NUFORC Sighting 80987

Occurred: 2011-04-22 00:00 Local
Reported: 2011-04-23 14:05 Pacific
Duration: 15-25 seconds
No of observers: 3

Location: Hollister, CA, USA

Shape: Rectangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aircraft nearby

Square craft, 4 orange lights with 1 flashing light in center

4/22/11 approx. 12:00am

HOLLISTER, CALIFORNIA On the night of April 21st around 12:00am PST (technically April 22nd), me and two others were having a cigarette outside of my sister's home, and noticed a helicopter coming in for landing at our local hospital (which is closeby her home). Shortly after the helicopter passed, we were conversating about something unimportant when I couldn't help but cut in and say, "it could just be a plane or another copter...but look at that thing, it looks so weird".

And the guys looked up and agreed, it was a very strange looking craft. But I always throw out something like "its probably just a governement plane"...so I don't look like an idiot assuming crazy things.

But the guys confirmed to me that they'd never seen anything like that before, and that it was quite low and easily visible at first then gained altitude quickly but almost unnoticeably as it moved North-bound and away from us. Way high above it, we noticed and heard a commercial jet-plane as it flew Southwest, and after the trailing engine sounds from the jet passed (and the UFO still in sight, slowly and very closeby) we were SURE that this object was emitting no noise. Within about 15 seconds it seemed to go from a few hundred feet above us, to about 30,000ft with effortless grace.

The craft itself had a large dark gray/black rectangular body. It was hard to see the actually body in the night sky, but it was the lights that were most obvious to me. And all that we could really desribe of the craft was the ventral surface (or underside), being the only side we could see very clearly. It had 4 lights in its four corners, all gleaming a constant orangish light, and in the center of the 4 lights was one flashing yellow or white light.

Being familiar with air traffic lights and landing lights, etc, I knew these were not normal lights nor was their positioning. And, because I know where our airport is located and the directions of our runway, I knew this was not a craft that had just taken off, nor was it coming in for landing while making its descent.

The movement of the craft was, as I said, effortlessly graceful.

When we first spotted it, it was going at a slow constant rate and staying at about the same altitude for probably a full 10 seconds, but then gained altitude very quickly going northbound and within seconds, was noticeably very far from us.

Posted 2011-05-02