The C-130 is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.

Sky abuzz with military aircraft south of national park

Then last week I was fishing on the Tuckasegee River and there were all kinds of helicopters flying around all over the place – Chinooks, Blackhawks and some Kiowas.

Chinook, Blackhawk and Kiowa helicopters

And, lately I have had what appears to be a jet flying maneuvers over my house.  It’s either an F-15 or F-16.  It is really getting ridiculous because the sonic booms are making my windows shake.  I’m really sick of it.  I have never seen such activity in my life in this area as I have in the past three weeks.

F-15 and F-16 fighter jets

I am a U.S. Army veteran who served in a Chinook Helicopter Unit during the First Gulf War.
So, to see this much activity where I live here in the North Carolina mountains causes me great concern.  I just wanted to let you know.  Thanks, Lori

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If you wish to learn more about the secret base beneath the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I’ve devoted one chapter to it in my book “Underground Military Bases hidden in North Carolina Mountains.” – The editor

Has anyone seen a shield-shaped UFO like this?

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received this witness report on November 8, 2016 from a man who identified himself but requested that we use only his initials C.T.

I just found your site and wanted to give you my sighting report.  I live near Mount Airy in Surry County, North Carolina (county in red). I have looked and looked to find a person with a similar sighting and have yet to find one that resembles what I saw.

Mt. Pilot is a prominent landmark in Surry County. It inspired the fictional town of Mount Pilot
on “The Andy Griffith Show” which was a popular 1960’s television series.

I can’t remember the exact day but a few years ago around 10 or 11 o'clock, I was sitting outside on the porch looking southwest.  I was gazing at the stars and noticed one that was peculiar.

I remembered some talk about Venus around that time so I was thinking it might be Venus. As I kept watching, the "star-like" object seemed pretty innocuous but it seemed to get higher above the tree line.  We are in a small valley.  Across the road is a steep hill/small mountain.  The light seemed to gain distance between it and the top of the hill.

It continued very slowly until I realized it was not gaining altitude, it was coming toward me from the southwest.  Slowly I was able to make out the light which was attached to the foreword center of a craft of some sort.  Eventually, I could see the dark shape against the dark purplish grey sky.

Not too long after feeling like it was watching me, it banked slowly and gently in a tight turn heading west.  The turn was far too tight for normal flight.  Immediately the sense of being watched went away. I then watched it between the gaps in the trees from the wooded area beside my house.

There was no sound during the sighting but shortly after it banked and turned, I could make out a faint drone sound, however, there also was a high-altitude aircraft at the same time with standard aviation flashing lights. The UFO traversed the sky slowly.  From the time I noticed the light to the point where I could not see it any longer, was approximately five minutes.

When in flight, the military’s TR-3B often is mistaken for a triangular UFO.
It does not, though, look like the drawing this witnesses provided.

My dad suggested some type of stealth blimp but I don't know about that.  

Feel free to use the story and image on your site. Let me know if you find someone with a similar shaped sighting! – C.T.

UFO above tree tops in North Wilkesboro, NC

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received this UFO report early morning on August 29, 2015, just a few hours after Dan from North Wilkesboro, NC saw a UFO from his home.

At 5:45 a.m. this morning, I woke to a very bright light outside my bedroom window. I got out of bed thinking that someone was shining a light. To my surprise, I witnessed a very bright triangle shaped object moving in a circular motion very close to the tree tops.

I watched this object first moving north toward the mountain behind my home. It seemed to move closer to the tree tops, never making a sound and moved very slowly up the valley and the light became brilliant. As it continued to move, it started moving faster until it disappeared from my view.

I have never believed in UFOs, but was very moved.  I will rise at the same time tomorrow in the hopes of getting a photo.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This UFO report with drawing was sent to us via email at 3 a.m. on July 3, 2015 by Harold shortly after his sighting from the south side of Asheville, North Carolina.
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I stood looking at it jumping and darting in and out between the limbs. I couldn't believe this!  In my mind I noted where I was standing, where in the sky it was, how high in the tree, what limbs it was behind, still not believing what I was seeing!

I watched for what I believe a minute to two as it just danced around darting here and there.  Then it stopped, then it started slowly moving to the left of the tree continuing to move out into the open sky.  It moved a good two feet away from the tree to the west, then it just stopped.

I kept watching to see if it moved again but it was still. Again I took position of the other stars in relation to this star, where I was standing on the porch, how far it was away from the tree limbs. I finally moved to the swing on the porch still looking at the star.

Dave and I talked another half hour and I went inside. The star never moved. About an hour after that before going to bed I looked again. The "star” never moved! This star was very bright and quite large.  I couldn't tell how far away it was.

I have a military background and a few years as a home town police officer.  Please just use my first name.

