The party balloon explanation is however very unlikely given the time involved between initial and later reports. Even though the New York UFO sightings were first officially reported at 1:30 pm, shortly after the accidental Mt Vernon party balloon release, witnesses described seeing the UFOs
as early as 9:30 am on October 13, and that they numbered as many as 50. Also, the closure of the New York radar facilities and flight delays began at 6:45 pm. Up to this time, UFOs were being sighted and filmed by New York residents. Could a dozen party balloons hover for more than five hours over Manhattan after first drifting down from nearby Mt Vernon, and remain stationary over NYC? More importantly, could party balloons have mysteriously contributed to the evacuation of the Westbury radar facility, and flight delays for up to an hour at three major airports?
The party balloon explanation falls apart at closer examination. It nevertheless appears to have been quickly accepted by the mass media in what appears to be an officially sanctioned attempt to cover up the truth behind the New York UFO sightings. This leads to the most plausible explanation that the UFOs were intelligently controlled objects that caused problems with the Westbury radar facility. This led to flight delays at New York's three major airports. This seems to be a similar series of events as occurred earlier this year at several Chinese airports after UFO sightings. Most significantly, what happened over New York's skies vindicates the October 13 prediction made four months earlier by a retired NORAD officer that extraterrestrial vehicles would begin appearing over major world cities as the first step in a process to prepare humanity for the truth that we are not alone.