NUFORC Sighting 1703

Occurred: 1996-12-11 17:15 Local
Reported: 1996-12-11 00:00 Pacific
Duration: 105 sec.
No of observers: 1

Location: Birmingham, AL, USA

Shape:

Caller was stopped at a red light on Highway 31, a major highway that goes through Alabama. He was in the City of Estadia, AL, at the time of the sighting.

He looked to the north, and suddenly noticed an object flying above the northern horizon. It was just a bright ball of fire with the speed of a "falling star."

The object just shot across the sky! The observer's impression was that it was a large object, perhaps the size of a Boeing 747.

The observer's first reaction was that it was a meteor, but it suddenly stopped, did a 180 degree turn, then shot back to the northwest, and suddenly disappeared. His impression was that the object had covered a distance of 20 miles in perhaps a very short period of time, measured in seconds.

After the object started back to the northwest, it accelerated, then slowed, and then regained speed. However, it accelerated very fast, not like an aircraft.

The observer pulled across the highway and went into a McDonald's Restaurante parking lot, where he sat for 3-4 minutes to see if the object would return.

Posted 1999-11-02