Background

This case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on August 3, 2018. It was assigned to investigator Paul Wright for analysis and investigation.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following report:

“Went outside to leave for work and looked up and their it was.”

The Evidence

The witness submitted the following video with their short testimony above. It is offered here, unedited:

The Analysis

By Paul Wright, TBV Investigations

Using just the video evidence and no further contact with the witness since initial report submission, I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with the witness statement.

The footage provided makes it difficult to ascertain direction, height, speed or reference for scale. 

My first approach was to scan the metadata contained within the video, all seems ok and intact.

The video shows a cluster of white and red lights with a flashing sequence. In my opinion they closely resemble aircraft lights and if you listen carefully you can hear some aircraft engine noise. The light formation and flashing sequence indicate landing / takeoff lights. 

See images below sourced from http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/electronics/q0263.shtml for the layout of lights on a commercial aircraft.

Example photograph of Boeing 737 showing common types of lights placed on aircraft sourced from http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/electronics/q0263.shtml

Google Maps was used to locate the witness sighting position, and to search the local area for airports.

Stellarium was used for the night sky date of 08/02/2018 5:00 AM to check for celestial objects. Direction of sighting unknown, therefore N,E,S,W images are included. See images below.

Weather for Springfield as 08/02/2018 5:00 AM – link here to Wunderground Belfontaine Weather Station
https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/oh/bellefontaine/KEDJ/date/2018-8-2

Flight Radar historical data could be used in this case, however the direction of the sighting is unknown.

Conclusion

Based on the witness description and video evidence, I am inclined to say this is likely an aircraft either in approach to land or climbing after takeoff from one of the airports around Springfield, Ohio. 

Additional Information

Meta Data

The post UFO over Springfield, Ohio – August 2, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Springfield, Ohio – August 2, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

This case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on 09/20/2018 7:42 pm. It was assigned to investigator Paul Wright for analysis and investigation.

Witness Testimony

The witness submitted the following original report:

“I went to my patio door to let my cat in when I looked up to the west and saw what I first thought was a satellite, or a large bright star. As I watched it, it occurred to me that if it was a satellite then why is it still, so just guessed it was a star but was way too bright? Then as I was thinking this it started moving to the SW I suddenly got a bit scared so I rushed back in and got my mobile phone and followed the bright light, some of the movements are me moving the phone to fallow as it was pretty fast, there was also a airplane in the distance coming in on the South, this object made no noise and had no flashing lights on it, I did wonder if it was the space station but it was way too low for that and don’t know if it would have passed over our house. It then went East 85’0 into a cloud? But there were no clouds SW when I first saw the object it was very clear in that area and a few stars out. Sorry for the delay but your email went into my junk mail. Thank you for getting back to me. Kind regards Andrea”

Additional information received via email on 09/28/2018 9:26 pm 

“Hi Paul 
thank you for getting back to me, when I went out the patio door I first saw the object light in the W my door faces SW .
what a saw was a very bright large light couldn’t say it had a shape it was just very bright. It was very clear with lots of stars , that’s when at first I thought it was a star it was stationary but after a few seconds it started to move heading east, so I followed the bright object and it went into what was a cloud I would say maybe north east , I stopped filming but it didn’t come out and the cloud eventually went? I must say I was very shocked and disappointed that it didn’t reappear. My husband was working away and there was only me in the house, I don’t know if anyone else in our area saw anything? The air temperature I was not aware of I was in shock really, I was outside in the garden following the object so in clear view. Kind regards Andrea”

Additional information received via email on: 09/28/2018 9:35 pm

“Hi Paul 
forget to describe the cloud it was a creamy white almond color I would have said it was almost like a oval shape or kinda pear shape, you couldn’t see in the video because my camera wouldn’t see because of the dark same for the stars that were out as well, I have been out most evening since trying to see if it comes again. If you need anymore information please ask.
with kind regards 
Andrea”

Additional information received via email on 10/03/2018 11:01 am

“Hi Paul
yes that’s just as I saw the bright object, I also forgot to say my phone can’t video stars ? I have been out and tried it’s always to dark for my phone must be the exposure, that’s how bright the object was.
kind regards  Andre”

Additional information received via email on 10/03/2018 11:14 am

“Hi Paul 
just re-watched my footage and was not aware that night of it being windy ? But it clearly was at that moment and by the end of the sighting when it’s gone into the cloud the wind drops? Just a thought…
kind regards 
Andrea”

Additional information received via email on 10/03/2018 2:11 pm  

“Hi Paul 
yes I had to follow the bright object starting from the west when I first spotted it, I wasn’t aware of anything like dust or debris , i have re-watched the video and I am sure the hedge in the garden is swaying , if you look as I am following the light with my phone it’s SE the object goes out of view because this is a very tall hedge and then we see it again before it goes into the cloud. The main road that passes through our housing area is one block away to the front and the back of our house, hope this makes sense? If you go on google maps you can see where I am and what I mean (REMOVED) England. Hope I have answered your question. 
kind regards 
Andrea”

The Evidence

The witness submitted the following video for analysis.

