presents
  The 1998 UFO Chronology


Released, May 15, 2009, updated 10 Dec. 2016
Our thanks for these chronologies must go to the A-Team, in partcular, Richard Hall, Dan Wilson (archive researcher), and Jean Waskiewicz (online NICAP DBase [NSID]. You will note the many foreign reports that we are now being able to access. Our special thanks to Dan Wilson for getting those to us. As more come in, this page will be updated. Previous chronologies (1947 to 1969) involved the expertise of two other team members; Rebecca Wise (Project Blue Book Archive) and Brad Sparks (Comprehensive Catalog of Project Blue Book Unknowns). Other entries are those filed with Peter Davenport of the National UFO Reporting Center in Seattle and researcher Michael Swords.

Francis Ridge
NICAP Site Coordinator


The  UFO Chronology
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Possibly early Jan., 1998; Harston, nr.Cambridge, UK
No exact date or time given [the sense of the story is early January but who knows..?]. Several villagers saw a huge "ship" glide over the rooftops of Harston. The object was cylindrical, like a blunt cigar, and had white lights on each end. The thing was described as having large illuminated windows running across the middle of the fuselage [i.e. horizontally along the side]. Some described like a railway car in the sky. The thing seems to have left by just silently floating away towards Cambridge. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: Cambridge Evening News, January16,1998)

Date unknown, 1998; Mourne Mts., N.Ireland
Night. [newspaper report says "recently" and is dated Jan.29]. Woman sees very bright light shaped like a keyhole and the size of a house. Sighting lasted for about 30 minutes. Then sides of keyhole squeezed together until it disappeared. Left were only 5 small lights which cavorted about and then rapidly took off towards the town. UFO investigator Gerry Gorman quoted in article. (Source: Lead from Mike Swords, Belfast Newsletter Belfast ,NI, Jan.29, 1998)

Jan. 2, 1998; Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dogs barked and a small sphere roamed area (Joan Woodward)  

Jan. 3, 1998; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
A number of cyclops looking humanoids exited from a delta-shaped UFO and took a pet parrot from the yard of a home in the city. (Source: Cynthia Hind, UFO Afri News, July 1998)

Jan. 11, 1998; Barnegat, NJ
Night. A juvenile sighted a disc-shaped UFO hovering over his house. It had alternating green & yellow lights around its rim. On top there was a glass dome and a pilot-like figure apparently wearing some type of helmet could be seen inside. Frightened, he ran inside his house but could still see the disc hovering outside. A strange symbol was also seen on the side of the disc. It also had an antenna on top and other markings on the bottom right under the rim lights. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, case #3154, citing MUFON)            

Jan. 27, 1998; Woodland, WA
Animals become still as object hovers

Feb. 1998; Nr. Petoskey, MI.
Evening. Non-UFO case but intriguing. Two guys were escaping to the woods in a cabin in northern Michigan. They'd just decided to turn in when a huge "CRACK!" erupted from the woods outside. They looked out; saw nothing. They turned off the cabin lights and saw an "abnormally strong" light coming through the windows. This freaked them and they didn't look out. They sat there while the light pulsed so brightly they could have read by it. They noticed that the light came into the cabin from all sides and equally. A small humming sound was heard intermittently. A half hour later just when they were thinking of running to the car, the light went out. Still they sat there. Another loud "CRACK!" occurred and that was the end of it. At daybreak they packed up and got out of Dodge. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: R. Bassil on About.com Paranormal.for Feb. 2002)

Feb. 14, 1998; Drente, The Netherlands
1:45 AM. The two witnesses were parked in an open field when there suddenly appeared a flashing blue light over the field and they both saw an object resembling a "stealth fighter" with more rounded wings, hovering above a nearby road. The craft descended vertically and landed. Several figures came out of the object. They had long arms and small heads. They looked around briefly and then went back inside the object. The object then rose straight up and in a few seconds it was gone. Others in the area reported seeing a bright light over the area around the same time. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, case #2979, citing UFO Sightings in New Mexico & the World).

Feb. 27, 1998; West Carrolton, OH
Evening. The witness was walking through her trailer park with her dogs when she saw a bright light hovering above the trailers. Inside the light she saw the face and eyes of a humanoid being. Frightened, she ran to her trailer and called nearby Wright Patterson Air Force Base. She was given a number of a local UFO investigator. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, case # 3153, citing Kenny Young).

March 3, 1998; Mansfield, England
11:50 PM. A brightly lit triangular UFO was sighted. It hovered for ten minutes, then darted away toward the southeast. (Source: Curt Sutherly, UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth, citing BUFORA).

