NUFORC Sighting 95699

Occurred: 2012-12-31 21:10 Local
Reported: 2013-01-01 09:55 Pacific
Duration: 3 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Fort Myers, FL, USA

Shape: Sphere


Orange fireball flying slow at low altitude over Fort Myers, Florida, on New Year's Eve.

I was headed south on Cleveland Ave. (US 41). I had just turned left onto Cleveland Ave. off of South Road when I saw a bright ball of orange light flying towards me.

It appeared to be at about 500 feet and moving at about the speed of a small aircraft in the approach pattern, that is about 120 MPH.

The threshold of Runway 05 at Page Field is just a hundred yards or so northeast of the intersection of South Road and Cleveland Ave. My first thought was that this object was a small plane on fire trying to make the runway, although its current position and direction of travel would have made Runway 31 a better choice for an emergency landing, especially since there was no wind.

As I watched this orange light, I realized that it was not an aircraft. There were no navigation lights, no landing light, and no anti-collision strobe. It made absolutely no sound. It was certainly close enough that I should have been able to discern wings, fuselage, and tai! l, had there been any, but it seemed to have no physical structure to it. It was simply a ball of orange fire.

I could see variations in intensity on its surface and small flames shooting out from it in all directions, and at times I thought I could see some white smoke trailing from it, but very little. It did not leave a trail. The fireball was moving in a straight line, from southeast to northwest, and holding altitude. I turned right off of Cleveland Ave and into a darkened parking lot on Maple Drive and got out of my car for a better look.

This part of town is well lit by orange street lights and single story buildings, but this is a commercial area and almost every store was closed.

There are no high structures in this part of town because of the airport. There were no pedestrians around, but there was still considerable vehicle traffic on Cleveland Ave. The weather was clear and warm, and there were no clouds.

I still had a good view of the fireball as it! passed overhead just a little to the south of my position and! continu ed flying to the northwest, making no changes in altitude, speed or direction of travel. When I first saw it over Cleveland Ave., it appeared to be about the size of the full moon in the sky, but the moon had not yet come up. There were no aircraft nearby, and so I had nothing to compare it to for an accurate estimate of its size.

It continued on its course, getting steadily smaller as it became more distant from me. I watched it until it became nothing more than a pinpoint of bright orange light in the distance. I estimate that it did not fade from my view until it was well past the Caloosahatchee River and over North Fort Myers, or perhaps even out over the Gulf of Mexico.

I do not know if anyone else saw it or not. Page Field is a very active general aviation airport, lighted all night, with a control tower. I don’t know if the Page Field control tower is manned all night, but if it is the air traffic controller must have also seen this fireball.

Also, the control tower at Southwest Florida International Airport should have seen it as it passed a short distance south of their Runway 06, but given the FAA attitude towards reporting any unidentified airborne anomalies, I doubt that anyone in either tower would have said anything.

Given the heavy use of fireworks by the local population in this area to celebrate holidays, it could have been mistaken for an aerial fireworks display, if someone were to take only a quick glance and not watch it for a while.

I am a pilot, and can with certainty state that it was definitely not a firework, nor was it a flare, balloon, meteor, comet or any type of known manmade aircraft with which I am familiar.

Posted 2013-02-04

© 2023 National UFO Reporting Center. All rights reserved. Use or reproduction within any application without written consent is prohibited.