2003-09-11 - Richmond, VA - Flash

Numerous flashing lights over Richmond, Virginia on September 11, 2003

We were returning from a restaurant west of Richmond, Virginia. I was in the front passenger seat and a friend was in the back seat. My wife was driving. It was dark and the sky was clear. I happened to look out the passenger window and saw several flashing lights which I first thought were airplanes. What drew my attention was that the lights seemed too erratic. Although the "pulses" were steady (like that of an airplane), there was no symetry. The flashes did not match what you would have expected on an airplane's wings, or a helicopter's. When I leaned down further for a broader view upwards, I saw there were many lights spread across half the sky. They were moving west to east. I pointed them out to my wife and friend. My friend was in the back, on the driver side. She immediately saw the flashing lights on her side of the car. (I am sorry to add that she also said she saw "two mother ships", although I saw nothing of the kind.) My wife could not look up because she was concentrating on the road, and saw none of this. The sky was filled with these lights, quite far up. There was no sound. Although we were in a car, with plenty of traffic noise, I would have thought a fleet of planes or helicopters that large would have been heard over the engine. The fact that it was September 11 made me wonder if it was some kind of aerial memorial for the victims of 9/11. However, the weird pattern of the flashing lights suggested this was something far out of the ordinary. The lights disappeared to the east. When I got home I left a voice mail with a local television station. I wanted to know if anyone else had seen this. I never got a call back, and was too embarrassed to pursue the matter.