March 8, 1998; Rho, Lombardia, Italy
Afternoon. A farmer saw a white object in the shape of an upside-down pear hovering above a field. He called his wife and both watched the object for about half an hour. During the episode a hatch slid open and an occupant emerged. The UFOnaut was only about 40 inches tall, with two huge black eyes. The being floated in the air close to the object for about ten minutes, then re-entered the object which rose vertically and left at a high rate of speed. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, case # 3122, citing Joseph Trainor, UFO Roundup, Vol. 3 # 13).

Spring of 1998; Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, UK
Date & time unstated [news story is written as if this set of reports just happened--thus, c. April 15]. "Five people, including a vicar and a medical practitioner, said they saw the mysterious object hovering for 15 minutes over Maiden Castle." {M.C. is a megalithic fort}. "the craft started off in a triangle shape and then merged into a sphere before shooting off into the distance". (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: Dorsett Evening Echo, Weymouth,UK, April 15, 1998).

April 3, 1998; De Baca County, NM
11:00 AM. Two men names Fisher and Schmidt took five photographs of a silent maneuvering silver ovoid or disc, that was oval on the top and flat on the bottom. The sighting occurred on a clear day on the Pecos River at Route 84. The UFO was rapidly vibrating up and down. (Source: Nicholas Schmidt, MUFON UFO Journal, July 1999, p. 8).

April 10, 1998; Pueblo, CO
9:07 PM. A triangular-shaped UFO was seen in the southwestern sky. It zigzagged in flight, and then scanned the area with a beam of light. It circled passenger jet, then changed shape, dividing into different colors. (Source: Curt Sutherly, UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth, p. 203, citing the Pueblo Chieftain, April 19, 1998).

April 18, 1998; Kamloops, British Columbia
7:00 PM. A group of witnesses observed a silver disc hovering nearby. A second object appeared and circled the first one, then both UFOs shot straight up into the sky. (Source: UFO Research Manitoba, 1998 Canadian UFO Survey, case 19).

April 18-21, 1998; Grafton, NSW, Australia
Sometime in a miniflap of April 18-21, 1998. There were reported "V" formations of 5 yellowish colored disks surrounded by white haze. Another incident had groups of 6-to-12 criss-crossing the town. Disks, again. Then ~60 small disks are said to have made an overpass.

April 20, 1998; Oakley, MI
10:14 PM. A stationary bell-shaped object was videotaped for 58 seconds by three women. It had three lights, red, white, and blue in color, that pulsated in sequence. It was lost from view at 10:15 p.m. (Source: Dan R. Wright, MUFON UFO Journal, July 1999, p. 16).

April 22, 1998; various cities, WA
UFOs sighted at sub base and nuclear storage facility.

May 13, 1998; south of Fort Walton Beach, FL
A day after several witnesses reported seeing a triangular-shaped craft hovering over the Gulf of Mexico, just offshore, south of Fort Walton Beach, Florida the same witnesses reported seeing men in frogmen suits in the water, in the same area where the lights from the object had been shining down. There was also unusual military aircraft activity in the area. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, case 3805, citing CAUS).

May 21, 1998; Muskegon, MI
Time not given. A grade school principal and a teacher were at a camp with 6th graders, when a huge silent object, cylindrical or paramecium shaped, floated over the trees [actual site was Manistee National Forest]. The body of the object was like shimmering gossamer, and there were distinct lights at the front and back. It moved slowly and seemed almost insubstantial and transparent. At closest approach [directly overhead] the thing covered 3 inches held at arms length. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: Mike Walsh, an unusually good news reporter on this subject, Muskegon Chronicle, May 23, 1998)

May 27, 1998; East Kilbride, England
12:30 AM. Two brothers saw a triangular UFO over their home. It had white lights at the front of the object, and was completely silent as it flew. (Source: Curt Sutherly, UFO Mysteries: A Reporter Seeks the Truth, p. 203).

