1999: Long, tube-like object with small lights flying behind

THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTING REPORT

On August 8, 1999, multiple witnesses at a bonfire on Makena Beach, Maui, observed a massive, translucent eight-sided tube-like object flying low and slow across the Hawaiian night sky. This report explores the “High Strangeness” of the event, including the object’s neon-lit outline and the darting lights that accompanied it, as well as the widespread reports from other islands like Kauai that suggest a massive, statewide aerial phenomenon.

Date: August 8, 1999

Sighting Time: 11:00 PM

Day/Night: Night

Location: Makena Beach, Maui, Hawaii

Urban or Rural: on a quiet dark Beach

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

Duration: 15 minutes or so

No. of Object(s):  Multiple

Size of Object(s): Huge long–outlined with light 6 sided shape

Distance to Object(s): No idea–but it seemed close…lower than an airplane would fly

Shape of Object(s):8 sided–elongated shape…with a break and then a short similar size shape closely behind

Color of Object(s): Lighted, and seemingly invisible on the inside of the lighted outline.

Number of Witnesses: Multiple

Source: UFOEvidence.org

Summary: “It was shaped like an eight-sided object—but long tube-like… there was a break in the object, and then there was a second (same 8 sided shape tube) closely behind it. As it passed I saw many darting lights flying around the end of the object. It seemed to be translucent… meaning we could see through it, but it had lights all along the six-sided shape”

Full Report

We were sitting on the beach with a fire, for mine and pals shared birthdays when I saw these lights headed towards Maui from the direction of Oahu. I thought they were headed towards the airport here on Maui, but these bright lights turned and headed along the Kihei beach, slowly.

It was shaped like an eight-sided object —but long tube-like. About 2/3rds along the length… there was a break in the object, and then there was a second (same 8 sided shape tube) closely behind it..didn’t look connected, but it could have been–and as it passed I saw many darting lights flying around the end of the object. There were the annual August meteor showers, and you could see them above this object. It seemed to be translucent..meaning we could see through it, but it had lights all along with the six-sided shape..outlined like. But I thought I could see stars through the long shape…It was like it was outlined in bright neon light, but you could see through it.

It was huge, and we all got really alert, and I was scared. I don’t scare easily.

It flew slowly in front of us–then turned left, and flew over the top of Haleakala…and then we heard later (from other people here on Maui) down the other side and then gone. The whole state was abuzz with this for a few days, then silence…except for those that we’re together. We call it “The Sighting”.

I had good friends having a bonfire directly up the mountain from where we were, and they saw the exact same thing.

I am an inter-Island sales rep–and a few days later..flying to Kauai, I met someone on the plane who said that they had seen the same thing on Kauai, and so did many others there.

At the opening of the Super Computer site (partial military) open house a few weeks later–I asked a representative from the LArge Telescope company–why they don’t admit that what we all saw here in Hawaii..was a UFO–after two short diverting answers to my repetitive questioning..he finally said..because the public couldn’t handle the news.

The second sighting in my life—-Many years earlier–on the backside of Maui–up in Kanaio, I was in a hot tub and laid my head back on the ledge of the tub–and saw three lights flying over the rim of the Haleakala Crater. They were blue lights. I watched them, as they traveled just over head…for a few minutes.then they all of a sudden turned RED and moved very very quickly forward, and then disappeared.

Witness Background: Small business owner, sales and marketing

Reported Sighting? Yes
Reported To: All of Hawaii was talking about it. Even the newspapers..mentioned it.
Location: Honolulu, HI, USA
Age: 51

The “Translucent” Mystery: A Technical Perspective

A defining characteristic of this sighting was the object’s eerie translucency, described by witnesses as being “outlined in bright neon light” yet allowing the stars above to remain visible through its central structure. This specific detail suggests a phenomenon often reported in “high strangeness” cases where an object appears to lack solid mass or employs a form of adaptive cloaking. Unlike a conventional solid aircraft, which would occult the background sky, this eight-sided tube appeared more like a projected holographic frame or a structured energy field. The presence of “many darting lights” swarming around the end of the craft further complicates the propulsion profile, suggesting a mother-ship configuration or a localized atmospheric disturbance that defies standard aerodynamic principles.

State-Wide Impact and the “Silence” Protocol

The event was not localized to Makena Beach; reports from Kauai and other islands indicate a massive, state-wide aerial phenomenon that “the whole state was abuzz with” before a sudden public silence took hold. The witness’s encounter with a representative from a large telescope company at a military-affiliated open house provides a rare glimpse into the unofficial handling of such events. When pressed on why the sighting wasn’t officially acknowledged as a UFO, the representative allegedly admitted that the decision was based on the belief that “the public couldn’t handle the news”. This admission, coupled with the object’s flight path over the sensitive Haleakala crater—home to advanced tracking and surveillance equipment—suggests that while the event was highly visible to the citizenry, it triggered a standard non-disclosure response from official channels.

Researcher Notes: The Makena Beach Sighting

These notes provide additional investigative context for the 1999 Hawaii case:

• Geographical Consistency: The object’s flight path—moving from Oahu toward Maui and then over the Haleakala Crater—is significant due to the crater’s hosting of advanced Department of Defense surveillance and tracking equipment.

• The “Holographic” Profile: The witness’s observation that the object was “outlined in light” yet “invisible on the inside” is a rare technical detail. In ufology, this often suggests a craft that is either bending light around its hull or is not entirely physical in our three-dimensional space.

• Official Evasion: The alleged admission by a Super Computer site representative that “the public couldn’t handle the news” aligns with a historical pattern of unofficial disclosure. This indicates that the event likely appeared on military or government radar despite the lack of a public press release.

• Historical Echoes: The secondary sighting described by the witness—blue lights over Kanaio that turned red before disappearing—suggests that Maui may be a persistent hotspot for anomalous aerial activity.

On August 8, 1999, the tranquil atmosphere of Makena Beach was interrupted by the appearance of a massive, translucent eight-sided tube that drifted silently through the night sky. Witnessed by multiple independent groups, the object defied conventional aerodynamics, appearing more as a neon-outlined energy field than a solid craft. Its slow, deliberate passage across the state, followed by its disappearance over the high peaks of Haleakala, left a lasting impact on those present, sparking a brief state-wide buzz that was soon met with an official wall of silence.

This encounter remains a compelling piece of Hawaiian ufology due to its combination of high-strangeness visual characteristics and the subsequent hints of official knowledge from military-adjacent technical staff. For the witnesses, the event remains simply “The Sighting”—a moment where the boundary between known reality and the unknown became as translucent as the craft they observed.