NUFORC Sighting 87534

Occurred: 1982-12-25 19:00 Local
Reported: 2012-03-08 01:36 Pacific
Duration: 3 to 4 mins
No of observers: 1

Location: High Point, NC, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aircraft nearby

Object appearing to fly in formation with airliner before radically maneuvering away from it.

I was just outside (west) of High Point, NC, during Christmas day/evening of 1982 at my Grandparents farm. My parents and I arrived a day earlier than normal for the holidays due to a death in the family just before Christmas. The funeral visitation was that evening but I elected to stay at the farm for various reasons.

It was an unusually warm night for this time of the year and that area. I decided to take a walk across a hill adjacent and above my Grandparents house and walk my uncle’s dog. I took notice that there were a lot of jetliners on approach to KGSO airport passing over the farm from South to North before banking right base to runway 5 at GSO after.

Being an avid aircraft/aviation enthusiast, I pretty much was able to identify that there were 737-100/200, 727-100/200, and DC-9 jetliners passing over by the landing configuration of each type as well as there being enough residual light to actually see the bottom of each aircraft clearly. The sequence of separation of the aircraft ranged approximately 3 to 5 minutes at the height of an arrival push of scheduled flights. I paid only limited attention to the flights except when they were directly overhead.

At one point, I was facing South seeing the airliners coming at me head on. It was at this point that I saw something extremely unusual occur. I saw two jetliners approaching out of the South and one passed over with another behind it. The next one appeared to be a DC-9 with its landing lights set far apart near it’s wing tips. I took one glance and then lowered my head to pay attention to my uncle’s dog. I then looked back up to see why the jet had not passed over (it appeared closer due to the wider separation of the landing lights) and then realized something was off as the jetliner had not passed yet and it appeared to be moving either very slowly or it was larger than I fight thought (larger than a DC-9? GSO normally didn’t service DC-10’s or larger aircraft).

I kept my eye on this jet puzzled why it was so slow to approach when suddenly the right landing light(to the left from my perspective) appeared to drop as if the jet was banking very steeply to the right going into a full roll to inverted flight. My first thought was that this jet was in serious trouble and I was about to witness a crash. But the right "landing light" accelerated completely around until it was below the left light and then suddenly accelerated up at a 45 degree angle and sped away until it disappeared (quickly faded away). It was then I realized that the left "landing light" was stationary(not rolling or connected to the right light) and that the right side light had actually circled the left light before accelerating up and away(Westward). I also then realized that the other light was still moving towards me.

I ran quickly towards my uncle and aunt’s house about 120 yards away. As I reached the house, the other light reached me and that light turned out to! be the nose strut light of a 727. The aircraft appeared as if there was nothing wrong with it and it continued on towards GSO making no sudden changes in turn rate. direction, or altitude. I did not see any other similar objects in the area that evening or any subsequent evenings after that.

Characteristics of the object were that it was the same intensity and color as the lights of the jetliner. and it made no sound. From my perspective, it appeared to be flying in formation to the right of the jet and appeared to have the same forward speed as the jet prior to the "barrel roll" and 45 degree climb to the West before disappearing.

Posted 2012-03-13

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