The Analysis

By Paul Wright, TBV Investigations

I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with the witness video and statement.

I have created 2 images based on the witness’s testimony, (created using the multiple email replies above) that lead up to the ‘start’ of the video footage recorded by the witness. Please note that the video does not contain stars in contrast to visuals.

Stellarium was used for the night sky around the Chesterfield area on 07/29/2018 11:00 PM

There were satellite trajectories in the witness’s field of view, however its difficult to confirm whether they were visible to the naked eye at that time.

I checked the meta data in the video file and noticed the creation date was 20/09/2018 at 18:33 and not 07/29/2018 11:00 PM

Weather at time of sighting sourced from Time and Date 07/29/2018 11:00 PM 

Google maps revealed 3 airports close by.

Conclusion

Based on the witness description and video, without further sufficient evidence I am unable to make a solid conclusion. Looking at the witness’s video it’s difficult to determine the movement of the light and the movement caused by the witness. Therefore I speculate this is most likely a commercial aircraft, however unable to determine.

The post UFO over Chesterfield, England – July 29, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Chesterfield, England – July 29, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted by witness John to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on 07/03/2018 at 1:42 am and was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Jim Kerr for investigation and analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following testimony was submitted by the witness:

“It was a cloudy Monday; I was going to take a break outside, when I spotted a light in the sky that moved, I took the opportunity to film it and take photos on the object. It moved before disappearing, disproving that it’s a meteor or asteroids. It had to be a UFO.

The photo and the video was taken in Ronneby, Blekinge County, Sweden.”

Witness Interview Conducted by Email on 08/15/2018 @ 11:52 pm

Q: What make, and model of camera or cell phone camera did you record the video and still photo?

A: I filmed the sighting with my Huawei Honor 8 lite, which had a built-in star track.

Q: Do you have additional still photos you can forward?

A: I didn’t have time to change the camera mode, because if I changed it, the object would’ve disappeared.
     I took a video so that It wouldn’t look like any star.

Q: What was the approx compass direction you were facing while filming?

A: I was facing southeast at 140°.

Q:  In your video, it appears you are inside a building behind a glass window, possibly inside a restaurant or store with the ambient sounds of conversations. The window is visible in front of the camera lens. Please set the stage as to what you were doing just before filming the UFO?

A: I was in my apartment, watching television, I wanted to take a look at the night sky, which is often. So I went to my window and noticed the object up there (it was shaped like a flying saucer, but for some reason, it was bright for my camera), but the camera didn’t capture the object in good quality, it was too bright for my camera.

Q: What drew your attention to this object?

A: The fact that it was moving, and that it didn’t resemble any known aircraft in Sweden, drew me into it.

Q:  Approx how long did you observe the object before filming?

A: I observed it for a full minute.

Q: Before your sighting did you have an interest in the UFO topic?

A: Yes, I had (and still have) an interest in the topic of UFOs.

Q: Is this the first UFO sighting you ever had?

A: Yes, this is my first UFO sighting.

Q:  Have you seen any UFO’s since this incident?

A: Yes mate, I did encounter another UFO at the same location before this incident.

Q: Were there other people in your presence that also observed this UFO? If so, describe their reactions or any statements they made. I don’t need their names.

A: There weren’t any people outside during that time.

Q: Just before or even days before seeing this UFO were you engaged in conversation with anyone about the topic of UFO’s? Note; (In many sightings witnesses were engaged in conversation about UFO’s before their sighting).

A: Check the above answer.

Q: If you were in a restaurant or business, please provide the name of the establishment or the cross streets of this location. Note; (this is important to eliminate any air traffic of flight patterns from local airports).

A: I wasn’t in a restaurant during that time, I was in my home.

The Evidence

The witness submitted two forms of visual evidence. A seven-second video clip with audio and a still photograph. Both were recorded using a Huawei Honor 8 lite cell phone.

The Analysis

by Jim Kerr, TBV Investigations

My Background as a UFO investigator began in 1973 after witnessing two illuminated disk-like objects that hovered, made right angle turns at high speed then ascended into the atmosphere at unbelievable speeds. In one sighting three USAF F-4 fighter jets arrived on the scene after the UFO shot up into the atmosphere. Since that time I became an amateur photographer, videographer and astronomer. Over the years I have archived many hours of video footage of jet aircraft during daylight and night in different weather and lighting conditions. Based on my experience I am aware of how aircraft in different lighting conditions can appear as a UFO, flying saucer, etc. Even in my photos and video, I captured objects that I initially believed were UFO’s, but after carefully analyzing the images with video editing software I determined them to be aircraft, birds, balloons, bugs, etc. Always keep in mind that even with the human eye can deceive us.

