NUFORC Sighting 12708

Occurred: 2000-04-24 00:20 Local
Reported: 2000-04-25 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 5-7 min
No of observers: 1

Location: Palmetto (just east of, off I-85), GA, USA

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aircraft nearby

Silent black triangle the size of a 747. More acute than equilateral in shape. 2 strobes toward the back; rapidly flashing in perfect tandem. Also red and blue-white lights around edges with "tail lights" in back.

I was driving home from my part-time weekend job at about 12:20 am on 4-24-00. I noticed to the south what appeared to be an airliner flying with a pronounced yaw from the south to the northwest. What struck me was the speed, the yaw, the light patterns, and the altitude for the size of the object. As I got closer I noticed that the "plane" wasn't progressing past me toward Hartsfield Airport to the North. Finally I drove right beside/underneath it, and found it to be in a dead hover or maybe a very slow drift. It appeared to be ~1/4 mi directly to the west, at an altitude of ~1000 to 2000 ft. At that point I really perked up. This thing was the size of a jumbo jet "parked" silently over high voltage power lines just north of a trailer park. As I looked closer, I could make out the shape of a black triangle that was more acute or narrow than an equilateral triangle. Also the lights were not conventional. To the best of my recollection there were red and bluish-white lights around the edges and what appeared to be red "tail lights". One feature that I remember without question is that their were two strobe lights positioned toward the rear, but not in the corners of the triangle. They strobed rapidly, in short flurries, and in perfect tandem. As I was traveling south and the object was traveling north, I pulled off at the next exit and got out of my car to look. I had traveled away from object at 70mph for a full 60 seconds and it was still roughly in the same position and only appeared slightly smaller in it's angular view. A jet would have moved on much farther north. I have never seen something so "out of place" and unusual in the sky in my life. I am a 34 yr. old college grad; married, father of two. I have a spotless reputation in my community. I am dying to know if anyone else saw this thing. There were cars on the interstate and people in the trailer park that this thing drifted over. My mind is still trying to come to grips with what my eyes witnessed. I should also mention that I have lived in the flight corridor for Hartsfield all of my life and conventional aircraft don't even register in my mind as noteworthy. I am an amateur astronomer and am well aquainted with celestial bodies and atmospheric phenomena. This was neither. I'm at a loss as to what this was. Feel free to contact me with questions.

Posted 2000-04-26