NUFORC Sighting 176365

Occurred: 1998-08-01 21:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2023-06-20 10:33 Pacific
Duration: a few minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Amherst, MA, USA
Location details: 170 E Hadley Rd, South Amherst area

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object

Black craft, flat triangle shaped on bottom, pyramid-like on top/from side, hovering silently, moved slowly, then instantly sped off

I don't remember the exact date as this was over 20 years ago, but I can deduce based on where I was living that the first sighting I experienced was in 1998 when the weather was warm. I saw this same craft two additional times at later dates in different locations approximately 1-2 years after this first sighting. I have since discovered that there were many sightings of this same craft in 2013 around Amherst by others whose descriptions match my experience. On this night I was in the parking lot of our apartment complex. Having put our household trash in the dumpster I began walking back towards our unit when I felt a presence like I was being watched and then heard a very faint, nearly silent hum. Somewhat like the buzz of power lines I suppose, but even more quiet than when that occurs. I looked around and then up and saw an all black craft hovering directly above me at approximately 50-100 feet high. From below, the bottom of the craft was triangle shaped and flat, I believe there was a slight indentation in the rear, but there was no tail of any kind visible from below or the side. There were lights on each corner on the bottom of the craft, either a single light or groupings which were dim, bright enough for me to see when looking directly at them, but not bright enough to have cast light or shadows on the ground or surroundings. From the side the craft was pyramid-like, similar to a stealth aircraft, but more pronounced upward and smoother/flatter sides. The scale was likely equivalent to approximately 3-5 cars. To the best of my memory, I believe the height was somewhere between 10 and 15 feet. As I walked through the parking lot the craft continued to hover above me, moving at the same pace as my walking, following me, still in near total silence. Within a minute or so the craft moved forward a bit farther into the distance at a slightly faster than walking, but still slow speed, approximately 100-150 feet away. The craft then instantaneously shot off very fast into the distance and out of sight in what must have been one second, still silent, no noise from acceleration, wind, or motors of any kind. The craft would have approached from the north and moved toward the south west from my location.

I saw the same craft at night, also around 9pm, approximately 1.5-2 years later, in the fall season, late 1999 or 2000. The second instance I was on the UMass Amherst Campus on North Pleasant Street directly across from the Campus Pond. The craft was slowly hovering silently, most likely a couple hundred feet off in the distance as it was not directly over the pond, but on the other side of some buildings on the opposite side of the pond. Moved slowly from the south to the north at what I would estimate to be around 3-5 miles per hour and shortly after shot off into the distance instantaneously and silently like it had during the previous sighting.

The third and last time I saw the craft was within one year of the second sighting, in the late winter/early spring prior to leaves budding on trees. This time I was in a vehicle headed south on Amherst Road in Belchertown near Arcadia Lake where the road is at a slightly higher elevation with a drop-off on the western side of the road. The craft was visible through the trees, moving slowly towards the south, but this time was flanked in the front and back by two large Chinook helicopters belonging to the Air Force. The helicopters did not appear to be chasing the craft, but rather escorting. This third sighting was during the daytime in early afternoon. We passed in our vehicle as we continued down the road, at no point did the craft speed off into the distance like the previous two times I had witnessed it. This is not far from the area where several sightings had occurred in 2013 by other individuals, documented in local media and news outlets, which were along the same road near the border of Amherst and Belchertown. I personally suspect that it was/is a still classified stealth aircraft being tested out of one of the nearby Air Force bases in the area.

After the 2013 sightings the Air Force first claimed that there was no aircraft in the area at the time of the sightings according to their radar and then later claimed that it was a C-5 Galaxy, which is a very large plane that is incredibly loud, flies at a higher altitude, but the sound is usually delayed and not heard until after the C-5 has passed by. C-5 Galaxies from Westover Air Base fly over Hampshire County on a regular basis, everyone in the area is very familiar with what they look like, sound like and fly like, all of which is nothing like what I saw nor what the witnesses in 2013 described seeing or hearing. A C-5 Galaxy as an explanation for this particular craft is more laughable than if the claim had been that everyone saw a weather balloon. I am selecting below that "I would like to be contacted by an investigator", but I am not expecting to be contacted or asking to be contacted, however I do not mind if someone contacts me if there is some reason to do so.

Posted 2023-07-10