Taken right from API’s own case files, we show many examples of common IFOs on this new page. The more you and everyone else knows about these misidentifications, the more we can reduce the noise level in the field. Please review the page and let us know what would make it more useful to you. We intend to update it frequently.
Case 21-026 was closed as Identified. We think there is a strong case that the objects in the video are fire balloons, aka Chinese lanterns. Read our redacted Report of Investigation.
You can also watch the 2 video clips submitted by the witness:
Synopsis: On 6 Jan 12, at approximately 2100 hours, the witness of this investigation was returning to a hotel and saw a “strange object in the sky”. According to the witness, the object was circular, had two wings, and appeared to have a flickering amber light in its center. A second witness, who happened to be standing outside of the hotel, also saw the object in the sky. While the two witnesses discussed the object, another object, identical to the first, appeared and traveled west until it was no longer in sight.
Evidence Submitted: A sketch of the UFO.
Initial Action: This UFO investigation was opened as an FB1, a fly-by of a UFO that traveled in a straight line across the sky. Given the object of the sketch displayed a “flickering candle” and the object traveled west along with the wind, a type of Chinese lantern was likely the culprit.
Investigation and Findings: The investigators traveled to Baltimore, MD and interviewed the first witness of this investigation. The sketch provided by the witness appeared to have a flame flickering in the center of the object. The object, according to the witness, moved in the same direction of the wind and at a speed consistent with the weather for that night. The object, therefore, was more than likely a type of Chinese lantern or similar object.
Object Details: A type of Chinese lantern.
Synopsis: On 31 Dec 11, at 2345 hours, three separate witnesses were celebrating the New Year’s Eve in downtown Baltimore, MD. While smoking cigarettes outside in the yard, the witnesses saw three orange lights in the sky shaped in a pyramid. The three lights slowly rotated clockwise, paused briefly and started rotating counterclockwise. The lights split off and descended into the distance in three separate directions.
Evidence Submitted: A photo of the three orange orbs and video footage taken from a handheld camcorder.
Initial Action: This UFO investigation was opened as an FB1, a fly-by of a UFO that traveled in a straight line across the sky. Given that the event occurred only several minutes before New Years Eve, and the event occurred in a large city, the initial indication was that the three lights were some type of celebratory fireworks or Chinese lanterns.
Investigation and Findings: The investigators traveled to Baltimore, MD and interviewed the three witnesses. The witnesses seemed sincere and appeared to be truthful. One of the witnesses described the orbs as if there was “a lit flame flickering within the orbs”. During the investigation, the investigators traveled to the area where the three orbs disappeared, but found no ground traces to suggest the orbs were fireworks. A weather analysis for the time and date the orbs were sighted indicated the wind was blowing in the same direction the orbs traveled. Given the description of the orbs, the direction they traveled, the fact it was New Years Eve, and the orbs lowly “turned off” the investigators concluded the objects were some type of celebratory Chinese lanterns.
Object Details: Chinese lanterns.
