NUFORC Sighting 96946

Occurred: 2009-08-25 22:10 Local
Reported: 2013-04-03 13:13 Pacific
Duration: 15 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Beatty, NV, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object

Bright, unblinking low-altitude light in motion north of Beatty, NV.

August 25, 2009 10:10 p.m. PDT. I was in the process of driving a U-Haul truck from Albuquerque, NM, to Sacramento, CA. I was on Highway 95 in southern Nevada, perhaps six miles north of the town of Beatty. An overnight stay was planned later, in Hawthorne, NV.

Traffic had been light, but leaving Beatty and heading north, the traffic all but vanished. Even the local traffic had disappeared. I was all alone in the night, half-listening to George Noory on the AM radio. Noory promised his listeners a "UFO Extravaganza," later.

Suddenly to my left, I saw a light in the sky, heading south. The light looked like a very bright planet - like Venus - but in motion. I did a double-take, thinking it might have been a reflection in the driver's-side window of a stationary light located to the right of the truck, but that was not the case. Something was flying south through the air, not very high, and not very far away.

It is quite plausible that the light belonged to a small private airplane. There is a small airport located just south of Beatty, equipped with flashing beacons for nighttime travelers, and the airborne light was heading in that direction.

But still, private planes are supposed to be equipped with colored blinking lights for nighttime flight. This light was not blinking at all. Was the cockpit light on for some mysterious reason? If so, why were the external blinking lights off? That would be an unsafe condition, especially at low altitude! It was all puzzling.

Posted 2013-04-12