NUFORC Sighting 13740

Occurred: 2000-08-10 22:05 Local
Reported: 2000-08-10 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 15 seconds
No of observers: 2

Location: Redfield, NY, USA

Shape: Formation
Characteristics: Lights on object, Changed Colo

A string of 5 to 9 lights flying in a horizontal formation nearly equidistant apart then turning abruptly away to their left.

Exactly 55 Degrees (Magnetic) North by Northeast from the village of Redfield my wife called me out on the back porch to see a string of lights about 5 to 8 miles away at an angle up from horizontal about 10 degrees. The lights were some white some amber and some red. They were flying toward us at first as if they were flying side by side and then they turned abruptly to the east (their left) and when they did it looked as if they picked up speed then the lights were gone. Unless they were closer than we think, it appeared as if they were accelerating faster than any helicopter. I say helicopter because that is my only explanation for lights at night in this wild area. There is a large wilderness area beneath where these lights were. It is known as the Tug Hill Plateau which is a large blank area on most maps of New York State to the South and slightly east of the city of Watertown. If it wasn't a group of 10th Mountain Division troops from Fort Drum conducting some kind of night exercise then I have no explanation. We have lived here all of our lives 45 years and have never seen any 10th Mountain Division helicopters flying at night. I also should mention that there was no noise at all, either because of the distance or that the craft didn't make any noise. The night was still and quiet as there are few active people around here that time of night and no traffic at all. We wanted to call an air traffic control center in Syracuse at Hancock Airport but there is no number to call and we couldn't find any Fort Drum numbers. If anyone knows how to get a quick report from a radar center or something I would appreciate it so if we see anything again we can call someone and ask if they can identify it. Thanks.

Posted 2000-08-19