March 22, 1978 — Patapsco State Park, Maryland. A massive triangle with windows drifts at 200 feet over four campers. Three of four witnesses independently saw silhouettes of figures inside. APRO investigated within weeks. CE-I with CE-III caveat. Unexplained.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT
1978: Patapsco State Park, Maryland — Four Campers Watch a Massive Triangle with Windows and Possible Occupants Drift Above the Trees
At approximately 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22, 1978, four young men camped near the Baltimore & Ohio railroad tunnel in Patapsco State Park watched a massive triangular object — estimated between a quarter of a football field and 200 feet on a side — drift slowly above the tree line at barely 200 feet altitude, close enough that three of the four witnesses independently reported seeing the shadow or silhouette of a figure visible through large windows in the craft’s surface. The object made only a sound like a quiet wind or gently rushing waterfall, carried white lights at each corner and a red blinking light on top, and had been preceded seconds earlier by a smaller flat object that crossed the distant sky and disappeared behind a ridge. APRO investigated the case within weeks and published it in their April 1978 bulletin.
This is a four-witness CE-I with possible entity observation, investigated promptly by APRO and published in their April 1978 bulletin. Three of four witnesses independently reported seeing silhouettes or figures through the craft’s windows — a detail that approaches but does not quite reach the CE-III threshold, as the figures were observed through the craft’s structure rather than independently outside it.
Completed Template
Date: March 22, 1978
Sighting Time: Approximately 11:00 p.m. EST
Day/Night: Night
Location: Patapsco State Park, Maryland — near the Baltimore & Ohio railroad tunnel
Urban or Rural: Rural — state park, wooded valley
No. of Entity(‘s): Possible — 3 of 4 witnesses reported seeing a silhouette or shadow of a figure through the craft’s windows
Entity Type: Indeterminate — observed only as silhouettes through windows
Entity Description: Shadowy figure(s) visible through large windows in the triangular craft; no detailed features resolved
Hynek Classification: CE-I (Close Encounter I) — Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness (within 500 feet). Note: The possible entity observation through windows approaches CE-III but is retained at CE-I because the figures were not observed independently of the craft.
Duration: 30 to 45 seconds (close overhead pass); preceded by approximately 10 seconds of distant first-object observation
No. of Object(s): 2 (one distant precursor object; one close triangular craft)
Description of the Object(s): Primary: Huge triangular-shaped craft with large windows and three white lights at corners, red blinking light on top. Metallic or bluish-gray surface. Precursor: Flat-looking object observed for approximately 10 seconds before disappearing over a ridge.
Shape of Object(s): Triangle (primary); flat / indeterminate (precursor)
Size of Object(s): Estimated “a quarter the size of a football field” to “150-200 feet on each side”
Color of Object(s): Metallic or bluish-gray
Distance to Object(s): Directly overhead at approximately 200-250 feet altitude
Height & Speed: Very low — approximately 200-250 feet; moving very slowly, hovering at times; followed contour of ridges just above trees; southeastern heading
Number of Witnesses: 4 (Gary Oickle, age 24; David Oickle, age 22; Barry Smith, age 22; Ken Cabot, age 25)
Special Features/Characteristics: Large windows through which 3 of 4 witnesses independently saw silhouettes/figures; sound like a “quiet wind” or “quietly rushing waterfall”; preceded by a smaller flat object that disappeared over a ridge; followed ridge contour just above treetops; three white corner lights and one red blinking top light; a bright star-like object with color changes (blue, green, yellow, red) observed in southern sky immediately after; two witnesses thought the triangle had a metallic surface, two thought bluish-gray
Case Status: Unexplained
Source: Joe and Doris Graziano, investigators; APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization), April 1978 bulletin
Summary/Description: Four named campers in Patapsco State Park observed a massive triangular craft with large windows and corner lights drift slowly at 200-250 feet along the ridge contour. Three of four witnesses independently reported seeing silhouettes of figures through the windows. The sighting was preceded by a smaller distant object and followed by a color-changing star-like object. APRO investigated and published the case in April 1978.
Related Cases: 2005 Owings Mills Black Triangle | 1981 Bethesda UFO | 1981 Harford County Obsidian Diamond
Detailed Report
On Wednesday evening, March 22, 1978, four young men — Gary Oickle (24), his brother David (22), and friends Barry Smith (22) and Ken Cabot (25) — were gathered around a campfire in Patapsco State Park, near the Baltimore & Ohio railroad tunnel in Howard County, Maryland. It was approximately 11:00 p.m.
Barry Smith and David Oickle had walked about fifty feet away from the fire when they noticed a strange object in the southeastern sky. They watched it for approximately ten seconds before it disappeared over a ridge in the distance. The object appeared flat but no particular details were visible at that range. They walked back to the campfire to tell Gary and Ken about what they had seen.
