THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT

1987: Close Encounter on Interstate 84, Connecticut

On the night of May 26, 1987, more than 200 people jammed the phone lines of local and state police to report a massive object with bright multicolored lights flying low over Interstate 84 in western Connecticut. Among them were a commercial airline pilot with 30 years of experience who called the ultralight explanation “the prattling of idiots,” a Navy air division veteran whose wife watched it hover silently over their house for two minutes, and a motorist who watched every car on both sides of the highway slam on their brakes as the thing passed overhead. One photograph was taken — initial analysis by Dr. Willy Smith placed the object at 650 to 1,600 feet across. Near New Milford, two men in a parked car watched the object pass directly over them at an estimated 500 feet altitude, blocking out the entire sky. They arrived home 40 minutes late. This was the Connecticut phase of the Hudson Valley UFO Flap — the same phenomenon documented in Night Siege — and it remains one of the best-witnessed UAP events in New England history.

⚠ SOURCE NOTE — IMBROGNO (PARTIAL):

The primary investigator and author of this report is Philip J. Imbrogno, whose academic credentials were exposed as fabricated in 2011. However, unlike Imbrogno’s sole-source anonymous abduction cases, this event involved 200+ witnesses, many of whom are named and independently contactable — including commercial airline pilot Randy Etting, Navy veteran Mr. Proulx, motorist Charlie Tuperman, and Robert Nellis. The witnesses and their testimony exist independently of Imbrogno’s credibility. The Imbrogno flag is noted for transparency, but this case does not depend on his word alone.

Date: May 26, 1987

Sighting Time: 9:30 PM – 10:15 PM

Day/Night: Night

Location: Interstate 84 corridor — Newtown, Southbury, Middlebury, and New Milford, Connecticut

Urban or Rural: Suburban / Rural (interstate highway corridor through wooded Connecticut hills and small towns)

No. of Entity(‘s): None reported

Entity Type: N/A

Entity Description: N/A

Hynek Classification: NL (Nocturnal Light) for the broad event — extended luminous source observed at night by 200+ witnesses over a 25-mile radius. Individual close encounters (Proulx, Nellis) meet CE-I criteria.

Duration: Approximately 45 minutes across the sighting corridor (9:30 PM to approximately 10:15 PM); individual observations ranged from 2 to 10+ minutes

No. of Object(s): 1

Height & Speed: Estimated 1,000–1,300 feet altitude over I-84 corridor. Estimated 500 feet or less above the Nellis vehicle in New Milford. Speed described as very slow — drifting.

Size of Object(s): Estimated football field length by most witnesses. Photographic analysis by Dr. Willy Smith yielded 650–1,600 feet span. Nellis described it as “larger than a football field” and that it “covered the sky and blocked out everything overhead.”

Distance to Object(s): Varied by witness — from directly overhead (Proulx, Nellis) to 45 degrees above horizon (Etting photograph)

Shape of Object(s): Semi-circle / boomerang with multicolored lights. Nellis described a teardrop shape with lights in a half-circle at the front and a dark structure extending rearward. Etting observed through 7×35 binoculars and confirmed one solid object.

Color of Object(s): Multicolored lights — yellow, green, blue, white, and red. Dark gray structure behind the lights with “very little reflectability.” Lights capable of brightening tenfold for approximately 10 seconds.

Number of Witnesses: 200+ (phone calls to police); named witnesses include Randy Etting (commercial airline pilot, 30+ years), Mr. and Mrs. Proulx (Navy air division veteran), Charlie Tuperman (motorist), Robert Nellis and friend Jeff (New Milford close encounter)

Special Features/Characteristics: Massive size (football field or larger). Silent — no sound detected by any witness at any distance. Lights capable of sudden tenfold brightness increase. Dark gray structure visible behind lights with minimal reflectivity. Object appeared solid through 7×35 binoculars. Heat wave-like distortion observed around the lights (Etting). Flashing lights on underside suggesting internal movement (Nellis). Dog exhibited extreme agitation during close encounter (Nellis). Car radio interference with strange static (Nellis). Possible missing time — 40 minutes unaccounted for (Nellis). One 35mm photograph taken (analyzed by Dr. Willy Smith). Military helicopter formations observed in sighting area in subsequent days.

Source: Philip J. Imbrogno investigation — published via UFOCasebook.com. Named witnesses independently contactable. Photograph analyzed by Dr. Willy Smith. Imbrogno source flag noted — see Editor’s Note above.