On 12/11/2017 at approx 2:00 pm Witness John related he went outside to take a break and observed a light in the sky that was moving. Using his cell phone, he took photos and video of the illuminated object before it disappeared. The witness believed it was not a meteor or asteroid and must have been a UFO.

On 08/15/2018, I conducted an email interview with the witness; There are minor inconsistencies from his original statement but nothing that affects the visual evidence presented in the photo and video submitted. Due to the passage of time, it is understandable that statement inconsistencies will occur. Refer to the witness’ statements under “Witness Testimony.”

Below is one witness statement that I will elaborate on later in my conclusions.

“I was in my apartment, watching television, I wanted to take a look at the night sky, which is often. So I went to my window and noticed the object up there (it was shaped like a flying saucer, but for some reason, it was bright for my camera), but the camera didn’t capture the object in good quality, it was too bright for my camera.”

I don’t know the witness’ exact location while filming within the city of Ronneby as he seemed reluctant to provide this information. Due to this, I am unable to determine his exact location while filming and his distance from the Ronneby Airport. Again, with the witness submitting photo and video, his location is not necessary to identify the object he filmed. Here is my analysis of that evidence:

Weather Information

Weather history searched on the weather website wunderground. The weather station is located at the Ronneby Air Base, Sweden.

Weather conditions at the time of the witness’ sighting; 34 deg, humidity 93%, wind 9 mph out of the NE, and mostly cloudy.

High temp 37 deg, low temp 29 deg, precipitation 0.24 inches, dew point 31 deg, average wind speed 12 mph, visibility 19 miles.

Surrounding Airports

Ronneby Airport is located approx 2.5 miles from Ronneby, Sweden. It is the 6th largest airport in Sweden and considered a Minor International Airport that handles approx 226,995 passengers per year. On the average, there are approx 16 incoming and outgoing flights per day.

Surrounding Military Installations

Blekinge Flygflottilj F17 Swedish Air Force Base, simply known as “F 17”, is located approx 0.62 miles from the Ronneby Airport. The base currently houses two squadrons of the multirole aircraft. A wing of the Swedish helicopter forces is also stationed at F17.

Additional information about Blekinge Flygflottilj F17:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_17_Kallinge

Astronomical Data

Searching the archives of Stellarium, (a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars), I found no celestial objects that could remotely account for what the witness observed. Below is historical astronomical data from Weather-Underground.

Summary and Conclusion

Based on the following I determined the illuminated object in the witness’ photo and video to be landing lights of an aircraft on approach to the Roddeby Airport. I used Sony Vegas video editing software to enlarge the object and adjusted the lighting and contrast in both the photo and video footage. The speed of the object along with it’s straight, steady flight path is consistent with aircraft on approach to an airport. The Ronneby Airport is located 2.5 miles from the town of Ronneby.

In my video analysis of the witness’ video, (see video analysis above), the aircraft’s white strobe light can be seen flashing intermittently within the brilliant landing lights. This is evident in the witness’ video footage. As an example, I videoed an aircraft at night with it’s landing light turned on. My footage also shows the intermittent flashing of the aircraft’s white strobe light that can be seen within the brilliant landing light. Both the witness’s video and my video are similar enough to conclude aircraft landing lights were what the witness observed, videoed and photographed.  

The witness made the statement;  “It was shaped like a flying saucer, but for some reason, it was bright for my camera, but the camera didn’t capture the object in good quality, it was too bright for my camera.” Based on my video analysis, adjusting the lighting and contrast, I observed no flying saucer associated with the aircraft landing lights. I have personally observed and videoed aircraft landing lights and as I stated earlier, they can be deceiving and can appear saucer-like in shape. Keep in mind that aircraft in the different light setting are often mistaken for Flying Saucers. Watch the analyzed video below for further details.

I want to thank the witness for sending TBV Investigations his UFO report and visual evidence. I hope this investigation will provide answers to those who witness lights in the sky and help identify UFO’s, Unidentified Flying Objects.

The post UFO over Ronneby, Blekinge County, Sweden – December 11, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Ronneby, Blekinge County, Sweden – December 11, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

This case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on 06/11/2018 4:26 am. It was assigned to investigator Paul Wright for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following was submitted by the witness:

“On the night of May 30th, 2018, I was driving home from the gym with my wife and we saw a bright light in the sky that initially we thought was the moon. It was really far away and very high in the sky. We then saw the object coming closer at a fast rate of speed and was rapidly descending. It was big and definitely was not a plane. The size, speed, and flight path of the object also made it highly unlikely to be a drone. It was big and was really fast. We then realized it was not the moon. It had three very bright flashing lights. my wife got out her phone and tried to record it. As she started to record, it disappeared and went dark. A few seconds later it reappeared and that is where our video picks up. It changed flight patterns a few times and then sped off behind us and out of sight. There was a car behind us, so I was unable to turn around and follow it. The lights were very bright and it seemed to hover a few times before it sped off. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.”

