9. B-52 Flight Track: Second Traffic Pattern
Following 4:21, the timecode references are absent in the communications transcript for the final traffic pattern. In addition, RAPCON’s vector directing the B-52 onto the 290-degree downwind leg is absent, which evidently includes the pilot-RAPCON conversations over several minutes. During this time, the B-52 pilots visually observed the UFO on or near the ground ahead of the aircraft, before coming alongside and turning over the UFO onto the base leg. Based on our reconstruction, we have extrapolated four patterns the B-52 could have flown, which would have resulted in a terminal landing (parked with engines off) at 4:40. (See: Transcription, 0921+). This circuit required a total flight time of between 15:02 and 17:05 minutes, or 1-3 minutes more than the previous circuit, allowing for an extension of the pattern to the North and/or West.