Case Status: Unexplained (contested)

Summary/Description: On May 26, 1987 between 9:30 and 10:15 PM, more than 200 people reported a massive boomerang-shaped object with multicolored lights flying slowly and silently over Interstate 84 in western Connecticut, covering towns from Newtown to Southbury to New Milford. Named witnesses include commercial airline pilot Randy Etting (30+ years experience, observed through binoculars, took one 35mm photograph), Navy veteran Mr. Proulx (silent hover over his Middlebury home for 2+ minutes), and motorists who pulled over on both sides of I-84. In New Milford, Robert Nellis and a friend experienced a close encounter at under 500 feet altitude — the object blocked out the sky, their car radio emitted strange static, their dog exhibited extreme distress, and they arrived home 40 minutes late. Dr. Willy Smith’s preliminary photographic analysis estimated the object at 650–1,600 feet across. State police offered an ultralight aircraft explanation, which was debunked by investigators — the named airport had only one ultralight, which was not licensed for night flight. Bradley International Airport ATC confirmed no formation or large aircraft was tracked on radar at the reported location and time. This event represents the Connecticut phase of the Hudson Valley UFO Flap documented in Night Siege.

Detailed Report

The state of Connecticut had historically seen few UFO reports, but since 1985, Fairfield, Litchfield, and Hartford counties experienced a dramatic increase — an extension of the Hudson Valley UFO wave that had been active in New York’s Westchester and Putnam counties since 1982, as documented in Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings (Ballantine Books, 1987).

On the evening of May 26, 1987, the phenomenon arrived on one of the most heavily traveled highways in the northeastern United States. Between 9:30 and 10:15 PM, more than 200 people called local and state police to report a huge object with bright lights flying low over Interstate 84 near Newtown and Southbury.

State police in Southbury told callers the object was a group of ultralight aircraft from Candlewood Airport flying in close formation with colored lanterns, the aircraft painted black so only the lights were visible. Many witnesses found this explanation impossible to accept.

The Etting Observation (Newtown, ~9:45 PM): Randy Etting, a commercial airline pilot with more than 30 years of experience, observed the lights from his home in Newtown. He saw at least eight lights of different colors flying very close together without sound. Through 7×35 binoculars, Etting confirmed the object was one solid structure. He observed heat-wave-like distortion around the lights. Etting watched for more than 10 minutes as the object drifted slowly to the northwest. All witnesses present — neighbors and his son — agreed it was one solid object with a round appearance. Etting subsequently characterized the ultralight explanation as baseless.
The Proulx Observation (Middlebury): Mrs. Betty Proulx observed the object hovering silently over her house for more than two minutes. Her husband, a veteran of the Navy’s air division, stated that it was a single craft unlike any aircraft he had ever seen.
The I-84 Motorists (~9:30 PM): Charlie Tuperman, driving eastbound on I-84 near Southbury, first thought the lights ahead were a 747 preparing to land on the highway. The object had approximately ten lights in a half-circle formation — yellow, green, blue, white, and red. As it passed over the westbound lanes, every vehicle on both sides began braking and pulling over, including trucks. Tuperman pulled over, observed a dark mass behind the lights, and heard no sound. He then watched the lights suddenly brighten approximately tenfold for about 10 seconds before fading back. A state trooper’s lights were visible ahead. Tuperman left the scene out of fear and concern about rear-end collisions from stopping trucks.
The Nellis Close Encounter (New Milford, ~10:00 PM): After the I-84 sightings, the object was tracked heading west. Robert Nellis, his friend Jeff, and Nellis’s dog were in a car off a side road near Route 7 in northern New Milford, returning from a day of boating. The dog began barking and crying. Jeff looked northeast and saw bright lights hovering over pine trees less than a quarter mile away. They stopped the car, and the radio began emitting strange static that interfered with the station. The lights moved slowly toward them. Both men were struck by the object’s massive size — larger than a football field. As it passed over their car, Nellis looked up and saw a very dark structure connecting the lights, extending rearward in a teardrop shape, with the lights arranged in a half-circle at the front. The structure was dark gray with very low reflectivity. No sound. He estimated the altitude at no more than 500 feet. Flashing lights on the underside gave the impression of something moving. Total observation was approximately 10 minutes, but both men arrived home 40 minutes late — a possible case of missing time, though they may have observed the object longer than they realized. Nellis called the investigator repeatedly in subsequent days, feeling uneasy and upset.
The Photograph: One 35mm photograph was taken by a witness identified publicly only as “David” for professional protection, but editorially identified as Randy Etting. The camera was a 35mm with 50mm lens at f/1.8, on Kodacolor ASA 400 film, at either 1/60th or 1/125th of a second. The object was approximately 45 degrees above the horizon. Preliminary analysis by Dr. Willy Smith estimated the span at 650 to 1,600 feet. The original negative showed lights reflecting off a structure in the central area, with the lights arranged in a perfect half-circle.
The Ultralight Explanation — Debunked: When investigators questioned state police further, officers corrected their initial statement — the aircraft were said to be from Stormville Airport, not Candlewood. A flight instructor at Stormville confirmed that the airport had only one ultralight, and it flew only during daytime as night flight is illegal for ultralights. Bradley International Airport ATC reported that no formations or large aircraft were tracked on radar at the reported location and time, and noted that aircraft without transponders would not be detected below 2,000 feet at that location. Based on witness triangulation across multiple locations, the investigator estimated the object’s altitude at 1,000 to 1,300 feet — below radar detection threshold — with a light span of approximately 900 feet.