White triangular UFO over Leicester, NC

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received this report on Sunday, March 22, 2015 from a man in Leicester, North Carolina who requested to remain anonymous. 

It’s interesting to note there was another sighting from that same general area on February 11, 2015.  Scroll down to “UFO repeatedly seen northwest of Asheville” to read that report.

Tonight over a farm in Leicester, NC, which is a little outside of Asheville, I saw a triangular shape of light in the sky on my way home from work around 9 p.m.  It had the appearance of a slab of white light with points of brighter light at the edges of the same color.  It was just hovering or moving really slowly; I couldn’t tell.  Also, the top was not illuminated, but I could tell there was something there by it blocking the clouds.  My girlfriend saw it as well.

I felt no sensations other than I knew pretty much exactly what it was when I looked at it.  I felt odd in that regard because I looked up and just thought, “Oh, that’s a UFO; I always thought it was crazy” you know?  But there it was right in the sky.  About two minutes later, I stopped my car and turned around and it was no longer there.

Newland, NC (red marker) is just north of Linville and about ten miles west of
Grandfather Mountain, a well-known tourist destination.

Huge dark gray UFO seen from Newland, NC

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received a phone call from Louise Shissler on February 13, 2015 about her recent UFO sighting in Newland, NC on February 11, 2015. There were two of us on the line and here is what she told us about her high mountain sighting. Please note there was another sighting report that same evening from the same general area. That testimony follows this one.

About an hour before sunset on February 11, 2015, Louise braved the cold for a quick walk.  When she looked toward the south-southwestern sky, she saw a “huge oval-shaped UFO hovering in the saddle between two mountains.”

At arm’s length, she said the UFO “was as wide as three of my knuckles.”  This indicates the object was quite large because a thumb at arm’s length easily covers a full moon.

She described the dark gray UFO as being “non-reflective and opaque” and encircled with white light. She said the object must have been mechanical because “it was sharp edged” as was the circle of light around it.

Louise said the UFO didn’t move during the 15 minutes she watched it.  When asked how it disappeared, she said she headed back home before it disappeared because it was so cold that evening.

UFO repeatedly seen northwest of Asheville

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received this testimony via email on February 13, 2015 from Ariana who lives in the Asheville/Woodfin area of North Carolina.

We have been observing a light in the night sky from our front porch.  It appears randomly above the tree line – different days and different times.  It is a white-yellow light with a tint of red on the edges and is brighter than a star or satellite.  It is not a tower, a streetlight or house because it appears in different parts of the sky when it appears.

I filmed the light on February 11, 2015 around 7:30 p.m.  It is about a 10 minute-video but it’s too large to send via email.  When I have shown it to a few people, they can’t think of anything that could offer an explanation for this. I was wondering if anyone else in the Asheville/Woodfin area is seeing this light.

Swirling vapor from UFO encircles man

EDITOR’S NOTE:  We received a phone call on February 5, 2015 from John Dyer who lives west of Bryson City, NC on lower Alarka Road.  He wanted to report his unique UFO experience that happened about 10 hours earlier. There were two of us on the phone with John.  Here is a summary of what he told us over the phone.

In the early morning hours of February 5, 2015, about 2 a.m., John stepped outside his home and looked up at the sky.  He saw about 16-20 white-light UFOs in the sky arranged in a square.  He estimated the square of lights was about 2,000 feet in the air and that there was equal spacing between each of the UFOs.

When we asked him how big the square was, he said if he extended his arm straight out in front of him that his open hand could not cover the entire square of lights.

Then his story became more unusual.  He said a swirling vapor came down from one of the UFOs and encircled him for about 10 minutes. 

He said he immediately yelled out for his friend, Tristan Ball, to come outside.  He wanted a witness.

From inside the swirling vapor, John said the vapor was thick but translucent.  From outside the swirling vapor, Tristan saw a black sheen that sometimes rippled through the vapor.  When it did, it partially blocked John from his view. As he told us this, we thought of UFO cloaking technology.

When we asked John if he felt anything, he said “amazement” and that he felt like “spirit warriors” were encircling him to protect and help him.

View of the Pisgah Mountains near Clyde, North Carolina

Five very bright lights in a cloud

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This brief eyewitness testimony was sent to us at 3:45 a.m. on December 30, 2014 from a couple who observed strange lights in the sky while driving home to Tennessee after spending their Christmas holiday in North Carolina.

My wife and I were traveling west on I-40 this evening at 6 p.m. EST.  Looking outside the driver side window of our SUV, we saw what looked like five very bright lights in a straight line hovering in a cloud.  I was driving but both my wife and I were able to observe the lights between 10 and 15 seconds.  My wife dropped a pin marker on her iPhone GPS and it came up Pisgah National Park around the Clyde area.