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Thomas Cook flight in close encounter over Berkshire
An investigation has found that a pilot who reported a "near-miss" with a "cigar/rugby ball"-shaped UFO last summer was flying a Thomas Cook aircraft.
According to a report in the Telegraph, the A320 was flying from Ibiza to Manchester when the terrified pilot had to duck to avoid the object.
An enquiry into the incident, which happened over Reading, Berkshire, could not given an explanation for what the object could be.
The report did not identify the airline, but by analysing flight data recorded online, the Telegraph has now established it was a Thomas Cook plane, flight number TCX24HX, flying on July 19.
The captain told investigators that he spotted the UFO in the left hand side of the cockpit window and thought it was going to crash into the aircraft.
As soon as it had passed, he checked the aircraft’s instruments and contacted air traffic controllers to report the incident.
But there was no sign of the mystery object and later examination of data recordings could find no other aircraft in the area, not even meteorological balloons.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said: "All our pilots are trained and required to report any unexpected events that occur during the flight to the aviation authorities."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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