izzix]

UFO blamed for destruction of wind turbine

UFOs have been blamed for destroying a wind turbine after a bizarre incident that has baffled engineers.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... rbine.html

By Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 5:31PM GMT 08 Jan 2009
Damaged Wind Turbine, Lincolnshire...A damaged wind turbine near Grainsthorpe in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom on 08 January 2009. Locals reported seeing strange lights flying at speed in the sky at 4am in the morning GMT before awaking to the damaged 300
Locals reported seeing strange lights in the sky at 4am Photo: NEWSTEAM

Locals in Lincolnshire reported seeing mysterious glowing orbs in the evening sky shortly before the giant structure was wrecked.

More mundane theories for the cause of the damage – from a block of frozen urine dropped by a passing plane, to simple mechanical failure – have been mooted, but none has yet proved conclusive.

"It sounds unbelievable but actually we don't have any explanation at the moment," said Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, the energy company which owns the wind farm at Conisholme near Louth.

At least half a dozen Lincolnshire residents reported seeing the orange-yellow spheres, which some witnesses claimed were trailing octopus-like "tentacles".

Dorothy Willows, who lives a mile and a half from the farm, said she saw a "low-flying object skimming across the sky towards the turbines" on Sunday evening.

In the early hours of the following morning a 213 ft fibre glass turbine at the farm was left crippled, with locals reporting hearing a loud bang like thunder. One of the £1 million turbine's 65 ft blades was ripped off clean off and thrown to the ground, while another was severely damaged.

Although no foreign debris was found at the site, rumours of a possible alien collision quickly spread among local residents. RAF Scampton, the nearby base that hosts the Red Arrows display team, said it had no planes flying that night.

Robert Palmer, chairman of East Lindsey District Council and one of those who claimed to have seen the lights, said that he was keeping an open mind.

"I would be very interested to find out what it was. If we are being looked at by other people, by other planets, it would be interesting to find out why they have chosen this part of the country," he said.

But wind farm experts said the explanation was likely to be mechanical, not extra-terrestrial.

Fraser McLachlan of GCube, which insures more than 25,000 wind turbines, said it was extremely unlikely that any external object hit the turbine. He said there were five or six instances a year of blades separating of their own accord, usually due to construction faults.

"Water could have got into hairline cracks in the blade, weakening the structure when it turned into ice, or it's possible that the blades were just poorly attached to the hub," he said. "Sometimes machines just break."

Dr Peter Schubel from the University of Nottingham, an expert in the design and manufacture of wind turbine blades, said that it could have been struck by ice thrown from a neighbouring turbine.

Professor Christopher French of Goldsmiths University in London, editor of The Skeptic magazine, which investigates paranormal claims, said that the lights in the sky could have been caused by aircraft, satellite debris or a meteorite.

"Any of these explanations, plus several others, appear to me to be much more plausible than the idea that technologically advanced aliens have travelled light years across space but then bumped into a wind turbine," he said.

Mr Vince said that fragments for the blade had been sent for analysis by the manufacturers Enercon, and that they expected to have an explanation by next Wednesday, by when the damaged blade should have been repaired. "We are focusing on the rational, not the paranormal," he added.

[izzix]

UFO experts believe mystery of wrecked wind turbine could be final proof that we are not alone

By David Wilkes
Last updated at 6:37 PM on 08th January 2009

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... alone.html

It started with reports of strange lights in the sky and sightings of unidentified flying objects. Then, say some, came an ear-splitting bang at 4am.

The next morning one of the 60ft blades from a 200ft high wind turbine was found ripped off. Another had been left twisted and useless.

So far, the cause of the spooky goings-on at a wind farm in Conishiolme, north east Lincolnshire, remain unexplained.

And inevitably, excitement is growing among UFO experts who believe that a flying saucer crashed into the turbine and that this incident could, at last, provide the evidence of other life forms they have been waiting for all their lives.
Turbine

Mystery: The damaged wind turbine, with one of its blades ripped off, in Conisholme, Lincolnshire

One eyewitness John Harrison, of nearby Saltfleetby, said he had seen a 'massive ball of light' with 'tentacles going right down to the ground' over the wind farm. 'It was an incredible sight, I have never seen anything like it before. I have no idea what it was,' he said.

Dorothy Willows, who lives half a mile from the scene, said she saw orangey-yellow spheres skimming across the sky.

'I don't believe in UFO's but it was a low flying object,' said Mrs Willows. Her husband Stephen was woken by a sudden noise hours later on Sunday morning when the damage to turbines happened. Could that have been the sound of a UFO hitting it?

Today, local council chief Robert Palmer said he had seen a 'round object with a slight red trim hovering near the top of the turbines' that night too.

'When I heard what had happened I was slightly worried so I've called for a full health and safety review,' said Mr Palmer, 66, who is chairman of East Lindsey District council. 'If the aliens are coming, I want to be there to meet and greet them.'

