NUFORC Sighting 168354

Occurred: 2022-05-16 14:09 Local
Reported: 2022-05-16 14:07 Pacific
Duration: 4 seconds
No of observers: 1

Location: Corcoran, MN, USA
Location details: approximately 5,000 AGL, 3 miles due west of Corcoran City Hall

Shape: Rectangle

Elongated shiny, narrow, stationary with respect to the ground, that vanished after about five seconds.

Weather was sunny with only some small clouds in the far distance. Temperature about 70 degrees, surface winds about 5 to 10 mph. I was in a rural setting about two miles southwest of Corcoran City Hall. Object observed for about five seconds was long, narrow, and somewhat rectangular but irregular, about the size of a small general aviation aircraft I thought. But it seemed longer than that. It was longer than wide; its longitude was oriented east and west.

It seemed to be reflecting the sun, because I was looking to the north with the sun behind me to the south, and the object was north of me. Assuming it was the size of a small aircraft, I estimate that its altitude was between 5,000 and 8,000 feet AGL (I have student pilot experience). Based on all this, I estimate that it was about a mile or two north of me and therefore was about two to three miles directly west of our Corcoran city hall. That building is roughly one mile north of Highway 10 and County Road 116 in Corcoran.

What caught my attention was that the object was stationary with respect to the ground. (I immediately thought of my experience as a student pilot when my instructor slowed our fixed-wing Cessna aircraft enough so that the strong headwind kept the wings flying while our ground speed was near zero.)

Then after a few seconds, the object vanished. I assume it changed position, relative to my position, so that its reflection of the sun was no longer visible to me. But I thought it was odd that I could not see it again while I continued to intently scan that area with my eyes for almost another minute. Usually you can see an aircraft again after several seconds, especially if it is stationary! It seemed too large and narrow to be a flying drone, and I highly doubt I could see that level of detail of the International Space Station from the ground with the eye.

Posted 2022-06-22