THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT
Date: June 8 1981
Sighting Time: 23:00
Day/Night: Night
Location: Adelaide South Australia
Urban or Rural: – Urban (The sighting occurred over the western suburb of Hindmarsh and headed toward the ocean).
No. of Entity(‘s):
Entity Type:
Entity Description:
Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) Point or extended luminous source observed at night.
Duration: Several minutes (Long enough to observe the formation, listen for engines, and watch them head out over the ocean).
No. of Object(s): 6
Height & Speed:
Size of Object(s):
Distance to Object(s): 900 feet (Estimated altitude directly above the witnesses).
Shape of Object(s): Round
Color/Description of Object(s): orange
Number of Witnesses: 3 (The narrator, another tenant, and the caretaker).
Source: National UFO Reporting Center
Summary/Description: I am 28 yrs old completed yr 10 in secondary school, I am employed as a builders labourer. I was aged 26 when the event occurred. I at the time was housed in a hostel in the western suburb of Hindmarsh, Adelaide South Australia. I consider myself as a reliable person when it comes to information around truth and hate time wasters otherwise I have better things to do with my time (vice/versa). My childhood was surrounded with the interest in aviation growing up spending my days at airfields and airshows (RAAF) around the area. I experienced all aspects of gliding with my father and took an interest in joining the airforce as a pilot (I did not but my brother did) nevertheless I still am a flying buff, and consider my aviation knowledge to be up to date and well trained. The night the event occurred most people in the lodge (of 40 people) were asleep.
Myself and one other were watching t.v alone in the main lounge for tenants and noticed the older more reputable caretaker walked outside for a cigarette after his evening duties. This was about 11 pm by our time. We were in the midst of a cold winter. All of the sudden he came in (scared and excited) saying in an impatient tone “it must be armageddon or something quick come, look” then he hurriedly ushered us both outside. On stepping outside into the dense cold night air one could see the sky was void of any cloud cover and city pollution was very minimal. The stars were brilliant against the sky but it was hard not to notice the six round orange glowing balls in the north eastern sky travelling in a south westerly direction (from the Adelaide hills towards the ocean). To the eye they were about 900 feet above ground level cruising at about 170 knots. They were flying in formation with one in the lead and the rest in a tight zig-zag formation behind that one.
It was more than one anomaly as you could see the stars between the distance of the craft. I was drawing off of my flight knowledge listening for engine sounds (none). O.k I thought port and starboard strobe lights (none). Well we were used to air traffic in the vicinity as many airbuses came in to land at Adelaide International Airport and we were often underneath these craft as they did their final approach in to land (quite some noise whether you were in or outdoors) but these craft did not descend altitude, nor did they have any landing lights that are quite visible amongst all the other indication devices and should have well and truly been on as the strip was only two suburbs over. Also these objects were slightly smaller (about 1/3 the size of a jumbo) and only defense craft I know of land in formation that close together if that.
But again the Air Force Base Edinburgh was on the outskirts of the city and they’re mainly flying P3Cs Orions and occasionally C-130 Hercules out of there, perhaps fighter jets like the F/A 18 Hornets and F 111s would come in for airshows and major Adelaide events, which there were none at the time. These objects although their formation was like a straight zig-zag pattern were moving forward but in a diagonally across motion. Also we noticed as we tried to talk amongst ourselves rationalising with the event at hand that in sequential order beginning with the lead craft the glowing orange (amber) light grew then returned to size then the second craft would do it and so on (almost like throbbing or pulsing). These craft continued at that height and speed instead of descending down to land kept going until out over the ocean and ascended rapidly out of sight leaving three men in awe. Now a thought entered my head: how could these craft fly directly over international landing space, not land, and at that altitude be within any aviation safety standard where civil airbuses are concerned? Why didn’t they land when encroaching that air space as that’s what that final approach was used for (landing)? More so, where was any strobe lights to alert any other aircraft in that area to their presence (as it was in the vicinity of the airport)? There was no sound which is always imminent from any single craft going over at that or greater heights to us and yet 6 craft and not one sound.
We discussed that they may have been hot air balloons1 but hot air balloons keeping perfect distance apart, a constant bright flame, no igniting noise common with balloons when they give it a blast (we thought to do2 with the pulsing effect). At 11pm on a very cold winters night (who’s that brave to be up there in those elements?) and these craft we3re heading out south west to over the ocean but all the sea breeze was coming 4in off the ocean north easterly over the city, and the fact that they were still over airbus lanes (hot air balloons would more likely land at Parafield Airport more north of our position, that’s used for more light aircraft use). There was5 no news around the time of this sighting to indicate any shows or events in Adelaide that are well publicised all the time (such as the presence of ballo6ons or fighter craft). Hot air balloons fabric (normally pear shaped) light up like chinese lanterns at night; these did not look that way at all as I have witness7ed balloons firing up at night. So all in all three grown rational adults couldn’t identify these craft with all our knowledge put together. I did call the airport8 tower from a telephone box and subtly enquired whether any craft had been in the area without telling them what i’d seen and they confirmed there was no air traffic in9 the area around then civil or defense, and this was promptly after the sighting. Makes me wonder why these craft were so obvious yet so unknown. I am goi10ng to invest in a decent video camera in the case of any future events that may arise…
Researcher’s Notes: Aviation Expertise and the Amber Orb Phenomenon
The Adelaide sighting is particularly credible due to the primary witness’s extensive background in aviation and RAAF airshows:
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Elimination of Conventional Aircraft: The witness systematically ruled out commercial and military aircraft based on the lack of engine noise, the absence of standard port/starboard strobe lights, and the proximity to Adelaide International Airport. At an altitude of 900 feet, any conventional propulsion system would have been deafening to observers on the ground.
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Flight Dynamics: The “tight zig-zag formation” and the ability to maintain a constant 170 knots while performing sequential pulsing maneuvers defy the aerodynamic capabilities of hot air balloons. Balloons are subject to wind currents, which at the time were blowing in the opposite direction (from the ocean toward the hills).
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The “Amber Pulse” Effect: The description of the orange/amber glow growing and returning to size in sequential order is a classic Nocturnal Light (NL) characteristic. This suggests a synchronized propulsion or communication system between the six distinct objects.
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Air Traffic Control Discrepancy: The fact that the Airport Tower confirmed no air traffic shortly after the objects flew through an active international landing lane indicates these objects were either stealthy to radar or operating outside conventional transponder requirements.
The June 8, 1981 encounter over Adelaide stands as one of South Australia’s most compelling multi-witness cases. The observation by three adult men—including a caretaker and a flying enthusiast—of six silent, pulsing spheres provides a high-quality data point for researchers of the Nocturnal Light phenomenon.
While many sightings are easily explained by weather balloons or atmospheric optics, the Adelaide spheres displayed intelligent control and a blatant disregard for established civil aviation safety standards. Their rapid ascent out over the ocean marks the end of a precise, low-altitude flyover that remains unidentified to this day, leaving a lasting impression on those who watched the amber lights disappear into the winter night.
