1988.03.03
Amsterdam police conduct late-night search for spacecraft
Amsterdam, Netherlands (March 4) AP
Police deployed a dozen patrol cars and a helicopter in a late-night chase for a craft from outer space, a police spokesman said Friday.
The hunt, accompanied by dozens of calls from all over the Dutch capital reporting unidentified flying objects, failed to yield anything extraterrestrial, according to spokesman Klaas Wilting.
“We were alerted late Thursday night by Schiphol (airport) air traffic controllers who observed bright lights in a stationary position over the port area which didn’t show up on their radar screens,” Wilting said.
After a radio newscast had mentioned the Schiphol sighting, calls started pouring in from all over the city, describing objects ranging from “airplane-like things to fantastic contraptions with Darth Vader at the helm,” said Wilting.
Around midnight, twelve patrol cars and a police helicopter were involved, Wilting said… “We found nothing except some strong lamps on top of a 50-meter- (150-foot-) high crane in the harbor,” which might have been visible from the airport’s control tower, Wilting said.
“We think it was a classic example of popular delusion, coupled with a number of jokers trying to pull a trick on us,” the spokesman said.