2010-10-05 - Sacramento, CA - Other

Boomerang shaped wing, flying silent and low over the I-5 outside of Sacramento.

In August of 2010, I was staying in Los Angeles for about two months while teaching some Gracie Jiu-Jitsu seminars there. I headed back home (Southern Utah) in October, but decided to go through Northern California, see some friends in Sacramento, then head to Salt Lake City and stay with family for a few days before returning.

I took the PCH to somewhere around San Luis Obispo or Paso Robles, then I believe I cut east to the I-5. It was very late (or early)... maybe 3 or 4am... I was about an hour and a half from Sacramento in some rural area with a lot of farm land from what I could tell. From maybe 1 mile away, I started seeing some lights that were really bright and aiming straight down. I slowed down to about 45 miles per hour and was watching them flying from east to west, VERY low (maybe 30' from the ground) over a field, then they would lift to maybe 80' as they flew over the Interstate, then dropped down again on the west side of it.

As I got closer, I noticed that a semi was parked almost directly under the line of flight on the east shoulder of the I-5 North I drove up a little further and parked as well. There was almost no traffic at all, so I got out and watched. Being that close, it looked like a large, boomerang shaped wing with 4 or 5 lights (it's been a while and I don't recall exactly how many) aimed straight down. It was completely silent and I estimate it was around 40'-50' from tip to tip. Again, it would fly over the Interstate heading east (toward a little ranch house approximately .5 miles east of the shoulder I was parked on), 20'-30' above the field, then it would raise in elevation right before the ranch house, continue out maybe another mile, make a smooth turn south, and fly directly back to the west again. Always descending in elevation over the field, then raising up over the Interstate, then dropping again. I watched it for around 30 minutes and then decided to continue on.

I have been searching for anyone else who may have seen something like that near Sacramento. I simply want to know if it was a civilian or military craft, or something else. If it was civilian or military, why would they be flying over someone's house with spotlights on, over and over and over? And what kind of craft makes absolutely no noise except for the sound of moving through the air? I know it seems strange to write now, but I have wanted some kind of answer since I saw it.


((NUFORC Note: Witness indicates that the date is approximate. PD))