Jack Mallory
Senior Member
Sorry for the novel, but I just don't know how else to explain this or how to pose the questions that I'm most interested in.
The primary question is: WHAT DID I SEE?
About twenty years ago I observed something while driving on a familiar highway through central Connecticut that has baffled me ever since.
It was approximately 10:00 pm on I-84, heading west to east, approaching the capital city of Hartford. That highway tends be somewhat circuitous, and almost always busy, so keeping one's eyes on the road is a must. Coming around one bend in the road I saw a very conspicuous craft of some sort hovering in one spot almost directly over the highway, at what I'm guessing was an altitude of no more than 500 ft (150m). It was not very high, and appeared to be consistent with what one might expect from a traffic or news helicopter.
What was most striking were two distinct rows of horizontal lights emitting a sequential strobing pattern. Although I'd never witnessed anything even remotely similar to that before (or since) I assumed that this was a helicopter, and that the strobing lights were merely a safety feature when hovering in place at night. There is a TV news station for the local NBC affiliate within sight of where this occurred, so my first thought that it was one of their helicopters either waiting to land or having just taken off (but still hovering for some reason). The number and size of the strobing lights would've been roughly equivalent to something taking up 3/4 the length of a typical domestic helicopter. At least that was my perception in the moment.
Not being sure what I was seeing, my immediate thoughts were, Why isn't anyone else noticing this? Why isn't traffic slowing down, at least out of curiosity? Why do I seem to be the only looking even glancing up? As previously stated, the serpentine nature of this highway demands a fair bit of attention from any driver, but I was glancing around at other drivers to see if anyone else was reacting in any way to these lights over our heads. They were not.
Again, this was highly unusual as well as being extremely conspicuous. Having grown up near there, I'd driven this highway literally thousands of times in my life, but never once encountered any such thing at that location or anywhere else. Also of note: there is a hospital with LIFE STAR capabilities only a couple of miles away, so the possibility of it being an emergency medical helicopter also crossed my mind. But there were no signs of any accidents or any emergency vehicles whatsoever anywhere in the vicinity.
While I was personally intrigued by the sighting, it was impossible to pull over or even slow down on this stretch of highway. Even though I was able to see it from one angle or another from somewhere between 30 to 60 seconds, I wasn't able to get a good look at it while stationary. As the highway continued to demand my immediate attention, I kept hoping that after one bend in the road, or on an elevated exit ramp that I planned on taking, I'd get a better vantage point, if only briefly. I was even hoping that once I got to my destination a few miles later, it would still be in view. But no such luck. The terrain is hilly, the road twists and turns, and when down at street level the abundant trees prevent much of a view of anything beyond a block or two. As curious and odd as this encounter was, the fact that no one else seem to notice or react in any way was somewhat disarming to me. Although I had assumed it was a helicopter, it wasn't until I started looking up images and videos of helicopters at night, and the various types of safety lights they often used, that I realize I couldn't find anything even close to what I had witnessed. And in the twenty or so years since, I never once come across anything similar.
It was only more recently when contemplating this whole thing again that it occurred to me (after studying various images) that the number and length of the lighting display that I saw was entirely inconsistent with what would even fit on a typical news helicopter. There just isn't enough practical space on the side of such a vehicle. I then considered the LIFE STAR medical helicopter, but with all the windows and sliding doors, it seems unimaginable that two rows of lights—which would've spanned the center of the helicopter and most of its length—would, or could, ever be installed.
So what did I see?
What I'm most curious about is if there are any helicopter pilots here who might speak to hovering protocols after dark, and if any such lighting is ever used. Because no matter how diligently I research this, I can't come up with anything similar in use, ever, under any circumstances, on any helicopters—civilian, police or military.
Could it have been an advertising blimp, and maybe the strobing lights were in some sort of stand-by mode, not projecting any letters or messages, but just simply flashing? To me, that's highly doubtful because such a blimp would have other lighting that would give its overall shape away, and I can't imagine myself not being able to spot at least part of the blimp structure.
