NUFORC Sighting 127080

Occurred: 1992-09-30 21:15 Local
Reported: 2016-04-28 00:16 Pacific
Duration: 2 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: Columbia, SC, USA

Shape: Cylinder
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Left a trail

Cylinder over Columbia SC

On Wednesday, September 30, 1992, at approximately 9:15 P.M., I observed a flying object I could not easily identify, and which has to date not been explained to my satisfaction. I was driving northeast on SC 277 approaching the Fontaine Road overpass when my attention was distracted by a light overhead, shining through my open sunroof.

My first impression was of a jet airliner in trouble; the object was far too low and moving too slowly, and was in an unusual location for a large plane. I could see no navigation lights (i.e., no belly strobe, tail strobe, wing marker lights nor landing lights) and the tail area was lit by a fairly bright, large gaseous prominence, which I thought at the time was a tail engine on fire. As I watched it, I continued driving, perhaps erratically, and tried to understand what I was watching.

The more I studied it, the less it made sense. Although my mind persistently tried to turn the object into an airplane, the actual appearance of the object defied explanation. It was moving roughly northeast parallel to SC 277 in the same direction I was driving. I estimated that it was at an altitude of approximately 5000 feet, judging from its size and the fact that it was passing through some stratus clouds. It seemed to be traveling at about 200 mph, since it was leaving my car behind, and it appeared to be moving at about the same speed as a jet airliner approaching an airport runway.

Clearly some kind of aircraft, the object was visible as a darker silhouette against the night sky, and the only visible lights were the tail prominence, like a jet fighter's afterburner exhaust, but white, yellow, and orange instead of blue; or like a rocket's exhaust, without the steam and smoke they produce; and a row of small, faint, white lights along the length of the aircraft. These lights may have been windows lit from inside the aircraft. The lights were faint as dim stars, and I had to look slightly away from them to see them clearly. The aircraft appeared to be about the size of a jet airliner (if it was higher than my estimate, it was big), and seemed to cause a thin mist or fog to form around it, as if it were very cold. It was shaped like an airplane's fuselage, but in spite of my intense study, I could discern neither a tail stabilizer nor any wings. I watched for the wings to eclipse stars passing behind it, but none did. It also made no noticeable sou! nd above the sound of my car's engine and the wind noise; an aircraft would have been audible at that altitude.

I watched this object for about two minutes and ultimately lost sight of it ahead of me. The last view I saw was of a dull orange glowing dot above the northeast horizon. While I was approaching the I-20 overpass and checking for merging traffic, I lost sight of the orange dot. It was traveling in the approximate direction of Camden, where someone undoubtedly saw it. I have read that the object was observed near Pontiac at approximately 9:17 P.M..

This object was sighted earlier in the evening near Aiken, then later by residents near Lake Murray, according to The State Newspaper. Apparently it maintained its course for at least 80 miles, and I observed no change in its speed or direction. I have included a map of its extrapolated course based on the known sightings. I do not have the time of the earliest sighting near Augusta, so I cannot calculate its speed.

The aircraft was very elegant, moved gracefully as a dirigible, but much faster, and it left a vapor trail behind it. The glowing tail prominence extended behind the craft for about one third of its length, where the light from the beam ended abruptly in a rounded point. Its vapor trail was visible by reflected city light.

In hindsight I wish I had pulled over to the side of the road and used my binoculars to get a more detailed observation. At the time I thought I was watching an airliner going down, and I wanted to see where it crashed so that I could report its location precisely. I would like to have had a video camera in the car, but I probably would have forgotten to use it for the same reason.

When I arrived home, I wanted to call someone and report what I had seen, but I could not decide whom to call. Which authorities are responsible for receiving "UFO" reports? I did not have any proof, and the object had already left the area. I decided that I would hear about it on the news the next day, and since there was nothing more I could do, I prepared for bed. Too excited to sleep, I called my mother and said "Mom, I just saw a 'UFO'," and laughed uncomfortably.

