767 Takes Evasive Action

An Air Canada 767 jet took evasive action to avoid colliding with a perceived threat that turned out to be Venus:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/17/travel/canada-disoriented-pilot/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
I recall reading it wasn't unusual in world war 2 for American and British fighter pilots to mistake Venus for a German fighter and fire a volley of machine gun bullets at it. "Beware the Hun in the Sun"...
It also reminded me of a Russian fighter pilot who wanted more firepower out of his plane so he had his rockets, cannons and machine guns all connected to the same firing button. He literally blasted the Germans out of the skies...

Wow, scary. I can kind of understand how it happened. Maybe they need a new rule: no grabbing for controls after a nap until you've had your coffee.

I told this story to my wife, who has thousands of hours in military jets, and her instant response was "That's why aircraft lights are all strobes, so you don't mistake them for stars". Good point.

It does bring to mind all of the pilot UFO stories. I can picture a bright Venus after sunset, out of direct vision but refracting off the canopy glass and reflecting off the interior glass on the other side, moving as the pilot moves his eyes...