Archival rendering of the July 13, 1979 Santa Clarita Valley, California sighting, in which a couple described a silent, domed disc hovering above their backyard pool.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTINGS REPORT
1979: Large UFO Flies Low Over Couple’s Home, Santa Clarita Valley
On a warm summer evening in 1979, a Santa Clarita Valley homeowner was up on a platform brushing down his swimming pool when a low, silent object approached from the west, came to a complete stop directly over his house and pool at an estimated 75 to 100 feet, and hovered there for the better part of a minute. He called his wife outside; both watched a metallic, domed disc with glowing portholes, S-shaped ski-like fittings mounted unusually far forward on its underside, and a lit cockpit window before it eased away at 30 to 40 mph. He asked his wife to sketch what she’d seen separately from him, without discussing it first. By his account, the two drawings matched.
Date: July 13 1979
Sighting Time: Approximately 10:00 p.m. (one secondary republication of this account lists the time as 9:00 p.m.; this discrepancy is flagged rather than resolved)
Day/Night: Night
Location: Santa Clarita Valley, California, north of Los Angeles (specific address undisclosed)
Urban or Rural: Rural/suburban residential
No. of Entity(s): Not Applicable
Entity Type: Not Applicable
Entity Description: Not Applicable
Hynek Classification: CE-I — Close Encounter of the First Kind. Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness (well within 500 feet), with substantial structural detail resolved.
Duration: Approximately 45 seconds at closest range and full stop (witness’s field data cites 45 seconds overall; the witness’s own narrative separately cites roughly 40 seconds motionless plus about 10 seconds in a downward-angled position)
No. of Object(s): 1
Description of the Object(s): A disc-shaped craft, 75 to 100 feet or less in diameter, solid, metallic, and shiny, with small portholes and lights around the circumference of an upper dome section that showed no visible seam or separation from the body, as though molded as a single piece. The underside was concave toward the center, featuring two rectangular shapes, each roughly 7 to 10 feet wide, running the length of the concave underside. S-shaped, ski-like devices were mounted on the front and each side of the front leading edge, positioned unusually far forward of the object’s apparent center of gravity. A rectangular window or cockpit-like opening, approximately 4 feet high and 12 to 15 feet long, was visible on the underside of the front leading edge when the craft tilted downward, glowing with soft orange and blue light from within, though no occupants or controls were visible.
Shape of Object(s): Disc-shaped craft with small portholes and a dome
Size of Object(s): 75 to 100 feet or less in diameter
Color of Object(s): Solid, metallic, and shiny exterior; soft orange and blue interior glow visible through the front window when the craft tilted
Distance to Object(s): Approximately 75 to 100 feet directly above the witnesses
Height & Speed: Came to a complete stop and hovered at approximately 75–100 feet altitude before departing slowly at an estimated 30 to 40 mph
Number of Witnesses: 2 (the reporting witness and his wife); the witness states other family members were called but did not come outside in time to see the object
Special Features/Characteristics: Object made no sound whatsoever throughout the encounter; exhibited only a slight wobble and a downward-angling motion while otherwise stationary; witnesses reported a shared sensation of being watched; witness instructed his wife not to discuss what she had seen until each had separately drawn the object, then compared the drawings, which he states matched, though his own was more detailed; witness states his professional background included group propulsion systems work and later executive roles at major computer companies, and asserts based on that aeronautical engineering background that the craft’s apparent technology exceeded known human capability; none of these professional claims have been independently verified for this entry
Case Status: Unexplained — though this designation should be read alongside the case’s significant sourcing limitations: a single anonymous witness couple, a 26-year gap between the claimed event and its public report, no independent corroboration of either witness’s identity or professional background, and a witness-described drawing-comparison methodology that was not independently observed or documented at the time
Source: UFOEvidence.org / Brian Vike, HBCCUFO; UFO Casebook (B.J. Booth); report submitted May 1, 2005
Summary/Description: On the evening of July 13, 1979, a Santa Clarita Valley, California homeowner and his wife watched a large, silent, disc-shaped craft approach their home, come to a full stop approximately 75 to 100 feet directly above their swimming pool, and hover for roughly 45 seconds before departing slowly to the northwest. The witness described a metallic, domed craft with glowing portholes, forward-mounted S-shaped ski-like fittings, and a lit cockpit window, and stated he and his wife independently drew matching sketches of the object afterward. The account was not made public until 2005, 26 years after the claimed sighting.
Related Cases: None documented
Full Report
Drawing of the object by the witness (Credit: UFOCasebook.com / B.J. Booth)
It was one warm summer Friday around 10:00 p.m. in the evening in California’s Santa Clarita Valley, located north of Los Angeles. I was brushing the swimming pool with a long pole and attached brush so that the kids could swim the following day. The pole requires you to reach up to push down against the walls of the pool. I was standing on a high platform next to the pool, about 4 feet over the rest of the pool area. As I reached the upper end of the pole, I saw a craft approaching the house from the west and heading in a southeast direction. It was about one block away at a low altitude.
