THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT

1978: Long cigar-shape object, flying above treetops

Around midnight on an early March night in 1978, a 24-year-old silk-screener driving home from second shift on Interstate 84 near Middlebury, Connecticut glanced across the divided highway and saw something pacing him just above the treeline — a hundred-foot-long, featureless dark gray cylinder, no wings, no fins, no gondola, no sound, with three large ship-style portholes on its underside pouring blue light down into the trees in inverted cones and a fourth porthole on its rear end glowing green. It flew parallel to his car at roughly 80 to 90 miles an hour, gained on him, then executed a smooth 90-degree turn to follow the highway’s curve near Waterbury — a maneuver the witness found more unsettling than anything else, because rigid cylinders are not supposed to bank through turns. He watched it for two to three minutes from less than 150 feet away, alone on one of the busiest highways in Connecticut.

Date: Early March 1978 (approximate; originally reported as March 1980, later self-corrected by witness)

Sighting Time: Approximately 12:00 AM (midnight)

Day/Night: Night

Location: Middlebury, Connecticut — eastbound Interstate 84 near Bucks Hill, between the Oxford exit and Waterbury

Urban or Rural: Suburban (interstate highway corridor through wooded terrain)

No. of Entity(‘s): None reported

Entity Type: N/A

Entity Description: N/A

Hynek Classification: CE-I (Close Encounter I) — Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness (within 500 feet), with no physical traces or physiological effects.

Duration: 2–3 minutes

No. of Object(s): 1

Height & Speed: Approximately 75 feet altitude (roughly 20 feet above treetops). Estimated speed 80–90 mph, slightly faster than the witness’s vehicle.

Size of Object(s): Approximately 100 feet long, 15 feet high, round cylindrical cross-section

Distance to Object(s): 150 feet or less (across the four-lane divided highway)

Shape of Object(s): Cigar / cylindrical with rounded ends on both front and rear

Color of Object(s): Dark gray (estimated; appeared dark against a bright moonlit sky)

Number of Witnesses: 1

Special Features/Characteristics: Three large, equally spaced, round portholes on the underside emitting steady blue light in downward cone shapes. One large round porthole on the rear end emitting steady green light in a rearward cone extending approximately half the object’s length. No undercarriage, fins, stabilizers, or visible propulsion. No sound detected (witness rolled down window to listen). Object executed a smooth 90-degree turn following the highway’s curve despite rigid cylindrical appearance.

Source: UFOEvidence.org (originally also reported to NUFORC with incorrect date/location, later self-corrected by witness)

Case Status: Insufficient Data

Summary/Description: While driving eastbound on Interstate 84 near Middlebury, Connecticut around midnight in early March 1978, the witness observed a cigar-shaped object approximately 100 feet long and 15 feet high flying just above the treetops on the opposite side of the highway at a distance of roughly 150 feet. The object was dark gray, featureless, and had no wings, fins, gondola, or visible propulsion. Three large round portholes on its underside emitted steady blue light in cone-shaped beams directed downward, while a single porthole on its rear end emitted steady green light in a rearward cone. The object flew parallel to the witness’s vehicle at approximately 80–90 mph, gradually gaining ahead, then executed a smooth 90-degree turn to follow the highway’s curve toward Waterbury. The witness rolled down his window and heard no sound from the object. Total observation time was 2–3 minutes. The witness was the only vehicle visible on the highway during the encounter.

Detailed Report

The witness was driving home from second-shift work in New Milford, Connecticut, heading eastbound on Interstate 84 toward Waterbury, where he lived. He had just passed through Southbury, beyond a State Highway Patrol barracks, and was descending Bucks Hill — a long straightaway of approximately 1.5 miles with an overpass and communications tower at the peak. It was a very cold, clear night with a full moon and a bright sky.

Glancing to his left across the four-lane divided highway, the witness observed a long, cigar-shaped object flying just above the treetops on the opposite side of the road — no more than 150 feet away, possibly closer. The object was approximately 100 feet long and 15 feet high, with rounded ends on both front and rear. It was dark against the bright sky; the witness estimated its color as dark gray. The object had no undercarriage, no vertical or horizontal fins or stabilizers, no wings, and no apparent means of propulsion.

The witness rolled down his driver’s window to listen and heard only wind from his own vehicle. No engine noise, rotor sound, or any other audio was detected from the object. He kept his window down for continued observation.

