William Konkolesky was a senior in high school in February 1989 when he saw a UFO (unidentified flying object).
He was parked in a car in Sterling Heights with two friends while they waited for another friend to get out of work when a blue glowing UFO flew over the car and changed color to white and then red. He described it as a solid shape about the size of a car and flying at a height of about two telephone poles end to end. The UFO arced over their car, traveling at a speed of about 50 miles per hour, Konkolesky estimates.
‘It probably took two to three seconds and then it started zig zagging all over the sky,? says Konkolesky, whose friends also witnessed it. ‘When it turned red it was stationary. The whole thing lasted ten seconds. We sat there dumbfounded.?
The following day, Konkolesky went to work and found out a maintenance guy was telling other employees about the glowing UFO he had seen the night before around 7:30 p.m., half an hour prior to when Konkolesky had seen it.
They didn’t contact anyone about what they had seen at that time. Konkolesky said he wasn’t aware of any UFO investigation groups and assumed the government wouldn’t do anything.
It wasn’t until he visited the Center for UFO Studies in 1993 that he learned about the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and found they had a chapter in Michigan. Konkolesky soon joined the group that shares UFO experiences. In Michigan, MUFON has about 100 members. Internationally, there are 3,000 members. Konkolesky is now state director of Michigan MUFON. The group meets five times a year in January, March, May, September and November. At an annual symposium in July, field investigator training is available, during which individuals are taught to interview people who have seen UFOs and take ground samples, among other lessons.
Konkolesky has studied reported UFO sightings and will give a slide show presentation, ‘Discover the World of UFOs,? from 7-8:30 p.m., Oct. 26 at the Brandon Township Public Library, 304 South Street. The Clawson resident plans to cover Michigan sightiings historically as well as some larger national sightings. Subjects include Area 51, different interpretations of what happened at Roswell, New Mexico, UFOs at the White House, Edwards Air Force base sightings in 1956 and ?57, a sighting in Hillsdale in 1966 and a triangle UFO sighting last year in September.
Michigan MUFON is told of a couple sightings per year in the state, Konkolesky says. The majority of sightings reported turn out to be airplanes, weather balloons and even Venus. Although many times the reports are mundane, the organization wants all sightings reported. With a report of something truly anomalous, the organizations questions local law enforcement, people in the area and checks to see if there has been a history of sightings.
Konkolesky speculates that what he saw may have been a military craft that was being kept secret, but says it definitely appeared to be intelligently controlled.
‘It’s hard to take that second step and say we think they’re extra-terrestrial and we think they’re from Mars and they’re taking over the planet in the next 10 years,? says Konkolesky. ‘Some people do report entity encounters. It’s very hard to surprise me anymore when someone tells me of something they’ve seen. I have to remain openminded.?
Konkolesky believes skepticism is great because it causes people to question and investigate. The presentation, he says, is a great primer for those not familiar with UFOs and for people who believe they know something about UFOs, he guarantees they’ll learn something new. Konkolesky plans to continue his study of unidentified flying objects.
‘There is so much more to investigate and look into,? he said. ‘We’ve barely scratched the surface of what is going on and what our place is in the universe.?
To register for ‘Discover the World of UFOs,? call the library at (248) 627-1461 or visit www.brandonlibrary.org.
For more information on MUFON, visit mufon.com or mimufon.org