NUFORC Sighting 18806

Occurred: 2001-07-23 02:25 Local
Reported: 2001-08-02 00:00 Pacific
Duration: @ 6 min
No of observers: 1

Location: Waynesboro (near), VA, USA

Shape: Triangle

I observed a triangular shape moving strangely blocking starlight, and make a sharp(but not a right-angle) turn.

My wife and I went camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains from 7/21 to 7/24,2001. About 2;25 am on the 23rd, I was stargazing with the telescopes I brought along. In a clear sky,(no scopes, just my naked eyes), saw a triangular "shadow", blocking the stars- it seemed to move at about the same velocity as a mid-sized passenger jet, low altitude, no noise. From my point, it seemed to bank right sharply for a short distance, and I lost sight of it. I would have difficulty trying to guess it's size and speed. And it did get me to surf the net for ufo information. I am not a crackpot, I have over 15 years past experience in the commercial airline refueling and managing a freight forwarding outfit for a dc-8 airline. And, I am into amateur astronomy as a hobby. I read a couple of reports from Virginia here, and I do know it was not a far-off missile. Whatever it was,( and it was not a stealth fighter-I am familiar with them also) it was solid, dark, and quiet. And it did operate much lower than the commercial planes I did view at much higher altitudes, and could hear their thrust even. I have no photos, and my wife was asleep.

Posted 2001-08-05