The Evidence

The following video was submitted by the witness for analysis:

The Analysis

By Paul Wright, TBV Investigations

I will attempt to identify what the witnesses observed based on the following facts along with witness statements. (including video) I created a visual representation based on the witness’ testimony.

Note: *Witness has not responded to emails to clarify any details or errors etc with the image*

Based on the video evidence it is difficult to make a clear assesment on what the lights are. 

My first approach was to scan the metadata contained within the video which contradicts the date and time of the sighting.  Perhaps the cell phone was incorrectly setup or time zone related, but it is something that needs to be pointed out.

1) The footage provided makes it difficult to ascertain direction, height, speed or reference for scale.

2) I researched the local area around route 355 and discovered a number of gyms as the witness mentioned they were returning from one (but which one?) I have indicated on the map route 355 which the witnessed traveled along but its unknown at which position along route 355 the witness was.

3) I researched the local area around route 355 and discovered a number of airports and have indicated on the map route 355 in relation to surrounding airports.

4) The 3 lights visible in the video appear to resemble taxi or landing lights possibly from Boeing 7777 or aircraft that have that particular configuration. Original image sourced from metabunk.org on this similar topic of light clusters.

Researching Stellarium for known celestial objects on 30-05-2018 @ 22:00 revealed multiple celestial objects in the sky, however it would be difficult to speculate what was visible by eye at that time due to the weather and other atmospheric conditions during the sighting.

Weather for sighting 30/05/2018 at 22:00

Source: https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/md/gaithersburg/KGAI/date/2018-5-30

Conclusion

Based on the witness description (as of this report 28/08/2018) and video, without further sufficient evidence or details prior to the video I am unable to make a solid conclusion, but believe this is most likely a commercial aircraft on approach or take off from nearby airports.  

Flight Radar historical data could be used to research flights along route 355, but without the location of the witness during the sighting no further progress can be made.

The post UFO over Clarksburg, Maryland – May 30, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Clarksburg, Maryland – May 30, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault’s UFO reporting hotline. It was assigned to TBV Investigator Monica Salazar for investigation and analysis.

The Analysis

by Monica Salazar, TBV Investigations

When I spoke to the witness on the phone she seemed completely baffled by what she had witnessed that night. To this day she still cannot believe it. The witness states that she saw a formation of lights in the sky that seemed to connect one giant object. In her own words, she described it as, “bigger than a few football fields.”

All in a straight formation headed out into the beach. She states that the lights lit up one by one in a very symmetrical way with the perfect distance between each other traveling at a low speed. Once the 5^th light lit up in view they all zoomed out at a drastic speed.

The witness was unable to capture any video or photographic evidence however she does state that her sister in law was there with her and she saw the incident as well, however was not able to capture any sort of photo or video evidence either.

During this UFO sighting, the Myrtle Beach Event Roundup, held from, July 7-18, 2018, took place. However, looking at the calendar of events, there does not appear to be any connection, at least none listed on the events page.

A month prior to this case, the U.S Army Golden Knights Parachute team parachuted down Myrtle Beach with Flares. If someone didn’t know about this event they could have easily been mistaken as UFOs since the parachute team was performing with flares that looked like orbs floating in the sky zooming in and out of each other. A video is below, though there does not appear to be any connection to this by the date. 

Source: https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article212426054.html

The witness describes the orbs in a completely different way, though. Still as an investigator I wanted to add the Army light performance, to show how it could easily be mistaken.

Conclusion

I was able to communicate with the witness via phone and I can definitely tell she was so astonished by what she saw that she still can’t believe it. She did state that she is the “biggest skeptic in the world” and this incident has shed new light in her views on the subject of supernatural anomalies.

Of course it is difficult to have a good analysis without the proper evidence, and in this case without any sort of solid evidence it is challenging to decide whether or not this was an actual unidentified object or a case of mistaken identity with a plane or a natural “trick of the light.”

The one thing that for sure cannot be misread is the fact that the witness seemed completely thrown aback by the incident. In her own words she “had never seen something so massive.”

A witness testimony and, more often than not, emotion always play a part when trying to decide the fate of a case.

Since this case was lacking photographic and/or video evidence, and since the U.S. Army Knights Parachute Team was in the area just a month prior, I would classify as Unresolved/ Inconclusive due to lack of evidence.

