Belgian UFO wave

Traffic Center Control at Semmerzake tracked one object on its radar, and an order to scramble two F-16 fighters from Beauvechain Air Base was given.

In reports after the event, multiple witnesses claimed that the phenomenon was visible from the ground, and described the whole formation as "maintaining their relative positions while moving slowly across the sky".

[3] Members of the Wavre gendarmerie who had been sent to confirm the original report, describe four lights now being arranged in a square formation, all making short jerky movements, before gradually losing their luminosity and disappearing in four separate directions at around 01:30.

They also reported that a low engine noise was heard and that it seemed to have a stick coming out one end with a turbine on it, which has led many to conclude the object was a helicopter.

The photograph was examined by a number of sources, including NASA, the French National Centre for Scientific Research and the Belgian Royal Military Academy, but none could positively identify it or find obvious signs of fakery.

For 20 years, the UFOlogical organization Société belge d'étude des phénomènes spatiaux (SOBEPS) claimed that this picture was genuine, while others like Les repas ufologiques parisiens were not sure.

[6] On 26 July 2011, in an interview for the Belgian TV channel RTL, Patrick Maréchal explained that it was a hoax that he had constructed to fool with his workmates.

In 2011, Patrick Maréchal demonstrated how he had created the hoax UFO, by cutting a piece of styrofoam into a triangle, painting it black, embedding a flashlight in each corner, and hanging it from a string.

This mass delusion would have followed Philip J. Klass's law: "Once news coverage leads the public to believe that UFOs may be in the vicinity, there are numerous natural and man-made objects which, especially seen at night, can take on unusual characteristics in the minds of hopeful viewers.

In "The Belgian UFO Wave" Skeptoid podcast episode, Brian Dunning discussed the F-16 chase and reported that The pilots also got intermittent contact with objects, but they appeared and disappeared and moved up and down too fast, including going underground.

[11][20]Regarding the "wave" of eye-witness reports and lack of photographic evidence, Dunning concludes You read a story in the paper that a UFO was seen flying over your town a night or two ago.

You and I might not necessarily make that connection, but it's perfectly reasonable that a lot of people will; and so they follow the instructions in the newspaper article and send a report to SOBEPS.