A few weeks ago, when the Syracuse Nationals Car Show was in town, someone asked me: “Do people still see flying saucers?”
Taking the question seriously, I consulted with another New Yorker who’s a highly qualified UFO investigator. We discussed the question of the classic flying saucer. His answer amounted to simply, “Flying saucers are your granddad’s alien space craft.”
He told me that, for the most part, the huge black triangles have largely replaced the old classic disk.
Perhaps our unknown visitors make improvements and upgrade their transportation periodically, as we do; but that’s not the end of the story. While black triangles and other exotic shapes are the hot new craft buzzing about, there seems to be plenty of tried and true older models still out there in New York skies.
In a recent examination of UFO report archives, the data indicates that New Yorkers are still reporting sightings of flying saucers at a rate of about 25 to 30 per year. The earliest records of flying disks in New York skies are from the 1950s. Here are a couple of older sightings recently recounted by the now elderly New Yorkers:
- It was 1950, a crystal clear July night in upstate New York. A young couple was walking hand in hand, marveling at the beautiful night sky. They saw what they thought was a shooting star. After a few seconds, the small point of light they were looking at suddenly got very close and very big. The object was hovering right overhead and was estimated to be several hundred feet across. The young couple was terrified. Then, just as fast as it came, it accelerated away and was gone. They rushed home and told their parents. They were cautioned that people would think they were crazy and to not tell anyone.
- On June 28, 1954, near New York City, some 16-year-olds were lieing on the hood of a car enjoying a clear, starry summer’s night. Suddenly, they observed a V formation of seven bright yellowish discs flying eastward very fast. The formation seemed to stop high above them and remained motionless. After a few minutes, two objects peeled off from the seven and flew north. Then another darted off to the south. Minutes later, the three objects returned and rejoined the V formation, which then left the area at tremendous speed.
- The most recent sighting of a flying disk was reported by multiple observers near Rome on Aug. 5. A man, his wife and a few friends were enjoying a clear summer’s night on the porch. Suddenly, they saw something odd in the sky. It was disk shaped and flew in odd but controlled patterns and came closer and closer. His wife grabbed the family’s video camera. They report that the huge, disk-shaped object was very bright and eventually flew near their house and silently hovered over it. The man reports that he, his wife and their friends are, without a doubt, believers.
