Description

These two articles are about the famous 8-27 UFO event that occurred near Shanghai and surrounding districts on the 27 August 1987. The first is probably the most critical one because it is an air force pilot's account to the newspaper a day later. Notably it confirms the SE direction of travel of a brilliant (blinding was the word used) object that manoeuvred. Here is chatgtp's translation:

=======================================

Our Correspondent Reports:

On the evening of the 27th, Mao Xuecheng, a pilot from a certain Air Force unit stationed in Shanghai, pursued an unidentified flying object while flying his aircraft for a duration of 2 minutes and 46 seconds. Yesterday, Mao Xuecheng recounted to reporters what he observed of the flying object.

Mao Xuecheng said: “At 7:39 p.m. on the 27th, I took off on orders to carry out an aerial patrol mission. After completing the patrol, I returned toward an airport to the southeast, flying at a speed of 800 kilometers per hour from the airspace over Chongming. When I was flying over the Yangtze River, I suddenly discovered a very bright, dazzling flying object at high altitude in front of me to the right. It looked neither like a large aircraft nor like a missile, but rather like a flare. Its size and shape were slightly larger than an ordinary round military cap. I immediately increased throttle and closed in on it at a speed of 930 kilometers per hour, at an intercept angle of about 100 degrees. At that moment, the clock pointed to 7:57 p.m.

“After careful observation, I found that the unidentified flying object was descending. The bright part was orange in color, and the spiral-shaped tail it trailed behind was also orange. The entire object rotated as it moved, but the tail itself did not rotate. It flew toward the southeast. At 7:59 p.m., it shifted from my right front to my left front. At that moment, it changed from descending to ascending, and its speed was much faster than during the descent. After another 46 seconds, I was unable to catch up with it. By then I was already over the airport, so I requested permission to land and reported the above situation.”

“When I was landing, the flying object was still over the airspace above Chuansha County and gradually became indistinct.”

Mao Xuecheng is an all-weather pilot with more than ten years of flying experience and over 2,000 hours in the air. When reporters asked him about the speed of the flying object, the closest distance between it and his aircraft, and whether it had any effect on his plane, he said: “During the 2 minutes and 45 seconds of pursuit, I paid close attention to all the instruments and equipment on the aircraft, but none showed any abnormalities. As for its speed, it was approximately several times that of a fighter aircraft. When the flying object shifted from my right front to my left front, the closest distance between my aircraft and the object was about 3 to 4 kilometers.”

(Reporter: Zhang Zhihong)

=======================================

The second article is important for further details regarding the other effects and observations from the ground. Most notable is the power failures. Chatgtp again:

=======================================

\## \*\*NANFANG RIBAO (Southern Daily)\*\*

\*(Vertical masthead at left)\*

\*\*August 29, 1987 · Saturday\*\*

Issue No. 85

(Page 13–14)

\---

\## \*\*Unidentified Flying Objects Appear Over Shanghai\*\*

\---

\### \*\*Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, August 28 (dispatch)\*\*

Last night, many Shanghai residents observed unidentified flying objects appearing in the sky.

Witnesses said the sightings occurred roughly between \*\*7:50 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.\*\* Descriptions of the objects varied. Some said they were \*\*“spiral-shaped lights, with scattered luminous points behind them.”\*\* Others said they resembled \*\*“oval-shaped luminous disks.”\*\* Still others described them as \*\*“comet-like, with umbrella-shaped luminous tails.”\*\*

According to reporters, the unidentified flying objects were \*\*orange-yellow in color\*\*, rotated \*\*clockwise\*\*, and \*\*moved rapidly from west to east\*\*. From the time they appeared until they vanished, only \*\*a few seconds\*\* elapsed.

\---

\### \*\*Military Response\*\*

After the People’s Liberation Army Navy Aviation unit stationed in Shanghai detected the unidentified flying objects, \*\*aircraft were dispatched to pursue and observe them\*\*. However, the objects disappeared within seconds.

\---

\### \*\*Meteorological Observation\*\*

The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau also observed traces of the unidentified flying objects last night.

Chief Engineer \*\*Dong Jiaxin\*\* told reporters that \*\*this was the first time unidentified flying objects had been observed over Shanghai\*\*, and that \*\*no specific explanation could yet be given\*\* regarding their origin or nature.

\---

\### \*\*Additional Report from Zhejiang Province\*\*

According to a separate report from \*\*Chun’an County, Zhejiang Province\*\*, when the unidentified flying object passed through the local airspace, the \*\*county power plant suddenly lost electricity\*\*, even though the machinery was operating normally and no shutdown had been initiated. The area was instantly plunged into darkness.

At the same time, \*\*most wristwatches worn by people stopped running\*\*.

Witnesses said they saw \*\*a snail-shaped object\*\*, resembling \*\*the rotor of a helicopter but much smaller\*\*, rotating as it traveled \*\*from northwest to southeast\*\*. Wherever it passed, \*\*the surroundings appeared as bright as daylight\*\*.

Because of the power outage, \*\*most of the stationed soldiers and local residents on the island witnessed this phenomenon with their own eyes\*\*.

=======================================

There are numerous explanations. The best given is the second stage venting of the Japanese rocket Kiku-5 that launched at 9.20gmt. The second pass of the second stage motor probably tumbling and venting should have occurred no earlier than 12.20 gmt and moving W to SE. The 8-27 event happened at 11.57 gmt (pilot report) traveling NW to SE. There are reports up to 12.30gmt from witnesses though. It looks like we have a combination of events - maybe a UFO and a rocket.