Small triangular object with a jet-like sound

By Steve Sandström

One of the nicest summer pleasures for many of us Swedes is to sit idly by one of our thousands of lakes, holding a fishing-rod. Few moments are as peaceful as these moments. Often, it is not catching one or two fishes that holds our attention, but the very mystery of the surrounding nature. Sometimes, however, unknown forces can interact with the most idyllic hour. This is what happened to Martell Åström last summer, in June 1994. It was a very fine summer's day when Martell decided to go out in the boat that he has by a small lake not far from Floda, where he lives. Floda is a small village about 60 kilometers SW of the north- Swedish town Skellefteå. There was not a cloud in the sky. Martell took his boat to his favorite fishing area and sat there idly for a long while. The only sound was the waves lapping against the sides of his boat. Suddenly he heard another sound, a sound foreign to the area. At low altitude, maybe about 50 metres, and almost in zenith, there suddenly came an unknown flying object. It looked like an arrow- head and was black in colour. Martell could clearly see that the object wasn't very big, he estimated it to be about two meters long. First Martell thought it was an ordinary jet fighter. The sound reminded him of such a plane. He is completely convinced, however, that it was no such plane. His view of it, against the clear summer sky, was too good for such a mistake. The unidentified object disappeared towards the other shore of the lake. It was then at such a low altitude that it seemed to pass between the trees. This was probably a misunderstanding since the object was by then only a small black spot on the horizon. There are no other witnesses to the incident but I see no reason to doubt the sincerity of the observer. The most difficult task is to try to judge whether there is a risk that Martell Åström did in fact see an ordinary jet, maybe a Viggen air force fighter, but was somehow mistaken in the strong sunlight. Probably not so. Even though there is still a chance for such a mistake at a certain angle, Martell could follow this object for quite a distance and he saw it quite distinctly. We can never be completely sure, especially since Martell does not remember the date of the incident, therefore it is impossible to verify if something military was in the neighbourhood. It is up to each one of us to judge: did Martell see an airplane or not? I do not personally think so because of his dead certain description of the object's appearance. Readers of this article may recognize details from another case "Miniature stealth-like plane over Lake Vättern". This incident occurred at Brandstorp, close to another Swedish lake. Five witnesses reported a small, delta- shaped object flying at high speed out over the water. The Defence Staff proposed that the witnesses had seen a radio-controlled model aircraft. Anyone acquainted with model aircraft builders, however, know they are not very keen on flying their treasures over rough terrain or waters. Small objects have been spotted many times in our area in the last years. We cannot turn away from them. I have a feeling that many answers to the UFO mystery depend on the way we treat and analyze this very special category of cases. Note: Steve Sandström is the chairman of UFO-Skellefteå, whose investigations cover most of the vast northern territories. Steve is editor of their excellently desktopped magazine "UFO-Norr" (in Swedish only). Steve may be contacted by writing to: UFO-Skellefteå, Uppfinnarvägen 4, S-931 45 Skellefteå, Sweden Copyright © 2000 UFO-Sweden All rights reserved. Contact us if you want to use the text. UFO-Sweden, P.O. Box 175, SE-733 23 Sala, Sweden. E-mail: webmaster@ufo.se