Appearance / Description of Object(s)

White, reflective, possibly metallic. Cylindrical in shape, possibly tapered. Flame trailing from behind. Sparse cloud of very fast moving smoke surrounding flame.

Size of Object(s)

Size of the object was similar to that of a commercial jet at normal operating altitude. Elevation was too high for it to be a commercial jet.

Description of Area / Surroundings

Urban, residential area. Apart from a nearby power substation, nothing untoward about the area.

Full Description & Details

Perfectly sunny afternoon without a single blemish in the sky. I was in the passenger's seat of a car which was traveling north along an urban street at a speed of approximately 20 KM/H. I happened to glance up at the top portion of the windshield, only to notice a glistening speck. Upon closer inspection, spec was slowly moving towards the west. From what little detail I could make out, it appeared to be white and reflective. Shape was definitely cylindrical, momentarily appearing tapered - could have been due to light scatter. Profound, lightly colored flame trailing from behind, surrounded by a fairly sparse cloud of very acrid looking, dry smoke. Smoke plume did not behave normally; appeared to be scattering at a very fast rate. The color of the smoke was close to dark khaki. At this stage, I recall thinking that it was either a rocket or a commuter jet that had suffered a failure of some kind. Pointed it out to driver, who stopped, glanced and instantly noticed.

As I propping myself closer to the windscreen, the object began to change trajectory, gradually increasing its elevation. It then commenced an incredibly tight loop whilst accelerating at a very dramatic rate. Upon completion of the loop, the act was again repeated within a similar, extraordinarily tight radius. After the second loop was complete, the object's speed had compounded to at least twice that of the initial loop. It then used this gained speed to 'slingshot' directly upwards and fade behind the blue of the sky.

Loop diameter was approx 20 times the length of the object at its widest point and speed was phenomenal. The G forces imparted must have been extraordinary!

Longitudinally, in reference to the direction of the car's travel, the object was definitely some distance away. At least 20 kilometers, if not 30 or more. Even so, elevation was very high at approx 75 to 80 deg. the fact that it vanished behind the blue of the sky so quickly is suggestive that it was at a very high altitude to begin with. I have a witness, who was driving and also saw this event unfold. I haven't seen anything like it since.

I would really like some answers for what I saw. I am generally skeptical, but in this instance, I simply can't seem to find an explanation.

Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?

At first, I thought it may have been a meteorite that rebounded off the atmosphere. Upon closer consideration, it seems unlikely, as the object was reflective, cylindrical in shape and did 2 loops within a very specific region; all whilst profusely gaining speed. I assume that a meteorite would simply skim off the atmosphere or rebound back into space at an angle opposite to incidence. The characteristics of the flight envelope were simply too ridiculous for it to be a natural or human influenced occurrence.

Witness Background

Recent recipient of Bachelor's degree, aerospace eng. Avid aviation buff and amateur astronomy as a hobby.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

Although I was fairly young at the time, I did not believe in UFOs and would regularly scoff at those who'd claim they had seen one. Needless to say, I am now a lot more open minded. The incident provided me a new found interest in space. I've since taken up astronomy as a hobby.

Reported Sighting? 

Reported To: 

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