[meteorite-list] Fireball Sparks Plane Crash Alert in England

[Rob McCafferty]

Hmm!

First I've heard about this one and I live there! I'll
check the local paper on Thursday. Maybe there'll be
more there.

Rob McC

--- Ron Baalke <baalke at zagami.jpl.nasa.gov> wrote:

> 
>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/5270598.stm
> 
> Fireball sparks plane crash alert
> BBC News
> August 21, 2006
> 
> A meteor shower sparked fears a large aircraft was
> crashing into the sea
> off the Hebrides.
> 
> The Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Stornoway
> received dozens of calls
> on Friday night about a fireball falling from the
> sky.
> 
> Lifeboat crews in the Western Isles were alerted as
> emergency services
> prepared for a large scale disaster.
> 
> However, the cause of the fireball was linked to
> meteor shower Kappa
> Cygnid which peaked at the weekend.
> 
> A coastguard spokesman said: "We received numerous
> 999 calls with around
> 40 alone on Friday night.
> 
> "People were reporting seeing something like a plane
> going down with a
> tail of smoke behind it.
> 
> "It would have been a shooting star from meteor
> activity."
> 
> Five meteors
> 
> The spokesman added: "We discussed the situation
> with RAF Kinloss and
> other sources and concluded it was meteor activity."
> 
> Kappa Cygnid is active between 15-22 August.
> 
> Five meteors can be seen in an hour but it can also
> result in bright
> yellow-blue fireballs, according to the British
> Astronomical
> Association's website.
> 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1225042006
> 
> Spectacular shower of meteors sparked fear of air
> crash
> MURDO MACLEAN
> The Scotsman
> 
> COASTGUARDS were inundated with frantic phone calls
> at the weekend after
> a bright fireball was seen plunging from the sky
> over the Hebrides,
> prompting fears of a plane crash.
> 
> Seven shore rescue teams were scrambled from the
> Butt to Barra in a
> search of the islands' coastline.
> 
> A large-scale disaster was initially expected
> following the 999 calls.
> 
> But the emergency response was called off before any
> lifeboats were
> launched after an unusually spectacular meteor
> shower was deemed
> responsible for the fireworks in the sky.
> 
> A coastguard spokesman said: "We received numerous
> 999 calls with around
> 40 alone on Friday night.
> 
> "People were reporting seeing something like a plane
> going down with a
> trail of smoke behind it.
> 
> "It would have been a shooting star from the meteor
> activity. We
> discussed the situation with RAF Kinloss and other
> sources and concluded
> it was meteor activity.
> 
> "We got calls from all over such as Stoer on Skye
> and from Barra to
> Barvas."
> 
> The incident coincided with the Kappa Cygnid meteor
> stream which peaked
> at the weekend and continues for another fortnight.
> 
> Every seven years it may emit a series of bright
> fireballs.
> 
> Meteor showers can be caused by comets passing
> through space, leaving a
> trail of dust and ice.
> 
> If the Earth crosses this trail the comet fragments
> burn up in the
> atmosphere.
> 
> They appear from the ground as jets of bright light
> shooting across the sky.
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>
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> 


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