In subsequent days, witnesses reported formations of military helicopters in the sighting area. One witness photographed the formation.

Researcher’s Notes

Two Hundred Phones, One Photograph, and a Lie About Ultralights

Source Chain and the Imbrogno Factor: This report was written by Philip J. Imbrogno, whose fabricated academic credentials were exposed in 2011. That flag is noted above and applies to anything he published. However, this case is categorically different from Imbrogno’s anonymous sole-source abduction reports. The witnesses here are named — Randy Etting (commercial airline pilot, 30+ years), the Proulx family (Navy air division veteran), Charlie Tuperman, Robert Nellis — and their observations were made publicly, reported to police, and are independently verifiable. Etting’s photograph exists as a physical artifact. Dr. Willy Smith’s analysis is documented. The ultralight debunking is verifiable through Stormville Airport records. Imbrogno is the compiler, not the sole chain of custody. The case stands on its witnesses.
Witness Quality: This is an exceptionally strong witness pool by any standard. Etting brought 30+ years of commercial aviation experience and 7×35 binoculars. He confirmed through optical magnification that the lights were attached to one solid object and observed heat-wave distortion around them. Mr. Proulx brought Navy air division experience and stated unambiguously that this was no aircraft he had ever seen. Tuperman’s account of synchronized braking across both directions of I-84 — an involuntary mass response — is powerful behavioral corroboration. And 200+ phone calls to police represent an independently verifiable event footprint.
The Nellis Missing Time: The 40-minute time discrepancy reported by Nellis and Jeff is flagged as possible missing time. The investigator acknowledged that the witnesses may simply have watched the object longer than their estimated 10 minutes. Without clock-time anchoring or independent verification, this element is noted but not classified. The dog’s extreme distress and the radio interference are physical-response details that do not depend on time perception.
The Official Explanation: The ultralight theory was the official police response and was demonstrably wrong. The initially named airport (Candlewood) was corrected to Stormville. Stormville had one ultralight, which was not licensed for night flight. No ultralight formation was documented. The object was silent — ultralight aircraft are among the noisiest powered aircraft in existence. The object’s estimated 900-foot span and structural solidity confirmed through binoculars are incompatible with any formation of small aircraft. The police explanation has no evidentiary support and appears to have been offered reflexively to manage public alarm.
The Photograph: The Etting photograph is a single-frame 35mm image showing a half-circle of lights reflecting off a central structure. Dr. Willy Smith’s preliminary size estimate of 650–1,600 feet is consistent with the 900-foot span calculated from witness triangulation. A single nighttime photograph on ASA 400 film at either 1/60th or 1/125th of a second has inherent resolution limitations, but the image confirms an object was present in the sky where hundreds of people said it was. The negative analysis — showing structured reflection — is the most significant element.
Hudson Valley Flap Context: This event is part of the documented Hudson Valley UFO wave of 1982–1987, the largest sustained UAP sighting event in the northeastern United States in the late 20th century. The phenomenon was described consistently across thousands of witnesses: a massive silent boomerang or V-shaped object with multicolored lights, moving slowly at low altitude. The May 1987 Connecticut sightings represent the wave’s geographic expansion from its original New York epicenter into adjacent Connecticut counties along the I-84 corridor.

Two hundred people do not simultaneously hallucinate, and two hundred phones do not ring at police stations for no reason. A commercial pilot with binoculars confirmed a solid object. A Navy veteran confirmed it was no aircraft. The only photograph ever taken of the Hudson Valley object that night was analyzed by an independent scientist who estimated its span at up to 1,600 feet. The official explanation was an ultralight from an airport that had one ultralight which couldn’t fly at night. Status is Unexplained (contested) only because the official explanation technically exists — not because it has any merit.