The post UFOs over North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – July 9th, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFOs over North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – July 9th, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on March 17, 2018, the day of the sighting.  It was assigned to Michael Kelly for analysis.

Witness Testimony

The following testimony was submitted by the witness:

“At 0559 3/17/18 I witnessed a large object shaped similar to the space shuttle but much larger enter the atmosphere. At first I thought I was looking at a falling star. I watched and waited for it to disappear but instead it turned bright orange and grew larger and brighter. I started to see a trail of orange sparks behind it. I lost it when it went behind a house. it was still night it was going towards the coast. it lasted 20/30 seconds i was alone, on my morning walk no photos, i didn’t have time to get my phone out I don’t know what this was. I just don’t think it was a plane because I couldn’t find anything about a plane crash on the news.”

The Analysis

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

The description of the object getting larger and brighter as well as shooting off sparks is consistent with an object entering the atmosphere from space. The most likely scenario of an object entering the atmosphere would be a meteor, but other possibilities are satellites or similar artificial objects.

One likely possibility is a piece of the Chinese Tiangong-1 Space Station which crashed to Earth a few weeks after the witness made the sighting. This object broke into pieces and orbited the Earth a few times before crashing down on March 28th in the Pacific Ocean.

It is possible a piece of the space station entered the atmosphere before that date.

Below is a video of the space station as it enters the atmosphere, for reference:

Additional Information:  https://www.space.com/40101-china-space-station-tiangong-1-crashes.html 

As early as January of 2018 USA Today reported that the space station and its debris would likely fall to earth beginning in March, most likely between 43 degrees North and 43 degrees South latitudes. Bakersfield, CA lies at 35.3733° N latitude, so it is not inconceivable that some of the debris from this space station could have been visible from Bakersfield.

Conclusion

Without more information, this object is difficult to identify exactly, but it is almost certainly a meteor or man-made satellite of some kind. It was undoubtedly an object entering Earth’s atmosphere from space, so the possibilities for what the object could be have to exclude anything incapable of being in space like an airplane or hot air balloon.

My best guess is that the object witnessed by the observer was a piece of the Tiangong-1 Space Station.

The post UFO seen over Bakersfield, California – March 17, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO seen over Bakersfield, California – March 17, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

On March 22^nd, 2018 around 10:30 PM in Tully, NY an object was witnessed in the sky above the cemetery next to Doody’s Garage.  It was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations the same evening by the witness.

The case was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Michael Kelly. 

Witness Testimony

“I was driving down the street, I was heading in to work, as I was driving I saw a white light go across the windshield in the sky, and did an “S” maneuver, then disappeared. It’s currently winter in Tully, it was not a plane or a helicopter, and it was not a firework or a flare. I pulled over and scanned the sky but saw nothing other than stars. We were probably about 1/4 mile from the light, we had our windows up so we didn’t hear anything and we saw no structure behind the light. The light was circular, no change other than when it disappeared, my buddy who was driving with me saw it too. There was no one else around, and I’ve never heard of stories or rumors of the area.”

The Analysis

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

This object displayed unusual flight patterns, doing an “S” maneuver and disappearing, which suggests that it was not a normal aircraft. The witness did not think it was a plane or helicopter, so based on his own observation this would be classified as unidentified.

It is possible that the object was further away than originally thought, and if that were the case, this may have been a traditional aircraft of some kind. There are three airports within 10 miles of Tully, so the pedestrian explanation for this observation is that this object was merely a craft operating out of one of these airports.

It should also be noted that there is a Hang Gliding Launch less than 5 miles from Tully.

Conclusion

There is not enough data to make a definitive conclusion about this case. The fact that the observer did not think this object was identifiable should be taken seriously. If one were to lean toward a skeptical explanation, the most likely account is that the observer witnessed a hang glider. This would account for the lack of sound, the bizarre “S” shaped maneuver (caused by high winds?), and the unusual lighting.

We document this case here for cross-referencing purposes.

The post UFO over Tully, New York – March 22, 2018 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Tully, New York – March 22, 2018 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

This case came through the TBV Investigations UFO Report Form. It was assigned to TBV Investigations researcher Michael Glenn. 

Upon reading the account this investigator asked for more specific details, and at this time none have been forthcoming from the witness. After one month, we have closed the case due to insufficient contact, and insufficient evidence to make a viable conclusion. 

Witness Testimony

“At first I thought it was a weather balloon in the sky. It looked shiny, clear and kinda metallic completely round. Then like a moon eclipsing it started to disappear slowly. Then in the blink of an eye it was gone. 30 seconds later it reappeared and did the same eclipsing disappearing thing. It did not appear again. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it definitely felt not of this world.”

Conclusion

Not enough data to draw a conclusion, nor to validate the event.

Possible causes for the event would only be speculative. 