July 28, 1998; Tindouf, Algeria
Evening. Two army men were outside the city, when a light appeared and began coming in their direction. It approached within 4.5 meters. They hid behind a dune. Here the translation gets bolixed--the "light" at close approach seems to have been two objects. The larger object was a "ufo", meaning, one supposes a disk [as he contrasts that with the odder shape of the second object]. The larger one was 9 meters, in diameter?, and had two lights on it, one front, one rear. The other object had two lights on top, and one on the bottom and was also very close. One of these two things featured an odd light either shaped like a square or even cut-off square [this report is very blundered]. And there were darkened windows and a soft engine sound. As our heroes ran away, they looked back and thought that something had emerged from one of the UFOs. (Lead from Mike Swords, memo handed to him from an unnamed French source)

Aug. 8, 1998; Kerlaviou, Finistere department, France
10:45 PM. A large dark triangle that was viewed through binoculars flew over the shoreline at a low altitude, heading toward the east. It had lit corners and made a slight rumbling sound. (Source: Larry Hatch, U computer database, case 18060).

Aug. 10, 1998; Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia
Afternoon. "Cobwebs" fell from the clear blue sky while silver spheres performed aerobactic maneuvers and made right angle turns. The "angel hair" appeared to be produced during the objects' accelerations. The substance was white in color, with the strength of cotton, and eventually dissolved. (Source: Brian Boldman, International UFO Reporter, October 2001, p. 10).

Aug. 10, 1998; Ardennes region, France
11:30 PM. A triangular UFO with many lights was seen over at least 30 different towns. Over the town of Sedan a videotape shot at 11:30 p.m. showed the object seemingly attempting to dodge the camera. The video footage appeared on French TV. (Source: Joseph Trainor, UFO Roundup, volume 3, number 33).

Aug. 11, 1998; Launceton, UK
Mid-morning. Mrs. Greenman was driving when her car began acting up, nearly stalling several times before finally doing so completely. She got out to check "under the bonnet" and saw ahead in the sky a "strange object" [she does not describe this, but refers to a UFO picture which was in the paper just previously, which has inspired her to tell her story]. The object goes swiftly away, leaving a fine vapor trail. Re-entering the car it starts immediately. As an odd addendum, she finds herself so late for her appointment that even given the time wasted on the encounter, she can't understand where all the time went. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: Cornish and Devon Post, Launceton, UK September 24, 1998)

Aug. 13, 1998; Surrey, British Columbia
No time given. Several people observed a bright white disc "drop out of the sky" and hover nearby for about 30 seconds. No sound was heard, and it disappeared at a high rate of speed. Many telephone reports were received by the RCMP. (Source: Geoff Dittman, 1998 Canadian UFO Survey, case #71).

Aug. 29, 1998; Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1:30 AM. A black triangle shaped UFO was seen. The witness estimated the object to be "several times larger than an airplane." It hovered, than zipped across the sky in two seconds. (Source: Geoff Dittman, Canadian UFO Survey Report, case 92).

Aug. 30, 1998; Quirindi, New South Wales,Australia
Between noon and 1:00 PM local time. Multiple witnesses reported seeing "silver balls" travelling across the sky from east to west. They moved in complex patterns, and whitish material fell from these balls. Long, white strands of this material covered ground surfaces over a wide area. Bill Chalker analysed a sample, and found it comparable to spiders' web. (Source: Files of Bill Chalker.)

Sept. 20, 1998: Henfield, Sussex, England
2:15 AM Two uniformed police officers, one male and one female were on patrol in the Henfield area on the main A281 Brighton Road when they saw several unusual lights in the sky. Each light was the size of a Jumbo jet aircraft. For scale a large aircraft flew near to the lights. Each light was circular and not connected to the others. They stopped their vehicle to get a better look. As they watched they suddenly saw a beam of light being shone down to the ground approximately 200-300 metres away. It was a rural location with no housing nearby. They drove toward the beam but it suddenly went out. Both the officers were shook up by the incident that lasted in the region of 35-45 minutes. The sighting was officially reported to the MoD. (Source: The 5TH ANNUAL PRUFOS POLICE REPORT 2006, by Detective Constable 1877 Heseltine, British Transport Police)

Sept. 21, 1998; Bayamon, Puerto Rico
8:00 PM +. Extension Forest Hills. On the night that Hurricane Georges struck Puerto Rico Iris Rodriguez was outside her home doing some washing when the winds began to pick up strength. She went back inside her house at 8 p.m., and soon after she looked out her window and noticed a bright sphere of light making triangular movements in the sky. The sphere descended lower in the sky and hovered above a neighbor's home. A few moments later a bright white, oval-shaped hole appeared in the center of the red light. Then a figure became visible inside the white light. The figure moved back and forth, apparently looking out. The witness described the figure as tall, thin, and man-like. It wore a tight-fitting gray colored outfit and his skin appeared to be also gray or pale. As the wind from the approaching hurricane grew stronger the witness lost interest in the object and its occupant, and eventually lost sight of it. That same night others saw speeding red balls of light over different parts of the island. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, cases #3157 and #3324, citing Jorge Martin, Evidencia OVNI #18 & #19).