A more recent speculation of mine is: Could it have been a helicopter with conventional lighting, but a reflection from the rotating blades created the illusion of strobing lights from my perspective? Perhaps if I had been stationary, but I would think that such an illusion would reveal itself as the angle between my car and whatever it was above me changed.
FWIW, I'm well aware of just how difficult it is to accurately judge any sighting, of any objects above, while driving in a car. I understand that. But if you can imagine a news/traffic helicopter hovering in place over a highway, that would be consistent with what I saw from a positioning stand point. But due to the fact that it was at night, and I was driving at probably 60 mph (95km/h), I just couldn't make out any specific shape or size beyond the lights. Nor could I hear anything due to traffic noise and the car windows being rolled up (and I probably had music playing as well).
Now, in all honesty, after all these years, I can't clearly remember if the two rows of lights were white, or if one row was white and the other either red or blue. I have mixed memories of that. But there was never any green light noticeable (which would be typical for at least the right cabin side by aviation standards).
I'm including a few crude images to help illustrate my observations. In most of these diagrams I'm using red and blue lights simple for clarity, while I admit that one, or both rows of lights could've been plain white.
The depiction of these lights is roughly what I imagined at the time—if it were a helicopter. But as you can see, such a light placement would be impractical if not outright absurd.
In order for a helicopter to properly fit the lights I remember seeing, it would have to be much larger craft, but when I pull up pictures of the LIFE STAR helicopter, it doesn't seem possible that two rows of horizontal lights would ever be mounted in such a manner.
Lastly, here are a couple of images of a CT State Police helicopter (one with a rough approximation of where such lights would need to be mounted to resemble anything close to what I saw that night).
The last consideration would be maybe a military helicopter. A Chinook would have ample room for such lighting (possibly). But, again, I can't find anything to indicate that any military helicopters ever employ such lighting (and I've never once seen a military helicopter in this area, and certainly never hovering at night).
Last image: A map of the location.
Thanks for your time. I just hope this renders properly with all the images.
(Still trying to get used to the formatting on this platform.)
The primary question is: WHAT DID I SEE?
About twenty years ago I observed something while driving on a familiar highway through central Connecticut that has baffled me ever since.
It was approximately 10:00 pm on I-84, heading west to east, approaching the capital city of Hartford. That highway tends be somewhat circuitous, and almost always busy, so keeping one's eyes on the road is a must. Coming around one bend in the road I saw a very conspicuous craft of some sort hovering in one spot almost directly over the highway, at what I'm guessing was an altitude of no more than 500 ft (150m). It was not very high, and appeared to be consistent with what one might expect from a traffic or news helicopter.
What was most striking were two distinct rows of horizontal lights emitting a sequential strobing pattern. Although I'd never witnessed anything even remotely similar to that before (or since) I assumed that this was a helicopter, and that the strobing lights were merely a safety feature when hovering in place at night. There is a TV news station for the local NBC affiliate within sight of where this occurred, so my first thought that it was one of their helicopters either waiting to land or having just taken off (but still hovering for some reason). The number and size of the strobing lights would've been roughly equivalent to something taking up 3/4 the length of a typical domestic helicopter. At least that was my perception in the moment.
Not being sure what I was seeing, my immediate thoughts were, Why isn't anyone else noticing this? Why isn't traffic slowing down, at least out of curiosity? Why do I seem to be the only looking even glancing up? As previously stated, the serpentine nature of this highway demands a fair bit of attention from any driver, but I was glancing around at other drivers to see if anyone else was reacting in any way to these lights over our heads. They were not.
Again, this was highly unusual as well as being extremely conspicuous. Having grown up near there, I'd driven this highway literally thousands of times in my life, but never once encountered any such thing at that location or anywhere else. Also of note: there is a hospital with LIFE STAR capabilities only a couple of miles away, so the possibility of it being an emergency medical helicopter also crossed my mind. But there were no signs of any accidents or any emergency vehicles whatsoever anywhere in the vicinity.
