A cylinder-shaped UFO about 3 to 5 times larger than a commercial plane hovered low over a California freeway, according to witness testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) database.
The September 3, 2009, sighting was recently posted to the MUFON UFO reporting area by a witness who was driving to work along a stretch of Highway 80 between Pinole and Hercules about 5:50 a.m. that day.
As the witness came within one-quarter mile of the object, it appeared to be between 50 and 100 feet off of the highway, and between 500 and 1,000 feet off of the ground.
The silent and hovering object was described as three cylinders - "two smaller cylinders on the outside and one large cylinder in the middle that protruded past the smaller cylinders. It appeared all three cylinders were connected. There was also no markings."
Pinole is a city in Contra Costa County, California, population 19,039, and is located 20 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Photo: San Pablo Avenue, Pinole. Wikipedia image.
A similar report was made to MUFON on September 5, 2009, regarding a September 4, 2009, incident along the same stretch of I-80 between Pinole and Hercules at 8 p.m. In MUFON Case # 19077, the reporting witness described a pulsating object where the lights indicated it may have been a rectangular shape.
Following is the unedited and uninvestigated report from MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If Northern California MUFON investigates and reports back on this case, I will release an update.
CA, September 3, 2009 - Large Hovering Cylinders off I80. MUFON Case # 20830.
At around 5:50 on sept 03, 2009. I was driving on my way to work. Sky was very clear with no clouds & still dark. As I was headed down a small hill between Pinole & Hercules on Hwy 80. I noticed two very bright lights just slightly above the tree line on my left side.
They were pointed in my direction which was roughly a mile away. It caught my attention as those lights were not normal for that area. My 1st thought was roadwork.
However the lights were too high up to be flood lights. Since I was on a hill going down the hwy. I had a clear view of anything in the far distance. I glanced around and noticed nothing other than flowing traffic. Next I thought it was a traffic helicopter or possibly there was an accident & someone was being airlifted. At that time in the morning it’s not uncommon you see accidents as people are rushing to get to work.
I focused my eyes on the light trying to determine what the source of light was. About 3/4 mile away two smaller lights started to strobe back & forth. The large bright lights still remained on. As I got closer the lights were so bright you had to squint a little. When I was roughly 1/4 mile away I noticed there was this very large dark object hovering about 500-1000 feet from the ground.
At first glance the object was dark & cylinder shaped. It didn’t appear to have wings nor windows. It was roughly 50-100ft to the left of the hwy. I slowed down to about 40mph and the car behind me stepped on his brakes & went around me. When the object was directly in front of me I rolled my driver window down & stuck my head out the window. It was 3-5 times bigger than a commercial plane. It made no sound and was just hovering like a kite.
As I drove past the object I could see there were THREE large cylinders. Two smaller cylinders on the outside and one large cylinder in the middle that protruded past the smaller cylinders. It appeared all three cylinders were connected. There was also no markings.
At the moment I had to make a quick decision if I should stop and pull over or keep driving to work. Also the junction to switch hwy’s was around 1000ft so I had to act quick. I was so dazed & confused about what I was seeing my reaction was to head to work. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen so about a ½ mile away I turned around and headed back. It took me less than a minute to get back to the spot where I saw the object but it was nowhere in sight.
I searched the local news papers to see if anyone else had reported seeing the object but I didn’t find anything. I know for a fact someone else had to have seen what I saw as it was right next to a major highway. Luckily I found this site & Im hoping someone else saw what I saw. One last note. I thought it was strange while I was searching the internet for reports of the object. There was a UFO convention (The bay area UFO EXPO) the following week.
I told my family & friends but they didn’t believe me. Honestly I don’t care what they think. I know what I saw!
Bucks County Courier-Times journalist James McGinnis penned this brief news piece explaining why MUFON was dispatching field investiagors into Bucks County - due to the original January 27 UFO sighting and then due to additional reports that followed. The writer - as a way of possibly legitimizing MUFON, mentioned how the group was featured in an episode of "The X-Files." Well done.
ABC News Channel Six Philadelphia reporter John Rawlins presents this brief report which begins with a cliche - "The truth is out there" - and moves to reporting from a local diner with a mere two opinions, including "No, I think somebody is smoking something funny or imagining things; no, I don't believe in that," from Nancy Sdregas. Then a reference to the film, "Signs." It ends in a rather positive fashion by quoting MUFON field investigator Bob Gardner - but hey, where's the rest of the story, John?
ABC News Channel Six Philadelphia reporter Chad Pradelli seemingly was caught off guard with this piece that reeks of someone attempting to promote their business (hey, in these economic times, can you blame the guy?) Apparently Anthony Lobianco, who owns Intergalactic Fireworks off Route 1 in Langhorne, caught the news of UFO reports and matched that against his store's sales of sky laterns that were "flying off the shelves and then flying into the air." 
The Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Jeff Gammage wrote this decent piece focusing on MUFON field investigator Bob Gardner. Not much substance on the investigative side, but the nicely styled story does make the public aware of MUFON, a local field investigator, and a UFO Public Awareness Day.
Fox News 29 Philadelphia reporter Gerald Colpan filed this report with a bit of UFO humor in it - "So far, nobody has reported taking a ride in any unidentified flying objects," and one mention of "little green men," but overall a fair piece. Check out the photo slideshow: 
Dateline Langhorne, PA, Walter Perez with ABC News Channel Six in Philadelphia offers a rather slim piece on strange lights seen in the sky - with a quote from one witness and a possible natural explanation (light pillars). The photography submitted by witnesses is extraordinary and worth taking a look at - even if you don't read the story.
Bucks County Courier-Times journalist Jerry Jonas wrote this November commentary with an open mind - allowing for the facts to come in and did not "talk down" to his readers. He does offer a brief UFO explanation for anyone living under a rock, but in the end sides with President Carter - who vowed not to ridicule anyone who has seen a UFO after personally seeing one himself. Most interesting is Jonas' reporting of the connection between a local sighting and an FAA spokeswoman at Philly airport who confirmed an unidentified object "circled Doylestown at the time of the reported sighting. The woman explained that she remembered that the object in question was moving at a high rate of speed - even for an aircraft - and stressed that while there are some aircraft that fly without transponders, it would be quite unusual for any of them to be flying without one at 3 or 4 a.m. This was especially true since the object in question was so close to a protected air space area which requires a transponder."
Freelance writer Steven Wells for Philadelphia Weekly knocked out this gritty trip down UFO lane in a piece that actually puts the reader behind the wheel - warts and all - the kind of reporting where the writer is using all five senses at the same time and assumes his readers will make their own decisions. Wells moves along at rapid-fire pace with a full palette of details - like reading bumper stickers on the cars of those he's interviewing or how they describe themselves on their myspace page - and gaining details on their family and religious beliefs. While most writers take a softer approach, Wells makes you feel like you were right there for the ride, and in doing so, imparts the kind of detail to actually make an informed decision. He moves through multiple locations, multiple interviews - and still manages to stay on track with the point of the piece - that the Philly area experienced a dramatic increase in reported UFO sightings. Well done.
