NUFORC Sighting 43533

Occurred: 2005-03-16 20:58 Local
Reported: 2005-04-17 20:39 Pacific
Duration: 30 sec
No of observers: 3

Location: West Lafayette, IN, USA

Shape: Orb
Characteristics: Lights on object

Circling lights over Lafayette. Grad from Purdue flight program here and these were NOT airplanes. Many people witnessed.

I would like to confirm a report in Lafayette that somebody else made for this date. I even called it into the cops and they were receiving calls as well from others. I was driving in my car on US Hwy 52 between West Lafayette and Lafayette. To the Northeast, I saw one bright orange light moving through the air... too fast for an airplane and no strobes so I was instantly interested. Then I saw a second one light up right behind it followed by a 3rd, 4th, and 5th. They ascended and the light went out, but I could see the dark craft circling around and light up again when it came to the bottom part of the circle. They did this for about 3 cycles and disappeared.

I am a graduate from Purdue University from the flight program, so I know what planes look like. THIS WAS NOT AN AIRCRAFT FROM THIS WORLD... unless it was some secret government aircraft, but the military operations area is NOT near either city and the bases around here are not known for producing abnormal activity. I am absolutely convinced it was some kind of alien craft and have reported it to the student newspaper and the local newspaper and am still waiting for a response. I will write letters to the editors to try to get others to report this.

I told all of my friends about this and most did not believe me. One who didn't believe me was at work Sunday when a co-worker brought up how she saw UFOs around 10PM on the same night and he was stunned. I am convinced there were MANY who saw this. The woman who told him about her sighting said she saw all of the lights merge together and disappear. The other witnesses listed were in the car behind me and pointing toward the UFO's. Please watch the local papers!

((ADDENDUM FROM ORIGINAL WITNESS))

Supplemental report: I talked with the Tippecanoe County Police tonight and the officer stated that they have confirmation that the military was dropping flares last night. The objects I saw were to the Northeast, which is in the direction of the Military Operations Area (MOA) for Grissom AFB. I do not believe they have fast, highly maneuverable aircraft station at that base.

The officer also stated that it was unusual that the AFB did not announce any flares or military operations to the FAA. The area of the sighting would be in control of Chicago Center, which the officer said did not see anything on radar. The officer stated that the flight controller in chicago was really mad because he saw nothing on their radar and was not notified. I believe I estimated that the objects were around 5 or 6 thousand feet. From my flight experience, I know center will not see objects below about 6,000 feet. The officer assured me that the AFB had the aircraft on radar and it was their planes. The bottom line is that nobody knew of any military operations beforehand, which makes the event more interesting.

The other problem with the flare excuse is that the lights did not last long. Also, I would estimate the lights were only lit for 5 seconds at a time and I believe flares should last longer. The biggest problem with the flare excuse is that all of the lights started at the exact same point in the sky. The only way the flares could start at the same point is if the airplane is flying directly toward or away from me. If that was the case, the flares should not have had such lateral movement.

The lights were also at a constant speed and did not descend much or slow down as you would expect. Assuming the aircraft stayed in the MOA, the speed of the lights should have been much slower.

In my professional opinion as a graduate of the Purdue flight program, the lights originated from an aircraft beyond the capabilities of modern fighter jets that the public is made aware of. Due to the silence and disappearance of the craft (which I could see when the lights turned off during the circling maneuver), I tend to think it may be extraterrestrial, but then again, I didn't see it enter orbit.

I told all of my friends about what I saw and none of them witnessed the event, however one of my friends who dismissed my claim was at work when a co-worker started talking about UFOs that she saw. She stated that at the end, the orangish lights all came together and then disappeared. I will be trying to get more info ASAP.

((END ADDENDUM))

Posted 2005-05-11