NUFORC Sighting 11925

Occurred: 1966-10-20 02:00 Local - Approximate
Reported: 2000-02-10 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 3 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: Albuquerque, NM, USA

Shape: Diamond

Former wife and I saw a saucer shaped craft, rotating counter clockwise, as seen from under-full moon night, or near- 1/4 to 1/2 mile away.

While I was attending the University of New Mexico, in October 1966 my first wife and I were returning to our apartment at 346 57th Street in Albuquerque, NM, at about 2:00 AM (approx). This apartment was adjacent to a house in a residential neighborhood, 3 blocks north of Central Avenue. The moon was either full or nearly so. This area of the city more or less overlooks the city, at least the beautiful Sandia Mountains can be seen from this address, and on a moonlit night, appear as a clear and distinct outline. We had exited the car and were walking to the house when we saw the disk or saucer shaped craft traveling completely silently from west to east in a straight line, at a constant speed, and without pause. As we observed the craft, us looking directly south, the craft was probably 30 to 35 degrees from our zenith, and was rotating counter clockwise looking from underneath. I would estimate that the time required for a complete rotation was about 7 to 8 seconds. The craft bottom was flat or a rounded form close to flat with no light. As a matter of fact, there was no lights on the craft with the exception of the port holes. The sides seem to rise from the bottom at an angle of about 60 degrees to the horizontal and were the same around the circumference of the of the craft. I would estimate that there were about 12 port around the circumference of the craft. The distance was approximately 1/4 mile or perhaps a little more. If there had been someone looking out of the port hole, we would have been able to clearly see them and wave to them. We are not talking some distant light in the sky. Top 1/3rd to 1/4th of the side seemed to rise to the top of the craft at an angle of about 45 degrees from the vertical. I could not see the top of the craft. In the early morning hours, at this location in the city, things were very quiet. We heard no noise whatsoever. It floated quietly by and into the distance, over the Sandia Mountains. Some time later we were spending an evening with another couple and we shared this experience with them. As it turns out, the wife had been leaving work at a nursing home on the east side of Albuquerque, and had seen this same craft on the same night. So, there you have it, my one and only definite experience with a UFO. None of us shared this experience with anyone; not police, government, air force, nor anyone else, except occasionally with friends, when conversation would drift into this area. I have always felt very fortunate to have had this experience, and I remember it almost as clearly now, as I did the next day after it happened. I just heard Peter Davenport on Art Bell's show( the very end), and I felt inspired to share this experience. I just felt that this experience was "my experience", and it was never important that anyone verify it, or agree with me, or even know that it happened.

Posted 2000-02-16