NUFORC Sighting 16465

Occurred: 2001-02-13 18:20 Local
Reported: 2001-02-14 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Rochester, NY, USA

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object

Red and white lights moving in unison at high speed with very quick zig zag directional movements ((90 degrees).

At 6:20 pm on February 13, 2001, I viewed an unusual light in the SW sky as I was looking at Venus in it's early evening brightness. My sighting was made in the parking lot of my apartment building on a very clear early night sky. Traveling in a more or less straight line from west to east were two lights in close proximity, one red, one white. They were blinking on and off in rapid stroboscopic fashion. As they moved at a fairly fast rate of speed (faster than a jetliner trailing contrails) the lights moved in unison in rapid jinking or zig zag movements along the straight flight path axis. The very swift directional zig zags veered of the flight path axis about 20 degrees above and below the flight path. Directional movement angles were extremely high, approximately 60 to 90 degrees every one or two seconds. I watched these lights move along the fairly straight flight path for approximately 30 seconds until they disappeared behind the roofline of my apartment building. What caught my eye away from the bright light of Venus was the rapid and severe directional zig zags of the lights as they moved forward. Their changes in direction were instantaneous. I've never seen a light or discernible object in the sky make such quick movements. There was no shape or object visible in the darkening sky, only the white and red lights moving as a unit. I am a writer and illustrator who specializes in aviation and space technology and history. I've had 6 books published on the history and technology of aircraft and 8 books on space exploration technology/history and astronomy. I am very knowledgeable about the flight capabilities of existing (officially acknowledged)aircraft and spacecraft. No current aircraft or spacecraft is capable of the very quick directional movements that I observed. I don't know what the lights were, but they were not the lights of any known vehicle. This is my first UFO sighting and was quite a surprise to me considering the extremely mundane sighting environment and conditions. I am wondering if there have been any other reports from this region on the date and time described?

Posted 2001-02-18