The post UFO over Highway 55 and County Road 116 in Hamel, Minnesota first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Highway 55 and County Road 116 in Hamel, Minnesota appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following UFO report was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 19, 2017.  It was assigned to Jeremy Enfinger, TBV Investigations. 

Witness Testimony

The following was the original report submitted by the witness:

“On estimated date of Aug 5, 2008, at 4:05 AM, I walked onto the front porch to get some fresh air. Sitting at the East bannister and looking directly over my porch portico at about a 60 degree angle-from-horizontal to the West, I observed a circle of light grow from a pinpoint to about the size of a quarter held at arms length in the span of around three seconds.

The light was bright but did not hurt my eyes. I glanced quickly to my right and saw shadows from bushes barely visible on the ground from the bright light. It was still dark and no moon was visible from my position. The bright ring of light blinked out and I could see a pinpoint of light in the center of what-had-been the circle of light that appeared to be as bright as a magnitude three star.

It was stationary for approximately 5-8 seconds, then began moving in a South-Westerly direction, gaining speed until it shot out of sight faster than the eye could follow. From start to finish the sighting seemed to last about three-to-four minutes.

Note: the date and time is only an estimation, with the time being more accurate; I did not write the date and time down after the observation.”

The Analysis

Additional dialogue with the witness indicated the exact date and time were not remembered. The morning light was not yet visible at the time of the sighting, and no moon reflection was appreciated. The object was witnessed WNW of Oak Hill, West Virginia.

Since the sighting was reported to be on or around August 5, 2008. the National UFO Reporting Center was referenced for reports near that time. Although no exact matches were identified, the following three reports possessed similar appearances, though the exact times/locations were subject to some inconsistencies:

• “UFO or some sort of object flying over Oak Hill, WV” – reported 9/23/08 at 0830
• “Unidentified object appeared to be following contrail of jet airplane” – reported 9/18/08 at 1840 (doesn’t match the time of day, and location is North of you, but witness does not specify direction seen)
• “UFO vanishes within seconds after observing for 10 minutes upon aircraft approach!” – reported 8/13/08 at 0040 (reported about 30 miles from you in Summersville, but they do not specify direction seen)

Two airports in the Northwest direction from the witness’s location during the sighting exist. Island airport is the closest near the direction the object was visualized, followed by Yeager airport, home to 130th Airlift Wing of the West Virginia Air National Guard (composed primarily of C-130s).

Witness testimony indicated no moonlight was visible during the sighting, and while the date and time were estimated, the position of the moon could be verified on the estimated date at 4.61 degrees South (latitude) and it was in Waxing Crescent Moon phase, illuminating 18%, which would explain the lack of visibility by the witness.

Possible Explanations

Due to the proximity of the airports and their locations in comparison to the witness’s vantage point, commercial aircraft and/or military aircraft must be considered.However, the rate of speed observed by the witness would not indicate aircraft known to the public.

Conclusion

Stars, planets, satellites and the International Space Station can be ruled out due to the changing position of the object from being stationary to accelerating at high speeds.

The object remains to be unidentified.

However, due to the amount of time that has elapsed since the event, the estimation of date and time of the sighting, and the lack of visual evidence, this case holds no “conclusion” and is archived here for reference or for possible future corroborating witness testimony.

The post UFO over Oak Hill, West Virginia – Approximately 2008 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Oak Hill, West Virginia – Approximately 2008 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 18, 2017.  

Witness Testimony

I live in a separate building from the main house at this address. I was walking towards the west after taking out the trash, and I saw a shooting star directly above the main house. It went straight down, which was weird, and it lasted longer than a typical shooting star.

But what was really weird was that its trajectory changed and it appeared to curve towards the west (away from me) at a practically 90 degree angle until it disappeared. The whole experience lasted only a few seconds. It was just a light streak like a shooting star (I’ve seen several shooting stars in person).

The Analysis

Based on the witness description, a 90 degree turn would rule out a shooting star. 

Satellite’s do “turn” as they move with the curvature of the Earth, but that could be ruled out as well with a 90 degree angle.

Conclusion

Without further evidence, in the form of a photograph or video, it is hard to determine the actual identity of the UFO.  

If any other witnesses may have seen something in this area — please — Report a UFO to TBV Investigations.

The post UFO over Schriever, Louisiana – November 27, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Schriever, Louisiana – November 27, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 18th, 2017. It was assigned to TBV Investigations team member Rob Mercer for investigation.

Witness Testimony

“The photo attached is not of that day, just used to illustrate event. Also, lighting would be later in the afternoon, late afternoon coming from the right side, West, of photo (4:30-5pm, not noon as depicted in the photo)

I had stepped off my father’s porch to smoke a cigarette and turned towards the porch, (looking South), where my grandson & father were sitting, when I looked up to the sky above the horizon of the house and seen what at first, I thought were three geese flying in a circle and thought to myself that they were extremely high in the sky to be geese.

