A Close Encounter Over the Midwest
In the late afternoon of January 5, 2000, a series of unusual sightings occurred near St. Louis, Missouri, capturing the attention of pilots, air traffic controllers, and law enforcement officials[1][2]. This event, often referred to as the “St. Clair Triangle” or “UFO Over Illinois,” involved multiple witnesses reporting a massive, silent, triangular aircraft maneuvering in ways that defied conventional aviation[2].
Timeline of Events
* Shortly after 4:00 AM: The sightings began over the towns of Highland, Dupo, Lebanon, Summerfield, Millstadt, and O’Fallon, Illinois[2].
* 4:00 PM (approx.): According to a traffic controller aboard an American jetliner, the incident occurred a few minutes before 4 p.m.[1].
* Over an hour: The object was followed sporadically for nearly an hour, travelling a 60-mile-long flight path that extended from northeast to southwest[2].
Eyewitness Accounts
What made the St. Louis incident particularly compelling was the credibility of the witnesses, including law enforcement officers and aviation professionals.
* Traffic Controller (American Jetliner): A traffic controller aboard an American jetliner reported seeing “a flight of four” UFOs “flying in a square formation”[1]. The UFOs, coming from the east, seemed to be on a near-collision course toward the jetliner. The objects were propelled by rocket engines that emitted a long tail of blue-green flame[1]. The co-pilot called the nearby St. Louis airport tower on the radio to report the incident. Behind the United flight was an Air National Guard jet fighter, cruising at 41,000 feet, also eastbound. He too had monitored the radio reports of the UFOs, and a few moments later he reported: “Damn, they almost got me.” He went on to explain that the squadron of UFOs seemed to be headed directly for his aircraft until, at the last moment, the strange object abruptly changed course and climbed out of his path[1].
* Officer Barton (Police Officer): Officer Barton had one of the closest views — by his reckoning, it was some 200 feet away and about 1,000-1,500 feet in the air. He also stated that the object made zero noise[2]. It started going away from him again rather slowly, almost like a hovering or a floating, and then when it turned away from him, it didn’t bank like an aircraft or a helicopter. It was almost like a car going around a curve, just a flat turn. Then it seemed to accelerate fairly rapidly[2].
* Johnny Doss (Resident of Summerfield): Doss, had undergone heart surgery in July, and wasn’t sleeping well. He heard the report of the UFO and listened to Officer Barton’s live account through the crackle and static that the object was “just east of Summerfield and it keeps changing colors.” The object was “way larger than an airliner, with several bright lights”[2].
* Matt Jany (Dupo Police Officer): Jany saw the UFO within minutes after being alerted. The object “wasn’t like a normal aircraft,” Jany remarks. “It was real wide and real long and taller in the middle.” It had “lots of lights on it, white lights at the extremes, red lights in the middle. There may have been some blue in there, too”[2].
* Steven Wonnacott (English Teacher): Dawn was breaking, and Wonnacott said, “At first I thought it was airplane from Parks (Airport, in Cahokia), but it looked far too big for an airplane and it had no navigational lights”[2].
Descriptions of the Phenomena
* Shape: The object was described as a massive, silent, triangular aircraft[2].
* Maneuverability: The craft operated at an unusual range of near-hover to incredible high speed at treetop altitudes[2].
* Lights: The object had lots of lights on it, white lights at the extremes, red lights in the middle, and possibly some blue[2].
* Sound: The object made zero noise[2].
Possible Explanations and Skepticism
* Meteor: Experts suspected that a meteor might have been responsible, in particular a giant meteor, or “fireball,” that had been seen by numerous observers on the ground[1]. However, there were significant discrepancies between the lowa Fireball and the St. Louis UFO report, including the time of the incident and the location of the radar[1].
* Experimental Aircraft: A major aircraft company, McDonnell Douglas, was located near the St. Louis airport, and analysts wondered if perhaps the UFOs were some new experimental rocket-propelled aircraft built there[1]. However, the company had not developed any such new aircraft.
The Enduring Mystery
The 1998 St. Louis Airport sighting, or the St. Clair Triangle incident, remains an intriguing and unexplained event. Despite the passage of time, the accounts of credible witnesses continue to fuel speculation and debate about the nature of the object that was seen over the Midwest that night. One of the main draws of these types of incidents is the unexplainable nature behind them[2].
Read More
[1] https://www.pbs.org/lifebeyondearth/listening/stlouispop.html
[2] https://www.riverfronttimes.com/news/space-case-2474776
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFO_sightings_in_the_United_States
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_reported_UFO_sightings
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyeAiQTTFPE
[6] https://www.tiktok.com/@jay_rule/video/7360884352663751978