Appearance / Description of Object(s)

Flat oval back end, flat bottom, sides curved away from the rear ( as if the craft were oval shaped toward the front, not triangular shape ). I could not discern the color of the craft, only the blueish corona cloud, or ionized gas looking cloud that covered the back end.

Size of Object(s)

Back end approx 60 to 100 feet across, 15 to 30 feet high. Did not see the entire length of the sides, but it appeared longer than the width.

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

Approx one half mile away or less. Estimated 500 to 1000 feet altitude.

Description of Area / Surroundings

Rural area, west end of the Busch Wildlife Area. Scattered houses along the state highway that it was crossing as it headed west.

Full Description & Details

I was driving south on Hwy DD approaching stop sign at Hwy D, on the west end of the Busch Wildlife Area. Just past the intersection ( estimated one half mile from me ) the craft appeared in the darkness when a blueish corona or ionized gas cloud appeared at the back end of the craft. The blue corona effect lasted for 3 to 4 seconds. During this time, the light from the corona illuminated the side of the craft forward from the rear, until the sides curved out of the line of the light source, soI was able to see the craft for some distance forward of the back end.

The back end was a flat oval shape, and the bottom appeared flat. I estimate that it was 60 to 100 feet across at the back. The craft was moving very slowly to the west, or to my right.

Two nights after my sighting ( the following Sunday ), there were TV news reports of the sightings in Illinois on the east side of St Louis the previous Wednesday. Proir to those tv reports, I was not aware of the Illinois sightings which occured two days before my sighting west of St Louis.

There were obvious differences between my sighting and the Illinois sightings. In Illinois they reported lights shining to the ground, like searchlights or running lights, which were not evident in my sighting. They reported a craft that was triangular in shape, whereas in my sighting the craft appeared to have sides that curved from the back to the front, as if the craft was shaped like a long oval with a flat back end. Although I could not see all the way to the front fo the craft.

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

It appeared to be a man made craft, but unlike any I have ever witnessed. It appeared to travel much too slow to be a winged craft. The blue corona effect at the back end is unsual for any plane I know about. I have worked in the aircraft industry, and I can't explain how the craft was getting lift.

Witness Background

Electrical Engineering Degree, Private Pilot's License, worked in military aircraft company. Well read on 'UFO' sightings, and have had two previous sightings of unidentified flying objects which I do not have an explanation for, and for that reason I do not form conclusions about what they were.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I am as open minded about the possibility of UFO's as anyone, but I honestly don't believe interstellar travel is as likely to explain these types of sightings as military advanced craft can be. I have no doubt that there are other civilizations out there in the cosmos, but the distances are in my mind far too enormous to travel in metal ships. However, we know from the past 60 years that the military produces advanced craft that are seen by people long before they are publically acknowledged by the military, for reasonable security reasons.

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