Winterbourne Stoke, Nr Amesbury, Wiltshire. Formed 22nd August.

Image Copyright Colin Andrews CPRI 1987

This image is from "Mysteries of the Crop Circles (The Best of the Mystery Circle photo Collection) Mystery-CD-ROM Series Vol.1 1985-1994

Full ground data is available via CPR at the USA address: PO Box 3378, Branford, CT 06405-1978. For further CPR details are available on our home page.

More that a little mystery surrounded this discovery. This spot formed a straight line with a set of five circles off the main run way of the top secret air establishment of Boscombe Down to the east. Exactly two months later on the 22nd October, a top secret jet aircraft, The Harrier Jump Jet, was flying on a test mission on a flight path exactly co-inciding the line which connected the two crop formations and flying directly over both. Between the two, just seconds apart at the flight speed of the jet, communications was lost with the pilot.

A full air, sea and ground search was put into force by the flight control centre at the secret base. An American transport aircraft flying off the south coast of Wales to the south west of Winterbourne Stoke, spotted the Harrier and came in to shadow it. The crew of the American plane reported that the ejector seat was still in the craft, but the pilot was missing. The crew video taped the aircraft (copy in CPR database). The Harrier remained on a straight path and eventually crashed into the Atlantic when it ran out of fuel.

Two days later, the body of the pilot was found near the crop circle and to the east of it. Andrews was interviewed by the MOD crash investigators and asked many questions about the crop circles and any strange effects or readings measured by researchers. A full account of these strange events appeared in the Flying Saucer Review in an article written by Andrews. Full site data with CPRI.

Reported by Colin Andrews

CROP CIRCLES OF 1987