This report courtesy of:
UFO Roundup -- Volume 5, Number 42,
Joseph Trainor - October 19, 2000
Masinaigan@aol.com.

OKLAHOMA - UFO / JET FIGHTER ENCOUNTER OR METEOR SHOWER? 

On Friday, October 13, 2000, ufologist Jim Hickman "was monitoring local law enforcement (radio channels) and at 7:31 p.m. local time, a radio call came in that four or five fighter planes were sighted by local police officers, and they were traveling to the northwest." "At the same time, an unidentified flying object encountered the fighters and reportedly crashed into the ground north of Elk City, Oklahoma." The fighters were presumably from Tinker Air Force Base near Oklahoma City. The descending UFO, Hickman reported, "was seen by multiple witnesses as far west as Shamrock, Texas and as far east as Clinton, Okla., north to Cheyenne, Okla. and south to Granite, Okla." 

According to a radio transmission reportedly made by Hammond, Okla. police cruiser, the UFO "was headed north" and crashed on a farm just north of Hammond. "At about this time, I made a personal observation out my back door," Jim reported, "and I noticed a bright luminous vapor trail that went from the southwest to the northeast. There were several other trails in the area to the north (of Elk City--J.T.) but they seemed normal in color. I saw no other lights or aircraft in the area." 

Another eyewitness also reported seeing a strange luminous vapor trail in the lower atmosphere. Richard P. of Jenks, Okla. (population 1,100), a town 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Tulsa, reported, "There was cloud cover everywhere but to the southwest." At 7:20 p.m., "I had just stepped outside when I saw a light in the southwest sky, moving to the north. It was about 'a fist at arm's length' above the horizon. It was more like two or three lights on the front of an object that was leaving a definite trail. The trail, which had sort of a shine to it, made me question if the object was an airplane. It seemed more like a fireball that was starting to break apart. As the object moved north, it would pass behind scattered cloud cover, but I saw it for at least thirty seconds before it disappeared for good." 

"The trail stayed in the sky for another 10 to 15 minutes. Also, as the sky got darker, the trail got brighter! Finally, it was a beam of light, as bright as the full moon, across the southwestern sky." 

The Rogers Mills County Sheriff's Department also reported, "Sparks in the sky," according to Jim Hickman. On Saturday, October 14, 2000, KFOR TV in Oklahoma City reported, "It happened last night at 7:30 p.m. when a strange sight surface in the sky. Reports came into our newsroom from across the state, and many callers saw the same thing. They had seen a mysterious fireball in the sky." 

KFOR TV reported sightings of the UFO and its luminous trail in the cities of Elk City, Erick, Enid, Alva, Clinton, Leedy, Oakwood, Choctaw, Mangum, Ringwood and Sayre." The TV station telephoned Tinker Air Force Base, the National Weather Service and NORAD., "and we quickly learned that the object had been seen by folks from Texas to Nebraska." However, eyewitnesses in Kansas saw more than one object in the sky. 

"'There's one big light and around it just five little balls, just lights, just following them. And then through the sky there was just like vapors, and vapors like different colors--blues and oranges--that were just cool,' said eyewitness Arthur Davis of Valley Center, Kansas." There were also reports of "fire in the sky" from McCook, Nebraska. 

In Wichita, the largest city in Kansas, hundreds saw the aerial display. 

"Gary Bishop of South Wichita said, 'Just looked over my shoulder and right across the sky, from the southwest to the northwest, down a little bit. This was a meteor that left a trail of blue light. It was beautiful!'" 

"911 supervisors said they had more telephones ringing than dispatchers to handle them. They say they had around 150 calls from witnesses saying they saw everything from space aliens to a plane crash." 

"At NORAD, M/Sgt. Larry Lincoln said, 'It seems to be a very heavy meteor shower. Our weather people told us to expect something like this between October 10th and the 19th of October, with the heaviest coming down around the 15th. It seems to be probably coming down a little early.'" 

 Editor's Comment: At 7:43 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) office in Oklahoma City reported that it was a meteor shower. (See the Wichita, Kansas Eagle for October 14, 2000.) 

Many thanks to Jim Hickman, Louise A. Lowry and Todd Lemire for these reports.