While I was personally intrigued by the sighting, it was impossible to pull over or even slow down on this stretch of highway. Even though I was able to see it from one angle or another from somewhere between 30 to 60 seconds, I wasn't able to get a good look at it while stationary. As the highway continued to demand my immediate attention, I kept hoping that after one bend in the road, or on an elevated exit ramp that I planned on taking, I'd get a better vantage point, if only briefly. I was even hoping that once I got to my destination a few miles later, it would still be in view. But no such luck. The terrain is hilly, the road twists and turns, and when down at street level the abundant trees prevent much of a view of anything beyond a block or two. As curious and odd as this encounter was, the fact that no one else seem to notice or react in any way was somewhat disarming to me. Although I had assumed it was a helicopter, it wasn't until I started looking up images and videos of helicopters at night, and the various types of safety lights they often used, that I realize I couldn't find anything even close to what I had witnessed. And in the twenty or so years since, I never once come across anything similar.
It was only more recently when contemplating this whole thing again that it occurred to me (after studying various images) that the number and length of the lighting display that I saw was entirely inconsistent with what would even fit on a typical news helicopter. There just isn't enough practical space on the side of such a vehicle. I then considered the LIFE STAR medical helicopter, but with all the windows and sliding doors, it seems unimaginable that two rows of lights—which would've spanned the center of the helicopter and most of its length—would, or could, ever be installed.
So what did I see?
What I'm most curious about is if there are any helicopter pilots here who might speak to hovering protocols after dark, and if any such lighting is ever used. Because no matter how diligently I research this, I can't come up with anything similar in use, ever, under any circumstances, on any helicopters—civilian, police or military.
Could it have been an advertising blimp, and maybe the strobing lights were in some sort of stand-by mode, not projecting any letters or messages, but just simply flashing? To me, that's highly doubtful because such a blimp would have other lighting that would give its overall shape away, and I can't imagine myself not being able to spot at least part of the blimp structure.
A more recent speculation of mine is: Could it have been a helicopter with conventional lighting, but a reflection from the rotating blades created the illusion of strobing lights from my perspective? Perhaps if I had been stationary, but I would think that such an illusion would reveal itself as the angle between my car and whatever it was above me changed.
FWIW, I'm well aware of just how difficult it is to accurately judge any sighting, of any objects above, while driving in a car. I understand that. But if you can imagine a news/traffic helicopter hovering in place over a highway, that would be consistent with what I saw from a positioning stand point. But due to the fact that it was at night, and I was driving at probably 60 mph (95km/h), I just couldn't make out any specific shape or size beyond the lights. Nor could I hear anything due to traffic noise and the car windows being rolled up (and I probably had music playing as well).
Now, in all honesty, after all these years, I can't clearly remember if the two rows of lights were white, or if one row was white and the other either red or blue. I have mixed memories of that. But there was never any green light noticeable (which would be typical for at least the right cabin side by aviation standards).
I'm including a few crude images to help illustrate my observations. In most of these diagrams I'm using red and blue lights simple for clarity, while I admit that one, or both rows of lights could've been plain white.
The depiction of these lights is roughly what I imagined at the time—if it were a helicopter. But as you can see, such a light placement would be impractical if not outright absurd.
In order for a helicopter to properly fit the lights I remember seeing, it would have to be much larger craft, but when I pull up pictures of the LIFE STAR helicopter, it doesn't seem possible that two rows of horizontal lights would ever be mounted in such a manner.
Lastly, here are a couple of images of a CT State Police helicopter (one with a rough approximation of where such lights would need to be mounted to resemble anything close to what I saw that night).
The last consideration would be maybe a military helicopter. A Chinook would have ample room for such lighting (possibly). But, again, I can't find anything to indicate that any military helicopters ever employ such lighting (and I've never once seen a military helicopter in this area, and certainly never hovering at night).
Last image: A map of the location.
Thanks for your time. I just hope this renders properly with all the images.
(Still trying to get used to the formatting on this platform.)
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