2003-05-15 - Fort Walton Beach, FL - Oval

Flying Police Car or UFO?

I am licensed light airplane pilot. I was standing in my driveway, my back propped against my van to steady myself as I watched the lunar eclipse through binoculars. A shape I at first thought had wings and flashing a frontal row of extremely bright red, blue, green, and white lights flew into my binocular's field of view. All the colored lights flashed on simultaneously and in three quick pulses that repeated after a beat. The object steadily moved southwest from northeast at about 150 to 200 miles an hour.

It had passed near the moon, which was then in mid-eclipse, and I tracked it with the binoculars for about four seconds. Then I watched it move along without the glasses. At first I thought it was an airplane. It was low because it passed in front of me from left to right and then disappeared behind the housetops and trees.

But the strangest thing about it was that it made absolutely no sound, none, nothing. Not a hum, not a buzz, not a whine, roar or whistle, not anything. It was perfectly silent.

I judge it to have been traveling at a 15 to 20 degree slant from me and about 1/2-mile distant at an altitude of 500 to 800 feet. As it passed, the colored lights flashing on it were powerful enough to be diffused by the moisture saturated air and also dimly reflected off the pavement and houses. It was low because it moved in a straight line away from me and disappeared behind roof tops and trees in the west. It had one small, steady, white light showing on its receding form. As it moved away from me, I could see it was a silvery oval, cigar, or wing shaped object that seemed to dimly reflect a pale silver-blue color from the city lights below it. That's why I first thought it was an airplane or helicopter, both very common around here. But it made no sound. Its soundlessness was the weirdest part of the encounter.