NUFORC Sighting 173070

Occurred: 2022-11-09 21:15 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2022-11-18 07:52 Pacific
Duration: About 10 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Burbank, CA, USA
Location details: Southeastern San Fernando Valley across the southern section of SFV moving E to W

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Emitted other objects

Single triangular black very large aircraft silent at moderate speed into SFV at SE traveled W separated into 3 triangular craft

Approximately 11/12/2022 +- 3 days, about 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. on a moonless night, very clear sky, I was walking my horse traveling W to E in Burbank. I had an unobstructed view to the SE and S and saw aircraft lights similar to those of the numerous helicopters which routinely use a flight path coming from Glendale/Los Angeles around the eastern limit of the Santa Monica Mountains and south of the southern limit of the Verdugo Mountains, through the pass between them, into the San Fernando Valley to travel to either Burbank Airport or Van Nuys Airport or other locations in the SFV. There are routinely about half a dozen such aircraft I see every night about that time. They move quickly and noisily across the Valley. These are small planes, many helicopters, all flying low and a few more distant, much higher passenger planes from Burbank Airport or LAX. The helicopters and small planes all make motor noise that is easily noticeable. Last night I counted 6-7 aircraft in my normal 20 minutes walking my horse. On the night I saw a very unusual aircraft, I had no cell phone with me so far as I can recall. I routinely carry one on these walks but I believe I left it behind because it was uncharged. Even if I had one, it would have captured only the running lights, not the body of the craft. There was no light from the ground up toward the sky that illuminated the body at all. Coming toward my area of the Valley from the Glendale area to my SE, I noticed lights which I took to be a helicopter coming from the usual route over west Glendale along the I-5 and then bearing slightly west following the 134 freeway into the SF Valley. The lights appeared to be somewhat higher than most helicopters. The lights looked a little different and weren't flashing with the same rapidity of most helicopters. It drew my attention. I noticed that its speed was different as well, it seemed to take longer to get into the Valley and to get closer to me than normal aircraft. I halted my horse, which is very unusual since I am exercising him, not just getting some casual recreation, to observe this aircraft. As it got slowly closer to me, when I can normally hear helicopters, I realized I still could not hear it. It seemed to be moving toward my general location with a moderate speed unlike more rapid helicopters or small private planes. There seemed to be no urgency about it. That was very unusual. Other aircraft seem to have a specific purpose to their flight. This one did not give me that impression. I believe I noticed that it was not lit with running lights in the front. I noticed lights on the sides and the rear. As it got closer, I could see that it was much larger than a helicopter, that it had a wingspan and that it was essentially invisible due to having no color. It began to look like a blacked out and very large plane. It appeared to be much higher than helicopters and small planes and I noticed that there were no other aircraft in the sky above me or to the south and east. There was no other helicopter noise behind me. The sky was essentially silent and free of aircraft except this one. As it got well into this corner of Valley, it seemed to bear slightly to the west, following the 134 freeway, running along the north edge of the Santa Monica Mountains. Because of the altitude, it was difficult for me to determine whether it was actually over or north of the Santa Monica Mountains, but I decided it was actually over the Valley and close to being more closely above me. About this time, several minutes into following its steady and still silent flight path, I was able to identify the triangular shape of the aircraft. This was difficult at first because it was black against a dark sky. It almost was like a hole in the sky, but the rear lights and wingtip lights gave it some dimension. They were not bright lights, they were subdued, which caught my attention. I do not recall the colors. I believe they were white and red, but I'm not positive about that. As the now apparent shape of the plane was closer, I could see it was high, not nearly at passenger jet levels of 30,000 or 35,000 feet, but much higher than helicopters. I could also see that the angle of the nose was close to a 90 degree, nearly a right angle, shape, not swept back sharply like many modern planes. The wing angles were difficult to be sure of, but appeared to be perhaps 45 degree angles. I could see no rear wing edge cut outs, the rear edge of the triangle appeared to be straight across to the other tip. By now the size of the plane was becoming imposing. I would say intimidating. It was unlike the Stealth Bomber. Much larger, multiples of any single similar plane. The plane was still essentially silent, although I believe I heard a very low soft hum, unlike any motor or jet engine. I had never seen anything of this size in the sky before. It was very, very large, still moving at moderate speed. This surprised me and I started thinking that it was trying to avoid detection of its sound or speed, and how odd it was to try to fly across the SFV of all places, undetected. It seemed ridiculous. I started wondering whether the President was visiting Los Angeles and recalled him having been in San Diego very recently, and wondered if this was some new method to safely transport the President, and then realized that there was no way that this plane was designed to transport the President. I wondered briefly whether the plane was doing aerial photogrammetry because its flight was so steady, unswerving, almost relaxed. That also seemed ridiculous. I was quickly trying to figure out a logical reason for a massive plane like this to be flying over Los Angeles. As the plane passed my location, I continued following it and while it was generally still overhead, and somewhat south and west of my location, I was very surprised to see the single aircraft separate into 3 distinct identical, but smaller triangular aircraft. One continued on a direct course to the West, toward the far west end of the SFV, one seemed to ascend slightly and swung south in an arc with the wings tilted, up on the far side and of course, down on the tip closest to me, and it eventually disappeared from view over the Santa Monica Mountains. I could not tell whether it was above or beyond the 405 freeway to my west. The remaining section of the original craft looped more tightly toward the north and then swung east, reversing the original course, and flew back in generally the same flight path it had taken when entering the Valley. It got out of sight toward the east. I did not see it swing south toward Los Angeles or East Los Angeles. When the separation occurred, of course it was a stunning event and I wondered whether I had earlier actually been seeing from my low angle, three planes stacked in formation, appearing to be one, though separated and flying in close formation. I seriously considered that and determined that was impossible since I was now almost under the aircraft and had seen no separation in the aircraft as it approached me. I saw one aircraft and it separated in flight with no change in speed or direction into 3 component parts, all identical in shape, though smaller in size of course to make up the whole. I was unable at any time to see any vertical dimension to the aircraft. The blackness and limited warning lighting made me conclude these were U.S. military aircraft on a test flight. Obviously they were not alien craft; they had conventional though muted lighting just as we routinely use. I knew they were not foreign aircraft, flying discretely over Los Angeles. They were designed to be unseen, unheard, flying in a manner planned to not attract attention by ripping through the Los Angeles SFV at high speed, right over a major freeway that merges into the 101 freeway, both of which have massive traffic loads in both directions, not to mention all the residential and commercial areas with people outdoors walking their dogs if nothing else. The very low frequency close to the 20 Hz limits of generally relied upon standards for human hearing, which I believe I heard was distinct from freeway surface noise, was much less prominent and much lower frequency than the electrical hum from hi-tension power lines. I thought it must be a nuclear powered craft. I speculated as the 3 craft disappeared in the distance, the airspace still empty of any other aircraft that I could detect, that the separation procedure was an interesting tactical design to confuse enemy aircraft or land based observation. One plane or one missile, seeking to engage this plane suddenly would have to decide which of the three was to be selected as the new target. However, the size of the craft was so immense that it would be impossible to not see during daylight or limited light. During this approximately 10 minutes, no one else passed me on the residential street where I was walking. I saw no one else on the .75 mile street in front of me or the .1 mile behind me. No one has mentioned it to me since then, although I walk that street with my horse between 3 to 6 times per week and routinely converse with other walkers. I mentioned this event to my wife, and then forgot about it until I noticed an article which addressed it, in part, but which I learned just this evening by finally reading it, that a similar event was reported back in March or so of this year.

Posted 2022-12-22