Today I visited the scene and, while I failed to see any little green men, I did find four little men in green uniforms. They were friendly enough, if slightly uncommunicative, and had travelled there in a van rather than a spaceship.

They were employees of Ecotricty, the green electricity company that built the wind farm, and were there 'monitoring' the situation.

Surveying the bleak fenland landscape, I struggled to understand what would drive aliens to visit Conisholme, a hamlet of a dozen or so homes and farms.

There are no shops and no pub, but oddly there is an ice cream parlour. The only other attraction is the seal sanctuary in nearby North Somercotes.

All this place seemed to offer a visitor from another planet was flat terrain that might make an ideal landing spot after their long voyage.
The wind turbine

Strange goings-on: Locals reported seeing the lights joined in formation

The nearest resident, a lady who lives in a ramshackle cottage yards from the wind farm, where there are 20 turbines, agreed with me, despite admitting that she does believe in 'other beings'.

'I'm a very light sleeper and I didn't hear or see a thing on Sunday night,' said the 67 year old householder, who would only identify herself as Sheila.

'I hope that one day we will see aliens, but I doubt it will happen in that field. I've lived here for 20 years and nothing interesting has ever happened here. Except them building the wind farm, of course.'

Ah yes, the wind farm. Opened last April it produces enough green electricity each year to power 13,000 homes.

But it wasn't exactly welcomed by the locals, some of whom consider it a bit of an eyesore and along with environmental groups unsuccessfully opposed its planning application.

No one, however, is suggesting that angry farmers are to blame for the damage. How could they have possibly reached the blade to damage it, let alone pull it off? So what did happen?
Lesley Whittingham

Witness: Lesley Whittingham took a photograph of the lights, below. She said they remained in the sky for several minutes
Picture of light in the sky


UFO expert Nick Pope, a former head of the Ministry of Defence's UFO Project, told me: 'This is a really bizarre case. What's particularly interesting and exciting is that because there's been a collision, there will be residue of the object involved on the damaged part of the turbine.

'Forensic science will enable this material to be recovered and analysed, exactly as happens in a road traffic accident where a driver fails to stop at the scene.

This elevates this UFO case, because with most sightings all you have is eyewitness testimony or indistinct and shaky film footage taken on a mobile phone.

'Here's an opportunity to do some hard science. Given that this case can be properly investigated, I believe the MoD and Civil Aviation Authority should take immediate action.

'The description of the UFO as having tentacles is also highly unusual. I've only heard of a handful of such sightings before. Most UFO sightings involve craft that are triangular, disc-shaped, cigar-shaped or involve balls of light.'
windfarm

The location of the windfarm, near North Somercotes in Lincolnshire

Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, which has built 50 of the total 800 turbines in England, said investigations have so far found no evidence of a collision with an object or an animal. Nor has anything been found to suggest a lightning strike.

'The cause is still a mystery,' he told me. 'But we have been able to rule out ice on the blade as a cause.'

The turbines' manufacturer, Enercon, which is based in Germany, has sent over engineers to help with the investigation in to the cause of the damage, which is expected to last several more days.

A spokeswoman at nearby RAF Scampton, where the Red Arrows are based, said they did not have any flights at the weekend.

The Ministry of Defence said it was not looking into the incident as there was no evidence of a threat to UK airspace.

As darkness fell over Conisholme last night, another possible explanation for the mysterious lights in the sky emerged - a firework party. But that would not account for the wrecked blades so, for the moment at least, the sleepy hamlet is very much part of Britain's X Files.

[TJ]

Al Gore, the Global Warming prophet, has informed the public that these alien UFOs are part of the vast right wing conspiracy to deny the true doctrine of Carbon Footprint Scripture.

He also says that there are still a few spots remaining on his 2009 calendar for sheduling his Global Warming diatribe for only one hundred thousand per day plus expenses. Copies of his Global Warming words of enlightment are also available on CD for only six easy payments of $39.95 a month. Seach Google for these CDs by keying in "Praise be to the Carbon Footprint Scriptures." He advised that he is so very proud that he invented the internet to make such communication possible.

[westerby]

Al Gore, the Global Warming prophet,

Don't know why but I read that as 'Al Gore, the Global Warning PUPPET'.

[TJ]

Al Gore, the Global Warming prophet,

Don't know why but I read that as 'Al Gore, the Global Warning PUPPET'.

A few years ago I read that Al Gore had raked in about fifty million dollars speechifying about Global Warming. He knows where the money is. Not sure why he hasn't retired to the Riviara or Hawaii. Maybe, like Clinton, he finds the perks of being surrounded by female progressive groupees too good a thing to pass up. Smart - not a puppet.

[beer monkey]

At least half a dozen Lincolnshire residents reported seeing the orange-yellow spheres, which some witnesses claimed were trailing octopus-like "tentacles".

Yeah i think there is something in the water around that area............