I called out to my father to come and see, and as he was stepping off the porch towards me the ‘geese’ tightened into a smaller circle until it became an oval shaped shiny ‘craft’ almost in an instant it then flew off towards the West, where the sun was lowering at this time of day.

It went across the sky quicker than anything I have ever seen anything move in the sky. My father hadn’t even made it off the porch when all that had happened, it all happened almost in an instant from the time I first seen the ‘geese like’ objects.”

Witness Sketch

The witness provided the following depiction of where the sighting took place, and what happened:

The Analysis

I spoke with the witness by telephone. She reported that the weather was clear. While looking south, high in the sky she noticed three small “geese like” objects circling slowly in the sky. They tightened into a smaller circle and became one as a shiny oval shaped craft. The object then shot off towards the west, size and distance were unknown. She stated that she has lived in the area near the airports for 40 years and is quite familiar with airplanes. 

The National UFO Reporting Center showed a report in their database from September 9, 2007 of a round blueish object near Antelope, Ca. at 9:30pm.

The object came from the west making two 90 degree turns and hovered at about 2500’.

The witness stated that this could have been the day of her event, and related.

No other reports were found.

Conclusion

Given the age of this report and lack of an exact date, this case is difficult research and conclude. For now, it is being recorded in the database as a historical case for information only.

The post UFO Sighting over West Sacramento, California – September 10, 2007 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Sighting over West Sacramento, California – September 10, 2007 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

by Michael Kelly, TBV Investigations

On December 19, 2017, Ronald Male submitted the following UFO sighting to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations, which he witnessed from his driveway in Cazenovia, New York. The event occurred on July 19, 2006 at 10:30am:

I brought my breakfast (bowl of cereal) outdoors to eat while sitting in my spring chair to be in the sun in the driveway on a very nice morning. As usual, the chair took a moment to stabilize, and when it stopped the back and forth rocking motion I was able to eat without a problem. As I leaned back slightly my eyes were able to notice an object in the sky that did not look normal. There was no sound, no evidence of flight control surfaces, and after a few seconds it seemed to linger in place. But it was actually slowely moving due east in the direction of Cazenovia Lake, which was half mile from my driveway. Its movement was regular…..no stops or starts……and appeared to be shaped round like a saucer with a shiny metalic surface. As the object transitioned from about 45° arc from the horizon to almost directly overhead, it was appearant that it did not rotate on its own axis, but the sun reflected off its surface in such a way that I could see the “skin” of the craft which looked to be paneled as individual panels reflected light in sequence as it slowely moved. Its size was hard to interupt since the blue sky offered no reference points, but from where I sat my best estimate was it was the size as a tennis ball held at arms length.

I was considering getting my digital camera, but then I might loose sight of it should it make a move.

As it reached a point over my head it suddenly went straight up so fast that there was little or no shrinking perspective that is evident when an aircraft, for instance, flies away and its appearant size gets smaller with distance traveled. That final sudden and unexpected disappearance was not associated with any noise, flash of light, or any other indication …..it simply disappeared. There were no other witnesses and the entire observation lasted for 4 or 5 minutes.

The Analysis

Aspects of this sighting fit classic UFO reports: disc shaped object, no sound, metallic surface with no flight control surfaces, almost instantaneous departure, etc. There have been sightings from the Cazenovia, NY area reported on other UFO sites, but none that match this description. The size of the object is difficult to determine without knowing the altitude.

It is possible that this aircraft is connected to Deer Run Airfield about 5 miles from site of the observation.

Conclusion

Without further information it is difficult to determine what was seen in the sky on this day. A pedestrian explanation is that this was merely an unusual aircraft operating out of the Deer Run Airfield at 4051 Argos Rd, Cazenovia, NY, 13035, which is a little over 5 miles from the driveway of the witness. This case should remain open without further evidence.

The post UFO over Cazenovia, New York – July 19, 2006 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO over Cazenovia, New York – July 19, 2006 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

Background

The following case was submitted to The Black Vault / TBV Investigations on December 29, 2017. 

The witness’ brother submitted the following:

“My brother filmed this UFO 12-17 in Detroit, Michigan at night at our uncle’s home, no airports nearby.

The UFO was yellowish in the center, circling around was yellowish in various colors moving like a jelly fish, but as he filmed this thing the circular UFO appeared white, and that field around the object broke up in box form as static, but its plain to see. 

It also made a right angle turn, then left before disappearing others witnessed it. I contacted local news fox2 here, no reply.”

The sighting occurred on the 4th, and the case was assigned to TBV Investigations’ researcher Dylan Santiso.

