Sighting record / 2007

Romanian MiG-21 LanceR Struck by Unidentified Objects Near Gherla

c. 2007 · Airspace near Gherla, Cluj County, Romania, Romania

37Partially documented UAP Triangle 17 sources 1 videos

October 2007. A Romanian MiG-21 LanceR cruised at 6,500 metres near Gherla, in Cluj County. The pilot, Lt. Cdr. Marius Mitrică, saw nothing unusual. Then something hard struck from the right. The canopy burst. Splinters pierced his helmet and cut his face. He brought the jet home. The onboard camera had caught what he never saw. Small objects racing toward the plane, described by one general as four triangles, each the size of an A4 sheet. Investigators ruled out birds, ice, meteors and projectiles. They could say what it was not. Never what it was.

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Key facts

When	c. 2007
Time of day	afternoon (per Dan D. Farcaș)
Where	Airspace near Gherla, Cluj County, Romania,Romania
Duration	impact sequence of 89 milliseconds on the onboard video (67 milliseconds per Farcaș)
Witnesses	1
Witness roles	military,pilot
Found	,physical traces
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	Romanian military aviation commission,Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI),National Institute of Criminalistics (INEC)
Status	undisputed

The object

Unseen by the pilot, captured only by the cockpit camera. General Ion Avram described four triangles, each the size of an A4 sheet, coming from the right. Investigators saw two solid, non-translucent bodies with irregular shapes, moving at extremely high speed, one descending, one climbing, rotating about its own axis.

Size	about 0.3 m (each the size of an A4 sheet)
Altitude	about 6.5 km
Motion	high speed
Duration	0 seconds
Weather	clear

Context

Câmpia Turzii. Home of the 71st Air Base and its MiG-21 LanceR fighters. Every one of these jets carried a camera that recorded its training flights.

Sources (17, most influential first)

UFOs hit Romanian plane · UPI· 2008-06-06 · Press, book, documentary · news
UFOs in Romania: MIG 21 Lancer plane hit by four unidentified flying objects in central Romania · HotNews.ro· 2008-06-09 · Press, book, documentary · news
MiG lovit de OZN · Evenimentul Zilei (EVZ)· 2007-11-09 · Press, book, documentary · news
Avion MiG 21 Lancer lovit de 4 obiecte zburatoare neidentificate in apropiere de Gherla · HotNews.ro· 2008-06-09 · Press, book, documentary · news
OZN-ul de la Gherla nu se lasă identificat · Evenimentul Zilei (EVZ)· 2008-06-07 · Press, book, documentary · news