NUFORC Sighting 74000

Occurred: 2009-12-30 14:00 Local
Reported: 2010-01-07 10:36 Pacific
Duration: 6-8 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Gulf of Mexico (over), TX, USA

Shape: Other
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

Five rodlike structures seen at 35,000 feet over Gulf of Mexico.

I've never filed a report nor witnessed anything quite like this, but here goes.

In the early afternoon on Dec. 30, 2009, seven of us were among the passengers on a Continental flight departing Houston for the Yucatan (Mexico). About 20 minutes after the pilot announced we had reached our cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, I noticed what appeared to be five large rods protruding upward from the clouds off the right wing about 1/4 mile to a 1/2 mile out. The rods looked like manmade structures, each about 10-20 feet high. Each rod had the appearance of a cell-phone tower -- metallic weaving. There were five rods in total, each spaced approximately 80-150 feet apart, forming what looked like a pentagon. No connecting tower or craft was visible.

I pointed this out to a younger friend, who at first didn't notice them. After a minute or so, he finally located they him. He said they appeared to be "drifting." Again, we were at 35,000 feet, so there's no way they could have been part of a grounded structure. They remained visible for about 6-8 minutes before our flight moved away. They never appeared to move and visibility was very good at our altitude.

We checked into weather instrumentation and nothing matches. I'm still not convinced it was a UFO, but certainly strange.

Posted 2010-02-14