The Analysis

by Dylan Santiso, TBV Investigations

TBV Investigations received the original report from “Mike”, as he did not wish to disclose his identity in full.  After a calling Mike on January 4, 2018, it became apparent that Mike was reporting this case for his Brother, who we will refer to as “Hardy”.

I interviewed Hardy and asked for a better copy of the video that was submitted by his brother, Mike.   After numerous attempts to try to get a better quality and uncompressed version of the video, I was only able to obtain the following:

What I find interesting about the video is the first 3 seconds.  There seems to be two objects, one large and one small.  The small object jets away from the first one and is then out of the frame three seconds into the video.  Following, the object speeds up, then slows done at the 18 second mark, then seems to descend behind trees/buildings.

Witness Testimony/Interview

Harvey noted and answered questions regarding the before, after, and during recording periods:

1. What geographical location was the sighting at?: Palmer Park – Pontchatrain, and 6 mile Road, Detroit MI.
2. What direction was the witness facing at the time of sighting/recording?: Due East
3. What time of day was it?: Between 21:30 and 21:45 on December 17, 2017
4. What direction was the object flying?: East to also West
5. Did anyone else see the object?: Yes, there were “quite a few people filming on the street”, according to the witness. Also, people pulled over in their cars to view and film the object. Rough) 
6. What did you see before you started filming the object?: According to the witness, the object appeared to be a street light and was viewed by multiple people on Pontchtrain facing 6 mile road and eastward. The object was stationary, shot up, then down, then traveled toward the witness, slowly, in a westerly direction.
7. Style of Movement: Like a “jellyfish”. It had a “white membrane” with a point of orange light in the center.
8. Sound: None
9. Static Electricity: Phones seemed to be interrupted by some electric interference
10. Height: 1,000 ft.
11. The object was about 1/2 a mile away when filming occurred
12. Missing Time: No
13. Humming Noise or Feeling: No

Noted Airports in the vicinity: 

1. Coleman A Young International Airport (Due East of Witness)
2. Ford Airport (South Southwest of Witness)
3. Detroit Metro International (southwest of Witness)

It is important  to note that the witness felt that that this sighting was of “unexplained origin”.

Conclusion 

Unknown without better footage.  The video is highly pixelated and of poor quality.   However, the witness seemed honest, genuine, and lucid. 

The post UFO Filmed Over Detroit, Michigan – December 4, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Filmed Over Detroit, Michigan – December 4, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.

The following report was created by Dylan Santiso of TBV Investigations.  It can not be reproduced in any way, without prior permission.  The photographs are copyrighted to their respective owners. They are used here under fair use, as they were originally posted publicly on various media outlets.

Background

On December 29th, 2017 RT News Channel, reported on what some social media users in Lipeskt, Russia called a, “UFO”. Please see the RT Article titled, “UFO Traverses Night Sky”in Western Russia”: https://www.rt.com/news/414244-ufo-lightball-spotted-russia/

“First, there was a bright spot in the sky, then came the light – similar to that of a spotlight – and then it exploded. What was it?”, a witness to the Lipetsk sighting asked, as reported by RT.

A similar sighting was noticed and reported by many in Los Angeles, California and surrounding areas.

As reported by the New York Post and others news media on December 22, 2017, “A space satellite launch sparked a brief UFO scare in Los Angeles Friday night after startled viewers gawked at an unidentifiable streak of light soaring across the night sky.”

It turned out that the Los Angeles sighting was a Space X Falcon 9 Rocket Booster. The Los Angeles sighting is near identical in description and video accounts to the Lipetsk sighting and shares many of the performance characteristics that have been seen, videoed and photographed in sightings of similar nature around the world, which are usually near military and corporate launch pads.

The Los Angeles sighting footage can be seen here:

The Analysis

In this case the videos and pictures say it all. This is some type of rocket that was seen under the correct circumstances that caused the object to illuminate. The “bright spot” followed by the “explosion” was almost certainly caused by the jettison of a Russian Rocket Booster. 

Further evidence is shown by a post on the popular Space.com website, archiving the space launch activity throughout the globe on specific dates.  On the day this sighting took place, Space.com reports on their Space Calendar:

Dec. 26: A Ukrainian Zenit rocket with a Russian Fregat upper stage will launch Angola’s first satellite, the AngoSat communications satellite, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Conclusion

The position of Kazakhstan in relation to Russia, coincides with the location of the sighting (just south of Western Russia) and potentially the flight path of the rocket.  The exact path and direction of this launch was not found for this report, but we feel confident that this solves this case, as the time and dates (and physical descriptions) match.

We believe that given the above evidence, we can mark this case as solved.

The post UFO Sighted in the Night Sky over Western Russia, December 25, 2017 first appeared on The Black Vault Case Files.

The post UFO Sighted in the Night Sky over Western Russia, December 25, 2017 appeared first on The Black Vault Case Files.