1993-04-01 - Gastonia, NC - Formation

A triangle formation seen each morning before daybreak for five days off Bud Wilson Road.

I traveled Bub Wilson Road on the way to work from Saddlewood Subdivision toward Union Road every day. Each morning, before daybreak, on the way to work I saw a triangle formation of three lights in the sky, west of Bud Wilson Road. Knowing that their is a small public airport in that direction, I did not think much of it the first morning. The formation looked as though an airplane had a nose light and two wing lights. The formation changed as though the airplane was making performing maneuvers(sp?. I thought it was odd though, because I lived around the airport for thirty years and know what to expect as far as how airplane sound and look. This aircraft had no sound and the lights seemed to stretch apart and contract further that a normal light formation on any aircraft that I had ever seen. The next morning, I saw it again. This time I slowed down to get a better look. Once again, the formation was very odd and their was no sound. Their is a mojor International Airport aprox. 20 miles past the small public airport that I mentioned earlier, so I thought that perhaps I was witnessing landing trafic at that airport. But that did not turn out to be the case either. The third morning, I slowed down once again and studied the formation. The lights traveled in a triangle formation. The two trailing lights would stretch apart untill one of the trailing light would become the leading light and this would continue with the lights alternating. The road that I traveled goes South for aprox one mile, then curves to the west and goes about two and one half miles, like two sides of a rectangle. I could tell that the formation was confined to this area. Finally, on the forth morning, the aircraft decided to follow me along the road. It was not directly over me. I could look out the window and see it(the lights that is). Still no sound. Keep in mind that this is a very dark and quite area at 6:00 in the morning. Their are no buildings or traffic. Just a cattle farm on one side and some hunting land on the other. By the time I got to the end of Bud Wilson Road, it was no longer there. I lost it while tring to stay on the road. Then the fifth morning was the one that really onvenced me that this was no airplane or passenger jet. This morning, when I first spotted the formation, I pulled the truck over, rolled down the window, cut off the engine, and enjoyed the show. The formation appeared first to the west, over the trees. I watched the strange change of formations for a few minutes. Then the formation came toward me. The change in formation did not always coraspond(sp?) with a change in direction. TIt came so close that it no longer appeared over trees, but directly in the sky above me. Finnally, the formation traveled south of me, became one light and suddenly flashed off toward the sky at the spped of light, never making a sound. Other than the lights, I never saw the craft itself. I have always been interested in such sitings since this event, but have only herd of one such sighting like my own since this happened.