Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. But other times, it just might be a UFO. Cigar-shaped UFOs are one of the oldest and most common types of UFO shapes reported. So delve into stories of these common high fliers so you can decide whether they're alien or something else altogether.
19th Century UFO Crash in Texas
One of the oldest reported UFO sightings in the United States was a cigar-shaped UFO. It happened on April 19, 1897 in Aurora, Texas. What happened? A UFO apparently crashed, and examination of the pilot's remains suggested he was distinctly alien. The townspeople combed through the out-of-this-world wreckage, and an article in The Dallas Morning News described the UFO crash in detail.
The account reads as though the UFO had been previously seen, stating that on the morning of the crash the airship was, "much nearer the earth than ever before." The craft flew directly over the public square, then crashed into a windmill tower, located in the northern part of town. Upon impact, the UFO exploded, scattering debris over several acres. The remains of the pilot were quickly identified as, "not an inhabitant of this world." In fact, the local US Signal Service Officer declared the pilot was from Mars.
Discovered among the remains of the crash was a log of the pilot's journey. The entries were of strange, unrecognized hieroglyphics. The townspeople couldn't find any type of machinery or engine in the wreckage. The residents collected pieces of the ship that were described as a type of aluminum and silver metal. The day after the crash, the good townspeople held a funeral for the pilot. The alien's body was interred in the town cemetery and was marked only with a rock. Unfortunately, the rock was removed sometime later, and the exact location of the grave is said to be unknown.
'Oumuamua Cigar-Shaped UFO From Another Solar System
In October of 2017, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System-1 (Pan-STARRS-1) in Hawaii detected an enormous cigar-shaped object that was on a path toward the sun. Taken by surprise, scientists struggled to determine what the oddly shaped object was as it tumbled closer.
All kinds of speculation electrified the internet. The object was named 'Oumuamua, which is Hawaiian for "scout or visitor from afar arriving first." Many UFO theorists speculated that the cigar-shaped object was an alien scout ship or mother ship. Ultimately, scientists concluded it was a comet, albeit not a typical one. However, it didn't have the typical features of a comet. Scientist Marshall Eubanks of Space Initiatives, Inc explored the possibility that 'Oumuamua hailed from the Pleiades dynamical stream.
Not all scientists agreed with the comet theory. Professor Avi Loeb, chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy, stated at the time that the object wasn't cigar-shaped, but disc shaped and possibly a solar sail. He said it might be space junk from an alien civilization or even an alien probe. He said he crunched all the numbers, and the chances of it being a random comet were 1 in a quadrillion.
2019 Pilot Report and Video of Cigar-Shaped UFO
In September 2019, a pilot flying a private jet over Utah at 40,000 feet filed a report with MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) accompanied by a video of a white cigar-shaped UFO. The video reveals a cigar-shaped UFO moving at a sustained moderate speed below the pilot's aircraft.
After viewing the video, Metabunk used the original video on MUFON's website to get the timestamp and GPS location of the private plane. Using this information, he was able to ascertain the UFO was actually a United Airlines plane. He published the flight number as well as how high the United flight was traveling in its descent to the Las Vegas airport.
Accidental Drone Video of Cigar-Shaped UFO
In 2016, documentary filmmakers Sam Chortek and Jimmy Chappie were shooting footage for a film a few miles outside of Beaver, Utah. Using a drone, the two men and the drone operator were approximately 400-500 feet away from it. Later that night, upon reviewing the day's footage, they discovered the UFO. The three men had not heard or seen anything during the filming. Doing a little research on the region, they estimated the object traveled 3.5 miles in one second.
Below is the video of the UFO slowed down from the original speed
Cigar-Shaped UFOs at Vandenberg AFB
In 2016, a 73-year-old male reported to NUFORC (National UFO Reporting Center) how he witnessed cigar-shaped UFOs at his job at Vandenberg AFB in California during various Atlas D missile launches between 1965 and 1978. He watched many of these launches using "Big Eye', a 4400mm telescope and the Range Camera data at Building 7000. His report with NUFORC states, "While viewing some of the launch films, it was quite common to see UFO activity paralleling the flight."
The witnesses stated that the UFOs would catch the missile exhaust tail and track with the missile. The UFOs would then speed up to pace beside the missiles before speeding away at very fast speeds. He points out their radars could track up to 10,500 m/h speeds but were unable to track the UFOs' speeds that exceeded that maximum tracking speed.
UFO Cigar-Shaped Mother Ship
A report was made in 2013 about a 1971 incident with a large cigar-shaped UFO in the Philippine Sea. A former seaman who was on board the USS Bronstein DE-1037 ship headed toward North Vietnam reported the ship had moved away from the carrier when the port lookout shouted something was hovering above the water.
The seaman observed the UFO through the Big Eyes, which are three-foot-long binoculars capable of a range of 18 miles. He said the UFO looked like a dirigible in shape and described how a white cloud encased the middle of the cigar-shaped object. As the USS Bronstein got closer to the object, it remained hovering above the water, parallel to the ship. The eyewitness claimed the UFO was a mother ship. The object suddenly disappeared as soon as the lookout radioed the bridge.
The UFO left a round shape of rainbow colors in its wake. The round rainbow colors dissipated after 20 minutes. The seaman claimed that naval officers filmed the UFO with 8mm cameras. He adds that no one was debriefed. In retrospect, he was baffled that no one on the ship spoke about the incident, including him.
Midnight UFO Over Home
This sighting comes from the author, Sally Painter:
"On a moonless summer night, my husband, his cousin, and I were sitting in the backyard around midnight, talking and enjoying the evening after having enjoyed a grilled steak dinner. As we sat talking, a silvery cigar-shaped UFO suddenly appeared out of nowhere traveling so fast that it was gone in a matter of seconds. The object was about 70 feet long, but had no wings or tail. It was visible thanks to the security yard light, otherwise we may not have seen it well enough to know what it was.
"The cigar-shaped UFO was only about 15-20 feet above our house as it soundlessly passed over. There was no air disturbance, or any indication it had passed over our home so closely. Had we been sitting with our backs to the house, we would never have known it had passed over our home. We jumped up to see where it was traveling, but it was moving so fast we could no longer see it since it was enveloped in the darkness of the countryside. Needless to say, we were thunderstruck. After hours of discussing it, we came to the conclusion that the object was flying so incredibly low to avoid radar detection."
Tic Tac UFO
In 2017, Tom DeLonge's UFO research group leaked the 2004 U.S. Navy pilot Tic Tac video. It wasn't until 2020 that the U.S. military declassified the video and shocked the world with the admission of an existing and ongoing military UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) task force, which is the military's way of distancing itself from the stigma of the acronym - UFO. The Tic Tac UFO was reportedly 40 feet long.
Solving the Mysteries of Cigar-Shaped UFO Sightings
Videos of cigar-shaped UFOs occasionally appear on YouTube while reports continue to be filed with NUFORC and MUFON. The mystery surrounding cigar-shaped UFOs remains unsolved, just as other UFO sightings.