Before they could finish their account, a second — or possibly the same — object appeared directly above all four of them, emerging from behind a ridge to their north. This object was enormous: a huge triangular-shaped craft with large windows and three white lights at the corners. The red blinking light on top was also visible. The four witnesses varied in their size estimates, ranging from “a quarter the size of a football field” to “150-200 feet on each side,” but all agreed on the triangular form and the lighting configuration.
The object moved very slowly in a southeastern direction, following the contour of the ridges just above the treetops, hovering at times. When it passed directly above the campsite, it was at a very low altitude — approximately 200 to 250 feet. At that range, the sound was audible: all four witnesses described it as resembling a “quiet wind” or “quietly rushing waterfall” — not mechanical, not engine-like, but a soft ambient rushing sound.
The witnesses watched the object for approximately fifteen to twenty seconds after it appeared overhead until it disappeared behind the trees. Three of the four witnesses — independently, without conferring — reported that they could see the shadow or silhouette of a figure visible through the large windows. This detail approached but did not reach unanimous agreement; the fourth witness did not report seeing figures.
Two of the witnesses described the surface as metallic; the other two described it as bluish-gray. All four agreed on the three white corner lights and the blinking red top light.
Immediately after the triangular craft disappeared behind the trees, three of the four witnesses noticed a bright star-like object in the southern sky. Two of them reported that it changed colors repeatedly — cycling through blue, green, yellow, and red — while the third thought it might have been a helicopter or some other object in the distance.
The case was investigated by Joe and Doris Graziano and published in the APRO (Aerial Phenomena Research Organization) bulletin for April 1978. The four witnesses were named and their ages recorded.
Researcher’s Notes
The Patapsco Triangle — Maryland 1978 and the Early Black Triangle Pattern
Classification — CE-I with Entity Observation Caveat: The CE-I classification is retained, but this case sits at the boundary of CE-III. Three of four witnesses independently reported seeing silhouettes or figures through the craft’s large windows. In standard Hynek taxonomy, CE-III requires observation of animate beings associated with the UFO phenomenon. The silhouettes here were observed through the craft’s structure — they were inside the object, not observed independently — which makes the observation less definitive than a classic CE-III. However, the independent corroboration by three of four witnesses significantly strengthens the claim. The archive notes the entity observation as a CE-III-adjacent feature within a CE-I classification.
Four Named Witnesses with Prompt Investigation: This case benefits from four named witnesses of similar age (22-25), interviewed promptly by APRO investigators Joe and Doris Graziano, and published in the APRO bulletin the following month. The April 1978 publication date — within weeks of the March 22 event — establishes one of the shortest witness-to-publication chains in the triangular UFO literature. The consistency across four independent observers on the triangle’s form, size range, lighting, and sound, combined with the three-of-four agreement on silhouetted figures, meets a high evidentiary standard for a nighttime CE-I.
The Maryland Triangle Sequence — 1978 to 2005: The Patapsco triangle is the earliest documented case in a Maryland black triangle sequence that extends through the 1981 Harford County obsidian diamond, the 1981 Bethesda silent craft, and the 2005 Owings Mills Lockheed-engineer triangle. The 1978 case predates the mainstream “black triangle” flap of the late 1980s and 1990s (Belgian wave, Hudson Valley) by a full decade, making it one of the earlier well-documented triangular craft sightings in the United States. The visible windows and possible occupants distinguish this case from the typically featureless black triangles reported in later decades.
The Precursor Object and Post-Sighting Star: The two additional phenomena reported — a flat object that appeared before the triangle and disappeared over a ridge, and a color-changing star-like object that appeared immediately after — suggest a more complex event structure than a single-craft transit. The precursor object may have been the same craft observed at a distance before its close approach, or it may have been a separate element. The color-changing post-sighting object is a recurring motif in CE-I cases and could represent a surveillance or escort element, though it could also be a misidentified celestial object viewed through atmospheric turbulence by excited witnesses. The APRO investigators documented these elements without forcing an interpretation.
The Patapsco triangle is the foundational case in the Maryland triangle pattern — four named witnesses, APRO-investigated, published within weeks, with windows, possible occupants, and a sound like a quiet waterfall. It remains Unexplained.
Wrap-Up
Four young men sat around a campfire in Patapsco State Park and watched something the size of a small building drift over them at 200 feet, making a sound like a quiet waterfall and showing them figures through its windows. APRO published the case within weeks. The witnesses were named, aged, and consistent. Three of the four saw someone — or something — looking back at them through the glass. The archive holds the earliest Maryland triangle on record, files it as CE-I with a CE-III footnote, and notes that the figures in the windows have never been explained. Unexplained.
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