Coyne CE2 Case

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The Coyne CE2 Case is one of the best UFO encounters on record involving highly trained observers, in this case a team of Army Reserve helicopter crewmembers.

1 Incident
2 Other witnesses
3 Investigation
- 3.1 Philip Klass and the skeptics
4 See also
5 External links
6 Related discussion

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Incident

On the night of October 18, 1973, the crew of a UH-1 Huey left Columbus, Ohio, on their way to Cleveland. The helicopter was piloted by 1st Lt. Arrigo Jezzi, with Cpt. Lawrence J. Coyne as the commander. They were on their way to take a routine medical exam in Cleveland. The night was cool, calm, and clear, and the route was one the crew was very familiar with.

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First sighting

Shortly before 11:00 P.M., Sgt. John Healy, one of the crew members, noticed a steady red light that appeared to be traveling south. It looked like a port-side light of an aircraft. Though it seemed brighter than normal, and did not have any of the other normal lights near it, Healy made no mention of it to his team as it disappeared behind the helicopter. He made a note of it though. They were over the area of Mansfield, Ohio.

Shortly afterwards Spc4 Robert Yanacsek saw the same red light, but this time to the east of the helicopter. The helicopter was traveling at an altitude of 1200 feet above the ground, and this light seemed too high to be a radio tower beacon. He mentioned it to Captain Coyne, for the object seemed to be keeping the same pace as the helicopter. Coyne told him to keep an eye on it.

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Radio failure

A minute later the light turned and began heading straight for the helicopter. Coyne took over the controls for Lt. Jezzi, and put the chopper in a normal 500 feet per minute ascent. He called the Mansfield Approach Control on his radio and asked if there were any high performance craft in the area. Mansfield responded; however, the conversation was unable to continue, as the helicopter's UHF and VHF frequencies suddenly stopped transmitting. The frequencies were open, and thus, the equipment was functioning, however, no response nor outgoing calls seemed to be getting through.

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Contact

The red light began closing in on the helicopter at a rate of about 684 mph, which is a severe violation of FAA regulations stating aircraft below 10,000 feet cannot exceed 284 mph. Coyne shifted the altitude control of the helicopter and began descending at about 2000 feet per minute to avoid a collision with the object. He glanced at the altimeter, which showed he was at 1700 feet above ground before the descent.

When they reached an altitude of about 650 feet above ground, Coyne stated that the object filled the entire view of his windshield. The object was described as cigar-shaped with a red light on its nose cone. No marks, doors, or wings were seen on it. The object flashed a pyramid shaped green light beam that filled the entire helicopter with light. It made one sweep of the helicopter. The object appeared to be hovering completely still for a few seconds. It then accelerated and took off to the northwest. After making a sharp 45 degree turn, it vanished with great speed.

Coyne was even more shocked when he looked down and found that instead of descending, the helicopter was ascending at a rate of about 1000 feet per minute. Yet the controls of the helicopter were still in the descending position, which Coyne was doing before confronted with the object. The helicopter should have been descending, not climbing. He shifted the collective control into the ascending position and stopped the climb.

After the climb was stopped, radio communication with Mansfield resumed, and the helicopter continued on to Cleveland without any more trouble.

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Other witnesses

There were other people on the ground who saw both the object and the helicopter together that night. At about 11:05 P.M. a woman and her four children, who were driving east-southeast of Mansfield saw two lights, one bright red and the other bright green, that traveled as a unit. They also saw the lights of a low flying helicopter to their right. They stopped the car and got out to get a better look at it. They were able to make its shape out to be blimp shaped with a dome on top. The green light flared up, and according to the witnesses, the entire area was bathed in green light. They said the object appeared to be slightly above and to the left of the helicopter. It then took off towards the northwest.

Other witnesses in the area did not see the object or helicopter, but did here the chopper and saw the green light. Several witnesses said the helicopter was so loud they thought it was going to crash. They also reported the area suddenly lighting up with a bright green light that was visible even inside their homes before it vanished.

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Investigation

The account was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dr. J. Allen Hynek was very interested, and he went to go meet the witnesses a few months later. He was highly impressed, and afterwards, sent a trusted associate, Zeidman, to investigate the case. He interviewed the witnesses separately, poured over their accounts and did re-enactments of the incident. His findings were that the incident was indeed strange and unexplainable.

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Philip Klass and the skeptics

Philip Klass, a well known anti-UFO crusader and self proclaimed debunker of UFO phenomenon claims that the crew only saw some meteors from the Orinid meteor shower. He also claimed the helicopter was descending at 4000 feet per minute, not 2000 feet per minute, and that Coyne had panicked and unknowningly shifted the helicopter to an ascending position. However, Klass's investigation is limited to a couple of phone calls and a dinner with Healy. As is typical of many of Klass's claims, his data and theories reject witness testimony and other evidence. It is unknown how Klass, who was not there on the night of the incident, knew more than Coyne at what speed the helicopter was traveling.

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