Reports of People Occasionally Seeing Ghost Planes
Recently, we received a remarkable story about a ghost plane sighting from Kelly Ann, which inspired this entire article about ghost planes. Here is the account of the ghost plane formation as seen by Kelly Ann's father:
The Phantom Planes
In the early 1980's, my dad was working for a construction company as a flagger in Long Neck, Delaware. It was mostly cloudy the entire day, but at some points the clouds broke and the sun popped out. Dad looked up, happy to see a bit of sun, and noticed old planes from World War II. It wasn't just many of the same plane but many different planes from that time (B-17s, B-24s, B-25s, B-29s, Thunderbolts, Corsairs, Hellcats, and US Army air corps planes which he can't recall the names of), all flying out toward the sea at 2-3000 feet, as if going to war. He even heard the engines, faintly, but only when the clouds were apart. When the clouds closed up, he could hear nothing.
This event went off and on for an hour. At the time, he didn't think anything of it. Sure, the Dover Air Force base wasn't that far away, so it could have been an air show, but there were no air shows that day; and not many of these planes exist, not enough for what he saw (he lost count at 100, and they were still coming steadily). Recently, my dad has just finished reading a book that had stories about phantom planes and this is bugging him. No one at his construction site ever mentioned seeing them, and he thinks he's losing his mind. While I like sharing this story, I would like some closure for my dad. If anyone has seen something similar here in Delaware, or any other state nearby, we'd both really like to now.
Kelly Ann's father's account begs the question: Can ghosts of planes be seen in the sky? Reports of ghost planes have surfaced for decades from around the globe, so people are definitely seeing something. The question is really whether or not there is a natural explanation to this aeronautical phenomenon.
It is commonly theorized that some ghosts of people and animals are nothing more than residual energy, a non-reactive, pre-recorded event from the past that occasionally replays to witnesses much like a short movie scene. We can therefore speculate that ghost planes, which are definitely not living, might also be a form of residual energy that is observed from time to time when the conditions are right. However, it may also be possible that ghost plane sightings are potentially a glimpse into another realm of existence or a slip in the dimension of time. See: Phantom Plane.
Ghost planes are not the only strange phantom sightings that people have witnessed. Stories have been told of people also seeing ghost cars, ghost ships and even ghostly buildings are said to have appeared out of nowhere, only to vanish just as quickly!
Ghost Planes!
Most ghost planes materialize, fly for a bit, then disappear. In Denbighshire, Wales, mothers who were picking up their children from school witnessed a low-flying, rusty plane which sent them looking for cover as it roared overhead. As the ghost plane flew into the distance, it dipped at such a quick speed that it look impossible for it to not have crashed but it didn't. Officials afterward stated that no plane would have been authorized to fly so low an altitude. In another ghost plane sighting, three boys near Cincinnati, Ohio witnessed a white flash of a low-flying aircraft, heard it crash, as well as someone screaming. Prior to that, an amateur radio operator also heard a distress call from an airplane in trouble near the same area. After an extensive search by county deputies on foot, it was determined no plane had crashed. Was this a ghost plane? It is indeed paranormal and has left people wondering.
A much earlier story of a ghost plane occurred almost exactly one year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Radar in the United States detected an airplane flying towards U.S. soil, as if coming from Japan. When American pilots were sent to intercept the plane, they reported seeing an American P-40 from the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, complete with markings, bullet holes and the landing gear sheared off. The man piloting the ghost plane was slumped over and blood-stained. Smiling and slightly waving at them, the pilot then went out of site as the plane abruptly descended and crashed into the ground below. When the crash scene was investigated, no remains of the pilot could be found within the wreckage, though the crash scene was found. Was this man a ghost? Where did the plane come from?
Most of the time, however, ghost planes are seen and heard crashing but are never to be found. In another example, a man named Tony Ingle of Derbyshire said he could see the propellers of a ghost plane spinning but without any sound. As he watched, the wartime aircraft descended until it eventually banked and went down just over a hedge row. After running up a lane toward the expected crash scene, all Mr. Ingle found was a field of lambs and sheep. All was eerily silent without any evidence from what must have been a ghost plane!
In Sheffield Peaks in 1997, some people also observed another old plane with a propeller flying low to the ground. Some of them ducked as it soared close overhead. They were all certain it crashed near them in the moors. Despite repeated search attempts, the plane could not be found. This area is known to have had over fifty planes crash during World War II, with over 300 lives being lost due to the tragedies. Do the ghosts of the airmen still haunt this area? Accounts of ghosts planes flying overhead would certainly suggest it is possible.
There are other accounts of ghost planes crashing but never being found. In one such example that occurred near Long Island in 1997, witnesses in Westbrook, Connecticut observed a single-engined plane crash into the water but with no splash. No planes were reported missing and no evidence of a crash could be located within the chilly waters.
In the 1950's, three women from Ovando, Montana witnessed a smoking plane with what looked to be parachutes coming out of it. Two days later, a young boy in the same region reported having seen an explosion near his home around the same time the women had seen the ghost plane. Several searches left authorities scratching their heads as no airplane wreckage was ever discovered.
Another case occurred in 1955 when many search parties converged upon Dark Hollow, Pennsylvania after witnesses saw a plane crash into the mountains. At least ten people witnessed the ghost plane flying at a low altitude and in trouble. The troubled phantom aircraft made its way over a hill and a crash sound was heard. Of course, all attempts at locating the airplane by land and air were futile. Incredibly, multiple, distress flares were spotted at different times in the skies above the same area two days later, and the search resumed. No evidence of a plane was ever found.
When we consider these eye-witness accounts of ghost planes, we must also keep in mind that in most cases local airfields did not have any record of these planes flying in the area, nor were any aircraft or people reported missing!
The next time you are outside, perhaps you should observe the sky a bit better. It is quite possible that you too might catch quick view of a ghost plane!