NUFORC Sighting 167443

Occurred: 2022-04-07 07:45 Local
Reported: 2022-04-08 18:00 Pacific
Duration: 30 minutes or so

Location: Mat-Su Valley Area, AK, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Left a trail

Falling Thing Over Mat-Su Valley Area

A white ball fell across the sky over Lazy Mountain around 7:45am. The trail it left lasted for a while. Photos started popping up on social media pretty quickly. In the photos you can clearly see a ball shaped object, BUT the police stated that it was some sort of commercial aircraft.

The police public safety report stated: "There have been no reports of overdue aircraft or ELT activations indicating an aircraft crash. A rescue team on a helicopter flew a mission around the Lazy Mountain area this morning and located nothing suspicious and there were no signs of crashed aircraft.

Further investigation revealed that a large commercial jet was flying in that area around the time that the photos and video were taken. The aircraft was contacted and reported normal flight operations on its way to JFK airport in New York. Troopers believe that the photos and videos showed a contrail from the commercial jet combined with the rising sun which together caused the unique atmospheric sight."

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2022/04/07/a-unique-atmospheric-sight-that-streaked-across-the-sky-over-palmer-draws-speculation-and-a-simple-explanation

https://dailydispatch.dps.alaska.gov/Home/DisplayAdvisory?id=53838

https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/video/2022/04/08/unique-sights-light-up-alaska-sky/

NOTE: I'm reporting this because it's big news up here. I did not see it in person. I currently run a big Alaska UFO group on facebook and this is the big thing right now. I just wanted to make sure you guys got a report with pictures and links. Looking at the photos (as the former MUFON State Director), it doesn't appear to be a commercial aircraft. It looks like a meteor or possibly space junk falling to Earth. I also want to note that earlier the same morning Poker Flat Research Range & NASA launched two rockets in an effort to study the aurora borealis. I did talk to them that day and they initially thought it might be something from their second rocket. Contact me if you need to.

Posted 2022-04-22