Belgian UFO wave

Record summary

What happened From late November 1989 into 1990, Belgian residents, police officers and military personnel reported large, mostly triangular arrangements of lights moving slowly or hovering. The Belgian Air Force publicly discussed the reports and launched F-16s during a major night of activity on 30–31 March 1990. Fighter radars recorded short-lived contacts, but pilots did not obtain a visual identification and the locks were inconsistent with a single stable target. The famous Petit-Rechain triangle photograph was later admitted by its maker to have been a model, so it cannot authenticate the broader wave. The large set may combine aircraft, stars, helicopters, expectation and genuinely unresolved observations rather than one object. Evidence Numerous civilian and police reports, Belgian Air Force statements, F-16 radar data and contemporary press coverage. The best-known photograph is a confessed hoax and is excluded as supporting evidence. Explanations considered Aircraft, helicopters, stars and planets, radar propagation or interference, and social amplification are leading explanations. No single conventional proposal has been demonstrated for every report in the wave. What remains uncertain Reports varied greatly in quality and were collected during intense publicity. The radar contacts did not supply a verified track linking them to the visually reported triangles, and the wave should not be treated as one event. Primary source Belgian UFO wave — Wikipedia