Sept. 25, 1998; Blackstone, Sussex, UK
Night. Two constables see 5 lights in sky while driving patrol. They get out to watch. Lights are apparently large [one size of jumbo jet]. They contort together in motion like a snake. Moved very fast. Then a bright beam appeared on road ahead. Beam did not seem diminished by misty conditions. Very piercing. Constables shown headlights on it and it disappeared. Inspecting the area they found nothing. UFO investigator Larry Dean quoted. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: West Sussex County Times, Horsham, UK, Oct.2, 1998)

Oct. 10, 1998; London, Ontario, Canada
11:51 AM. Witnesses observed a 75-80 foot silver colored disc with dome on top hovering approximately 75 feet over the Chapters Book Store. Object then turned upside-down for 2-3 seconds then righted itself. The object then shot straight up to an altitude of 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile and resumed hover until it blinked out. Duration of observation approximately 5 minutes. (Source: Canadian CIRVIS Report, Brian Vike, HBCCUFO)

Nov. 1998; Nr. Benbrook, TX
[no day stated] 5:00 AM. A deputy sheriff was driving to work when he noticed a glowing, pulsing light to his right. He could also see beams, like lasers, shot upwards. A news program on his radio was asking if anyone near Benbrook could confirm lights reported in to them. He called them [all his calls were difficult to get through] and said he was in the vicinity. He mentioned that he'd also seen a small plane apparently flying towards the area and the radio man said that this was their spotter plane. Then the entire electrical system of his car cut out, and he rolled to a stop. [engine out too, obviously]. Even his cell-phone would not work, even though it was only on battery power having nothing to do with the car. He himself felt as though an "energy" had hit him on the top of his head and run right down his body. "It felt like someone had poured warm oil over my head". The feeling left in three minutes. The car was immediately restartable. His radio had lost all its programming. His cell-phone came back on and worked once he unlocked the code. He thought about telling his officer colleagues but decided against it. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: R. Joseph L. [name left semi-anonymous]. About.com Paranormal.1999)

Nov. 1, 1998; Bologna, Italy
Night. A truck driver driving outside Bologna saw a bright light approach his vehicle. Suddenly his engine stalled. A period of missing time ensued. A second witness in the area remembered being struck by a beam of light and losing consciousness for two hours. A third man reported seeing two "gray" beings enter his bedroom and perform some type of operation on one of his wife's knees, apparently inserting some kind of implant. (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, citing CUN On-Line).

Nov. 25, 1998; San Fernando Cebu Island, The Philippines
3:00 AM. A man noticed a small strange-looking object hovering over a dead tree in some woods. There was a sudden flash of light and large balloon-shaped object with three illuminated triangular windows became visible. Inside the window he could see the head of a being with bright, crystal blue eyes. He heard a loud thundering voice speaking at him in an unknown language. Some of it sounded like: "arc-ha-an rha-ehn-raxh ehn." (Source: Albert S. Rosales, Humanoid Contact Database 1998, citing UFO Sightings in New Mexico and the World).

Nov. 27, 1998; Mt. Clemens, MI
Dusk. Woman is driving and sees a "highly intense" ball of white light coming directly at her at high speed. There is no sound and no time to avoid a collision. The object collides with the car with a slight "thump" and the witness does not see it again. Upon inspecting her car, she finds a cream/gray residue where it hit the car. This residue was saved and sent to Phyllis Budinger for analysis. Phyllis' usual thorough and professional tests characterized several components of the residue, but only one [a minor component so small as to be difficult to attest to with certainty but seeming to be Magnesium Oxide] was not attributable to the car's own finish. Ball of light was basketball-sized, and the "spot" on the car [not even an indentation], was , judging from the picture, just a narrow streak. (Lead from Mike Swords, Source: Frontier Analysis, LTD Technical Service Response No.: UT011)

Dec. 19, 1998; Stra, Italy
Night. A roaring sound awoke a man to the close presence outside his home of a bright aerial object with several windows. The UFO was about 10 meters in diameter. Two three-foot tall beings were seen outside the craft. They wore gray coveralls and moved in a mechanical manner. Landing traces found at the site consisted of a circle with three holes arranged in an equilateral triangle. The sides of the triangle were 4.1 meters in length. (Source: Ted R. Phillips, case investigation files, C005, citing M. Verga).