UFOs - Leslie Kean [102]
My duties were, among others, to head the regular sessions of the staff and members of the group, to guide the research efforts, and to provide the logistical framework for implementing those efforts. In addition, I promoted cooperation with university and scientific organizations, both national and foreign. These included working with Dr. Richard Haines and NARCAP, and the French government’s GEIPAN. Every day I would check the progress of these various investigations and would oversee the design of their procedures. At times I carried on research myself, and was actively involved with case investigations.
Like America’s FAA, the DGAC’s legal mandate is to manage the national airspace and to ensure the safety of all civil, military, and commercial air operations. For the CEFAA, as well, working within this authority, aviation safety of commercial flights is the priority. Air operations demand careful preparation and execution, without any element of distraction for the pilots. The sighting of an unknown phenomenon is certainly a great distraction that could affect both the crew of the aircraft and the air traffic personnel in the control tower. It could potentially overload the radio communications for both the pilots and air traffic controllers if operators were to focus on the bizarre phenomenon, relaying details and questions, a fact that should concern the officials of any country. The policy of the CEFAA is to pursue solid cases with adequate scientific data, but only if there is an indication that the safety of the aircraft might have been at risk.
As the director, I stated early on that the CEFAA is committed to international cooperation for the following reasons:
To share relevant information and new findings
To provide an incentive for universities and scientific organizations to work on this in multidisciplinary teams in many branches of science
To marginalize charlatans and pseudoinvestigators, and to denounce frauds
To have a uniform method of investigative processes and analysis
To coordinate recommendations for air traffic control operators when there are risks of electromagnetic effects or other hazards on board aircrafts
Chile has undoubtedly taken a great step forward in the investigation of anomalous aerial phenomena. And just as the Chilean Air Force was one of the first to be created in the world, it is also historic that we are also one of the first to officially recognize these phenomena and to form a government agency specifically for their investigation.
The CEFAA’s official position has always been to recognize that something is happening in our skies, but we, as yet, do not know what it is. A large percentage of reports we’ve received have upon investigation been confirmed to be planets, meteorites, or weather phenomena, or do not provide sufficient data for analysis. Occasionally we are unable to make a ruling because witnesses refuse to be interviewed, are not credible, or are even committing fraud. Sometimes our pilots are afraid of ridicule, although that problem is improving somewhat. Of all the cases that have been analyzed, about 4 percent have no explanation, meaning that using all the technical means available, we cannot reach a satisfactory conclusion.
We believe there is a possibility that we will be forced to confront greater interference from UFOs in the future, especially considering the documentation of incidents by experts in other countries. We believe it is of utmost importance to be prepared.
Officially, Chile has not directly requested the cooperation of the U.S.A. However, in April 1998, the CEFAA informed the adjunct aeronautic official at the U.S. Embassy in Chile about our existence and mentioned Chile’s interest in working with the appropriate agency in the United States to share experiences, policies, procedures,