NUFORC Sighting 101295

Occurred: 2011-07-15 23:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2013-08-17 23:25 Pacific
Duration: 15 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Wayland, MI, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object

I saw a fireball that was actually some sort of plane

My friend and I were driving South on US-131 in Allegan County. We were 5-10 minutes NW of Wayland, MI when we noticed an orange/amber fireball SE of our position. I estimate its angle of elevation was 35-40 degrees. It looked to be flying very slowly, if not hovering at times, over downtown Wayland. Having seen similar things before, we decided to follow the aircraft. The aircraft had been traveling S but started traveling SSE once we got closer. When we reached our exit, we turned E. The aircraft remained visible the entire time, save for a brief moment when it disappeared behind some trees on our horizon. Regaining sight of the aircraft, we turned into a parking lot facing N to observe. After a moment, we realized the aircraft was now heading due South and was going to fly directly over us.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I estimate the aircrafts angle of elevation was 30-35 degrees and steadily declined until passing overhead. I'd say the aircraft remained under 150 yds in the air, at all times. As the aircraft approached, the first things we noticed were two lights on its nose pointing forward. That's to say, it had headlights very similar to a car. The aircraft also had 5-6 white lights on its underside. The aircraft didn't have visible registration lettering, wings, propellers, a tail, cylindrical shapes, or navigation lights. The aircraft was small, dark, and triangular. It made a sound very similar to a jet, but was much quieter. We didn’t see any afterburn. Even thought it was directly overhead, we were able to converse comfortably. As the aircraft passed overhead, it was hard to discern the finer details of the body, perhaps from all the bright lights on its exterior.

With the object now traveling away, we got in our car and headed for home. The distance from where we witnessed the aircraft to our home is 5 minutes by car. After 10-15 minutes of being home, we heard a sound very similar to what we had just heard, flying overhead. We stepped out on the back porch and saw the aircraft fly directly over the house were in, traveling S. The night continued without further incident.




NUFORC Note:

Witness indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate. PD


Posted 2013-08-30

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