[meteorite-list] 'Flaming Meteor' Sparked 2-Day Hunt For Plane Crash

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:41:10 2004
Message-ID: <200102152145.NAA22080_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.ic24.net/mgn/THE_MIRROR/NEWS/P11S6.html

Fireball Riddle

'Flaming meteor' sparked 2-day hunt for plane crash
The Mirror (United Kingddom)
February 15, 2001

THE fireball which sparked a major search operation for a crashed plane may
have been a meteor, it was learned yesterday.

Helicopters, troops, police and ambulance crews were mobilised after locals
saw the flames and smoke streaking across the sky near the border.

It was feared that a light aircraft had gone down. But a two-day search
operation was called off last night as speculation grew it was an
extra-terrestrial rock.

David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland, said a meteorite no bigger than a
pea could have caused the smoke and flames as it tore through the
atmosphere.

He said: "A pea-sized meteorite would produce a fireball brighter than the
full moon.

"It would burn up as it fell to the ground but would stop burning about 20
miles from the Earth.

"And this may explain why army helicopters using heat-sensitive equipment
failed to locate anything on the isolated mountain side.

"It then has a 20-mile fall taking about five or 10 minutes in which to cool
down with a 200 miles-per-hour breeze blowing past it as well."

Witness Adeline Lee, chairwoman of the Women's Institute in Kinawley, said:
"I definately saw something with a black tail of smoke in the sky.

"I presumed it was a small plane. It certainly looked that way to me.

"I've seen a meteorite in the sky before and this was different because of
the smoke.

"It may well have been meteorite but maybe we'll never know."

RUC Chief Inspector John Barr said he believed the emergency call on Tuesday
night was genuine.

He said: "Police received initial reports from a resident of the Kinawley
area that what he had seen appeared to be an aircraft, which was coming down
and hit the side of a mountain. It was a genuine mistake."
Received on Thu 15 Feb 2001 04:45:02 PM PST