Sliver of light crashes in North Houston
My wife and I were driving north on Bamel North Houston Road, about 4 miles south of FM 1960 in the Northern suburbs of Houston, about 5 miles SE of the Compaq Computer Campus. The time was 20:10 local, 01:10 Z. I was driving, my wife was in the passenger's seat. The night was crystal clear and there were many planes in the landing pattern for Houston Intercontintal (IAH) which was about 7 miles to the due East. My wife observed the object 30 degrees above the horizon to the NNW first going level and then instantly changing course downward at a 30 degree angle until it disappeared at the tree line. I saw the object (apparently) after the course change, and it took a couple of seconds to go from an elevation of 30 degrees to the tree line. My wife describes the object as a "yellow orange glowing object." My description is of a sliver, not bright, yellow orange, which was sort of pinched at either end. Frankly, it looked a little like the illuminated passenger cabin of an airliner. However, at the angle and location in question, and considering the high speed of the object, it was not an airliner unless it crashed. I opened the sunroof and listened for sirens---nothing. As a VN veteran with many thousands of aircraft seen in the dark in the Tonkin Gulf, I understand strange stuff in the air at night. This was not a plane unless it crashed just north of Houston tonight.
My wife and I were driving north on Bamel North Houston Road, about 4 miles south of FM 1960 in the Northern suburbs of Houston, about 5 miles SE of the Compaq Computer Campus. The time was 20:10 local, 01:10 Z. I was driving, my wife was in the passenger's seat. The night was crystal clear and there were many planes in the landing pattern for Houston Intercontintal (IAH) which was about 7 miles to the due East. My wife observed the object 30 degrees above the horizon to the NNW first going level and then instantly changing course downward at a 30 degree angle until it disappeared at the tree line. I saw the object (apparently) after the course change, and it took a couple of seconds to go from an elevation of 30 degrees to the tree line. My wife describes the object as a "yellow orange glowing object." My description is of a sliver, not bright, yellow orange, which was sort of pinched at either end. Frankly, it looked a little like the illuminated passenger cabin of an airliner. However, at the angle and location in question, and considering the high speed of the object, it was not an airliner unless it crashed. I opened the sunroof and listened for sirens---nothing. As a VN veteran with many thousands of aircraft seen in the dark in the Tonkin Gulf, I understand strange stuff in the air at night. This was not a plane unless it crashed just north of Houston tonight.
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Houston
USA
3-5 seconds
3-5 seconds
29.78
-95.44
cigar
TX
Occurred : 9/29/2001 20:10 (Entered as : 09/29/01 2010) Reported: 9/29/2001 9:25:02 PM 21:25 Posted: 11/20/2001 Location: Houston (Spring/north suburbs), TX Shape: Cigar Duration: 3-5 seconds Characteristics: There were lights on the object
Sliver of light crashes in North Houston