On the underside of the object, the witness observed three large, equally spaced round portholes. These appeared identical to ship portholes and were clearly windows — the witness could see inside. The interior visible through these portholes was illuminated with blue light. The light shone outward and downward from each porthole in a cone shape, though the witness did not observe the light illuminating the trees below. All lights were steady with no blinking or fluctuation.

The object was traveling slightly faster than the witness’s vehicle at an estimated 80–90 mph, gradually pulling ahead. As it drew forward, the witness observed a large round porthole on the object’s rear end, also clearly a window. The interior visible through this porthole was illuminated with green light, which shone outward in a rearward cone extending approximately half the object’s length behind it. This light was also steady and soft — not difficult to look at.

At the bottom of Bucks Hill, Interstate 84 makes a sharp approximately 90-degree left turn toward the north. The object turned and followed the highway. The witness found this the most remarkable aspect of the encounter — a rigid-looking cylindrical object executing a smooth banked turn. The object continued northward as the witness reached the lower elevation and the outskirts of Waterbury. He lost the object in the urban light pollution ahead.

The witness considered calling police but concluded the object was already gone. He later wondered if other motorists observed it as it would have passed directly over Waterbury if it continued following I-84. He never heard or read any other reports.

The witness originally reported this sighting to NUFORC with a date of March 1980 and a location of Oxford, Connecticut. Upon further reflection, he corrected the date to approximately early March 1978 and the location to Middlebury (the Oxford exit is nearby, which caused the original error). He states he has seen four or five objects over the years but this was by far the closest. At the time of the sighting he was approximately 24 years old, working as a silk-screener for a printed circuit board company. At the time of the report he was 50, working as a Quality Assurance Technician.

Researcher’s Notes

A Cylinder That Shouldn’t Turn

Source Chain: This report appeared on UFOEvidence.org and was also filed with NUFORC (under incorrect date/location, later self-corrected). No formal investigation is documented — no MUFON case number, no APRO file, no on-site visit. The account is a single-witness, anonymous, retrospective narrative with a self-corrected two-year date discrepancy and a corrected location.
Witness Assessment: The witness provides a detailed, internally consistent account with specific geographic anchoring (Bucks Hill, the communications tower, the Oxford exit, the curve toward Waterbury — all verifiable landmarks on I-84). His self-correction of date and location is a credibility-positive detail; fabricators rarely revise their own stories to acknowledge uncertainty. His occupational background (silk-screener, later QA technician) suggests no particular expertise in aviation or optics but no disqualifying factors either. He provides his age, work history, and education level unprompted.
Object Description: The description — a featureless dark gray cylinder with rounded ends, three blue-lit portholes underneath and one green-lit porthole on the rear — does not correspond to any known conventional aircraft, blimp, or balloon. The absence of a gondola, fins, or any external structure rules out conventional lighter-than-air craft. The estimated speed of 80–90 mph at treetop level with no audible sound further excludes conventional rotary or fixed-wing aircraft of this size. The blue/green porthole lighting and cone-shaped light emission are unusual details not commonly found in misidentification cases.
The Turn: The witness singles out the object’s smooth 90-degree turn as the most remarkable element. A rigid 100-foot cylinder banking through a turn at 80+ mph without visible control surfaces is the behavioral detail most resistant to conventional explanation. This is consistent with the “five observables” framework — specifically, apparent anti-gravity lift and low observability.
Connecticut Context: This sighting predates the major Hudson Valley Flap of 1982–1986 by several years. However, the I-84 corridor through western Connecticut (Southbury, Middlebury, Waterbury, Newtown) would become a primary sighting zone during that later wave. The geographic overlap is worth noting for cross-reference purposes.
Classification Rationale: CE-I is correct: the object was within 500 feet (approximately 150 feet across the highway), observed visually, with no physical traces, electromagnetic effects, or physiological symptoms reported. Status is Insufficient Data due to single anonymous witness, retrospective account with self-corrected dating, and no independent corroboration or formal investigation.

This is a detailed and specific account from a witness who acknowledges his own uncertainty about the date, identifies and corrects his own errors, and describes the craft’s most anomalous feature — the turn — as the element that most disturbed him. The I-84 corridor would see far more dramatic events in the decade that followed. Whether this early sighting represents the same phenomenon or merely the same geography remains an open question.