NUFORC Sighting 55015

Occurred: 2006-12-31 22:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2007-01-29 09:57 Pacific
Duration: 1-2 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Merritt Island, FL, USA

Shape: Circle

Orange ball hovering over a river south of the Space Center in Florida

My wife and I were traveling East on State Road #528 and got off at the Banana River Drive exit in central Florida when as we reached the bottom of the ramp we saw what looked like a round ball of orange fire. It was around 10 pm under clear skies in late December of 2006. We were almost home from an evening of visiting our son and his family when, as we reached the bottom of the off ramp, straight ahead of us in the air we spotted a ball of orange flame hovering in place in the sky.

I told my wife to 'look at that helicopter up there.' I said that it had to be on fire and she agreed. It was dark outside but a clear night and unless the ‘helicopter’ was completely painted in florescent orange paint with spotlights shining all around it, the craft we saw had to be engulfed in flames. We fully expected it to suddenly fall to the ground, but to our amazement, it instead just quietly hovered in place until finally it made a lateral move, exactly as a helicopter might do.

But where are the blinking lights I said? Any flying craft would have to have some sort of blinking lights on it so as to alert others that it's there, no doubt it's an FAA law. But there were no lights, only that glowing orange ball. It was no more than a 1/4 mile away from us, hovering over the Banana River, roughly about 150 feet in the air. Cars began to back up behind us so we left the scene.

Was it a UFO? I believe so. I thought so then and I think so now. A sighting by a retired Air Force Colonel in Arkansas not long after our sighting was similar in appearance, as he was fortunate enough to get a picture of the orange ball like object.

For background, my wife and I are both about 50 years old and live near the Atlantic Ocean about fifteen miles South of the Kennedy Space Center where I work. Neither of us drink or do drugs, nor do we, as a general rule, look for or care about the subject of UFO's.

NUFORC Note:

Source of report indicates that the date of the sighting is approximate. PD

Posted 2007-02-01