1978: USAF witness 3 large craft in Mojave desert

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTING REPORT

Date: August, 1978

Sighting Time: 5:30 AM

Day/Night: Dawn

Location: Phelan, California

Urban or Rural: Very rural, high-desert area of the Mojave desert. Both George AFB (my destination and place of work) and Edwards AFB are in this area

Hynek Classification: ND

Duration: About 6 to 7 minutes

No. of Object(s): 3

Height & Speed:

Size of Object(s): About 1/2 inch between fingers at arms length. Given the distance between me and the craft I estimate that they must each have been at least the size of a very large blimp.

Distance to Object(s):

Shape of Object(s): Oval

Color of Object(s): Oval shaped with no distinctive features. The crafts emitted an extremely bright orange/yellow light evenly from their entire surface.

Number of Witnesses: Multiple

Source: UFOEvidence.org Original Source

Summary/Description: “Myself and other witnesses were F4-Phantom Weapons Control Technicians in the USAF. First large oval rises up from directly behind mountains due east from me. Motion is slow, floating like a blimp or balloon. Second identical object then began to rise just to the left of the first object. Third identical looking object then began to rise just to right of first object.”

Full Report

Driving from home in Wrightwood, CA to work at George AFB in a 2-door sedan with 2 co-workers eastbound on Hwy 18 between Sheep Creek Rd and Hwy 395 near Phelan, CA. Myself and other witnesses were F4-Phantom Weapons Control Technicians in the USAF. My eastbound view was of mountains on horizon with first glow of sunrise behind mountains.

Weather calm and completely clear. 1st large oval rises up from directly behind mountains due east from me. Motion is slow, floating like a blimp or balloon. At first I thought it was a large blimp with a mirror-like exterior reflecting the sunlight (sun was below the eastern horizon during the entire encounter), object was extremely bright, yet had a distinct oval outline. After rising a few degrees above mountains object stopped all motion. Total time to rise up was about 2 minutes. Second identical object then began to rise just to the left of the first object.

Second object moved identically to first, then stopped next to first at equal altitude. Third identical looking object then began to rise just to right of first object, at same slow rate, until it was at equal altitude with other 2 objects. All three objects remained still for about 2 more minutes. Very curious sight at this time, but all witnesses still thought objects were blimps. Right-most object then begins to rise slowly above others, stops completely, then moves from a complete stop to a point slightly above the horizon almost directly due south of us (visible out the right side of the car) in about 2 or 3 seconds then comes to a complete stop again. No acceleration or deceleration was apparent. Middle object then does exactly the same, stopping next to the other above the southern horizon. Third object then repeats the same exact maneuver.

When all 3 were stopped hovering next to each other then all 3 objects slowly descended towards the ground until disappearing on the southern horizon. Objects retained their extreme brightness throughout the entire encounter, even when in a position near the southern horizon where there was no sunlight to reflect in my direction. All witnesses agreed with each other not to speak of the sighting due both to fear of ridicule, and due to the fact that all of us were under orders to speak of any potential UFO sightings ONLY to our commanding officer (to my knowledge all AF personnel, including myself and the witnesses, at the time were required to sign a statement acknowledging the order upon enlisting in the AF).

Reported To: hbccufo.org and others
Location: Franklin, MA, USA
Age: 46