CASE FILE · DD-16
1989–1990 Belgian UFO wave
Period · 1989–1990Place · Belgium
01 · OVERVIEW
Case overview
Separates gendarmerie and civilian reports, the Belgian Air Force F-16 radar episode and a famous photograph later admitted to be a hoax.
Widely circulated as the emblematic Belgian-wave photograph, its maker admitted the hoax in 2011. It is not evidence for the wider wave.
J.S. Henrardi · public domain ↗03 · IMAGE CONTEXT
Image analysis
Three lights on a dark triangular form led this image to be repeatedly cited as emblematic evidence for the Belgian wave. Its maker later admitted using a model and lights, so it cannot be treated as an authentic sighting photograph. It is displayed as a counterexample showing why one famous image cannot stand for an entire case.04 · EVIDENCE REVIEW
Nature of the evidence
Months of reports, two F-16s scrambled in March 1990 and an Air Force report
Cause of radar contacts and whether reports shared one source; the famous photograph does not establish the wider wave
Military · institutionalMultiple witnessesVideo · radar
05 · SOURCE TRAIL