1976: Several witnesses view oval shaped object

THINK ABOUTIT SIGHTINGS REPORT

Date: December 6, 1976

Sighting Time: 9 p.m.

Day/Night: Night

Location: West Simi Valley, California

Urban or Rural:

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) Point or extended luminous source observed at night.

Duration: 45 mins.

No. of Object(s): 1

Size of Object(s):

Distance to Object(s): 3 1/2 miles

Shape of Object(s): Oval

Color of Object(s): red light on top and green on the bottom

Number of Witnesses: Multiple

Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 25 No. 6 (Dec. 1976)

Summary: “It sat in one place in midair for approximately 45 minutes. It had a red light on top and green on the bottom. The position of these lights changed. There was a very bright white light in the center.” All of the witnesses in this case were interviewed separately. All reported seeing the same type object as described. 

Full Report

Witnesses: Miss S.S. 17, Mr. B.D. 18, Mr. M.S. 16, Miss C.S. 19, Mrs. J.L. 41, Mr. R.L. 16; Date – September 6, 1976; Weather Conditions — Clear night, warm weather; Location — West Simi Valley, Ventura County, California.

On the evening of September 6, 1976, the above witnesses viewed an oval shaped object from their home in West Simi Valley.

Mrs. J.L. describes the object in her own words as follows:

“It sat in one place in midair for approximately 45 minutes (the sighting started at 9 P.M.). It had a red light on top and green on the bottom. The position of these lights changed. There was a very bright white light in the center. The red and green lights moved around this central light. It then moved straight to the left, up, and then back to its original position. (See diagram above). It kept moving in that pattern until approximately 11:15 P.M. The white light was much larger than the green or red. The shape seemed to be more round and not definite.”

Other observers mention:

“It moved at 90° angles too rapid for a plane.” Mr. B.D.

“The object appeared to be 3 1/2 miles away judging from the mountains in the background.” Miss S.S.

“The object wasn’t too large, airplanes and jets flying near it were bigger.” Mr. M.S.

The police department and the fire department were contacted by the witnesses. The fire department referred them to the Point Mugu Missile Range who in turn contacted a UFO group in Seattle, Washington. The witnesses were interviewed the following day over the phone. On September 7th, a similar type object was spotted at about the same time by Mr. B.D. who tried to follow it in his car and get some pictures. This was about the same time as the first sighting. The pictures never turned out, and the witnesses were unable to follow the object for very long, but did note that it repeated the same type movement as shown in the figure on the previous page.

All of the witnesses in this case were interviewed separately. All reported seeing the same type object as described. They seemed very concerned and were often at times confused as to how to describe what they saw in normal language. Because the object made such strange flight patterns in the sky, and because the witnesses seemed to be highly reasonable people and not given to exaggeration, their story is highly believable. Unfortunately, Point Mugu’s radar facilities do not pick up well in the Simi area below 3,500 ft. No other reports have been received from the witnesses to date, and this case remains unsolved.