The event was apparently traumatic for me, because when I awoke the next morning I had completely forgotten it. I did not recall the event until four days later when my mother read to me over the phone an article in The State newspaper. I had completely missed the many radio and television reports about the sightings.

The descriptions given by witnesses to the event were obviously of the same object I had observed, but without any detail. I am sure that dozens (hundreds?) of people must have seen the aircraft and I hoped I would hear more about it.

I phoned The State newspaper and was told by an editor that they "anticipated no further coverage until the next one." The only "authority" consulted by the newspaper reporter was a USC graduate student at Melton Observatory (who had not seen anything) and he guessed that "it was probably a meteor." I have seen many meteors, but this object was not one of them.

I spoke to a friend at the National Weather Service at the airport, and he said they received many calls during the event. He checked with the control tower personnel and they reported nothing unusual. I found it odd that when I contacted the airport's public relations office I was told that I was "the first person who had contacted them about it." I have felt very uncomfortable when telling friends about my encounter, although I felt compelled to talk about it. Most reacted with skepticism (as I would have), but they were patient and sympathetic. Surprisingly, few have been curious enough to question me further, although this event was probably the most significant thing to occur in Columbia since the city surrendered to General Sherman. I had always hoped that I would see a "UFO" someday, because I knew that I could dismiss it as an airplane, the planet Venus, or something ordinary. I also thought that one had to be in some remote, unpopulated area, or at least be awake at some odd hour to see a "UFO", rather than in a major city at 9:15 in the evening! Some of my friends have tried to be helpful in explaining this event to me: my favorite theory is "an experimental military aircraft," but who would fly an experimental aircraft over a densely populated city? The F-15s and F-16s from area airbases seldom fly very close to Columbia, although one rarely crashes. Why would an experimental (presumably secret) military aircraft be flown at twilight at an altitude and speed that would allow so many people to see, and possibly photograph it? Why would anyone fly any aircraft without navigational lights or radar contact through the busy Charlotte to Columbia airline corridor? I cannot help believing that the pilot of this aircraft must have known that her ship was being observed.

I did not see any routine air traffic in the area during the event, and I do not know if this was an accident or by design. I do know that the object was an aircraft of a type I have never seen or heard of before or since, except for two similar objects on video tape shown on television about two years after my sighting on one of the "UFO" programs: one was in daylight taped by a family preparing to depart on a vacation, the other was taped at night and only the familiar glowing, gaseous tail prominence appeared.

At the time of my original writing of this record three weeks after the event, I had accepted that I will probably never know exactly how it flew, the details of its structure, or who was flying it. I still feel an indescribable joy and awe at having witnessed something so wonderful and significant. I know that I shared this experience with many that night, and we all anonymously share a common experience that few can understand. There is a lonely feeling even after years, which could be soothed only by discussing the incident with another witness. I chatted by phone with another purported witness shortly after my article appeared in the Point, but he had not seen the same object that night, but a very different kind. I received a call about a month later from a nice lady who had lost a half hour's memory on a drive to Charleston with a friend several months before, and wanted me to tell her that she had been abducted by aliens. I assured her that it was unlikely, and! that if she did not remember such an event even vaguely, it was far more likely attributable to her friend's pleasant company than to alien interference. However, I am no expert on these matters.

I will not be terribly disappointed if this aircraft eventually turns out to be of contemporary terrestrial origin, but I really need to know the truth.

It is obvious that the device was created by an advanced technological society, most likely not our own. It may be of extraterrestrial origin, or created by our terrestrial descendants, which would give me hope that we can survive these tempestuous times. It may have been piloted by organic life forms or inorganic, artificial life forms. It may have used an ionic engine to propel itself, or matter - antimatter annihilation and may have interfered directly with the earth's gravitational field. It apparently had stealth capabilities which rendered it invisible to radar, and possibly could also be visually invisible, but this function was disabled briefly by design or malfunction.

It was very large and may have been more than one hundred meters in length. It was very beautiful for a device.



Posted 2016-04-29

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