I knew right away that it was not a helicopter or plane. It seemed flatter and wider, with lights in a circumference of the main frontal area. I ran towards the house, about 60 feet away, and called my family to see it. Only my wife came out. By that time, it was directly over our house and pool. It was approximately 75 to 100 feet above us. We stood alongside the pool. It made no sound whatsoever, and it was at a complete stop over us for about 40 seconds. The only motion was a slight wobble and when it moved downward at an angle. During that time, we were frozen in disbelief. It is a strange sensation knowing that what you are seeing is not supposed to be and very foreign.
The craft was about 75 to 100 feet or less in diameter. It had small portholes and lights around it in the upper dome section; it was solid, metallic, and shiny. There was a dome above it, attached to the body with no visible separation, as if it were molded as one solid craft. The underside was concave towards the center and had two rectangular shapes alongside each other, the length of the concave diameter. The rectangular shapes were about 7 to 10 feet in width and as long as the craft’s concave underside center. I also noticed ski-like devices on the front and on each side of the front leading edge window. What caught my attention was that the devices were not in the center, or the center of gravity for the craft’s design, but very forward. The skis were S-shaped with the top of the S facing forward.
Upon the craft leaning in a downward motion, we could see a window or cockpit-like glass situated on the underside of the front leading edge. It was on the front lower edge of the round craft. The rectangular window was approximately 4 feet in height and possibly 12 to 15 feet in length. There was a glow of soft orange and blue light from the inside, but we could not see anyone or any controls.
It remained at a forward and downward angle for about 10 seconds. We both had the sensation of being watched. As it was angled, I noticed light reflecting from the upper section that was not facing the swimming pool lights, suggesting it generated light through the skin of the craft, since the lights that first attracted me faced forward and were much lower than the upper section of the craft.
My wife and I did not say anything to each other during the experience, but she kept saying “oh my God” over and over again. The craft then left slowly at 30 to 40 mph. I jumped on a wall around our property to continue seeing it for at least 7 miles. I instructed my wife not to discuss it, to draw what she saw, and then we would compare drawings. They matched, although mine had more detail and accuracy.
My background includes group propulsion systems and later work as an executive with several major computer companies. What we saw was close, real, solid, and a beautifully designed craft. I know from my aeronautical engineering background that mankind has no such technology.
RESEARCHER’S NOTES
Santa Clarita Valley, 1979 — Rich Technical Detail, Thin External Verification
- The technical detail is unusually specific for a decades-later account. Details like the forward-mounted, S-shaped ski devices positioned away from the craft’s apparent center of gravity, the exact dimensions of the underside rectangular features, and the distinction between reflected pool light and light apparently generated through the craft’s own skin reflect a level of specificity that goes well beyond a generic “flying saucer” description. Whether this reflects accurate long-term memory, embellishment accumulated over 26 years, or a genuinely detailed original observation cannot be determined from the source material alone.
- The independent-drawing corroboration is a reasonable method, but self-reported and unverified. Separating witnesses before they compare notes is a legitimate technique for testing consistency between accounts. However, this comparison was conducted privately by the couple themselves, with no third party present or informed at the time, and the drawings’ claimed match rests entirely on the reporting witness’s own description of the process rather than on any preserved, dated, or independently examined documentation.
- The 26-year reporting gap and anonymity are significant, honest limitations. The witness’s identity, his wife’s identity, and his claimed professional background in propulsion systems and computer industry executive roles are all unverified in the sources reviewed for this entry. Combined with the multi-decade gap between the claimed event and its public documentation, this case cannot be weighed with the same evidentiary confidence as cases involving named, contemporaneously documented, or professionally credentialed witnesses.
- A minor timing discrepancy exists across republications. This site’s field data lists the sighting time as 10:00 p.m.; at least one other archival republication of the same account lists 9:00 p.m. This is a small but real inconsistency worth flagging rather than silently resolving.
- Two-witness, close-proximity structure remains the case’s core strength. Setting aside the sourcing limitations above, the account describes two people observing a large, detailed, silent object at close range for nearly a minute, a structure that, if accurately reported, represents a substantive close encounter regardless of how long it took to become public.
A couple standing beside their backyard pool on a warm summer night in 1979 say they watched a silent, metallic disc hover close enough to make out individual ski-like fittings and a glowing cockpit window, then compared separately drawn sketches that matched. The technical detail is remarkable; the corroboration for it rests almost entirely on the couple’s own word, delivered a quarter-century after the fact. Both things can be true at once, and the record is presented that way.
“It is a strange sensation knowing that what you are seeing is not supposed to be and very foreign.”
— witness account, Santa Clarita Valley, California, July 13, 1979
