Photo of Dark Object & Enlargement

Date of Sighting: December 20, 2006
Time of Sighting: 8 AM MST
Date Reported: December 20, 2006
Location of Sighting: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Latitude: 38.8 Degrees North (Airport)
Longitude: 104.8 Degrees West (Airport)
Number of Witnesses: One
Weather: Blizzard Conditions. Heavy Snow, Blowing Snow. Visibility Near 1/4 Mile. Winds Were From the North-Northwest at 29 With Gusts to 45 mph. Temperature Was 25 Degrees F. Cloud Ceiling was 300 Feet.

Description (In Witness's Own Words): I was driving in blizzard conditions. I took digital picture to show how bad it was. I noticed later an object in picture that was not visible to me at the time. Winds were strong and were blowing stright at my truck. The object is under a streetlight, but looks more distant. It is not a spot on my windshield. I just snapped digital cam to capture driving conditions and did not notice object till later.

Second Report by Witness: There were blizzard conditions and the airport and all traffic was shut down. The winds were at 35-45 mph. I was taking picture of the truck ahead of me there was 3 trucks with trailers. Due to conditions we were driving slow, approximately 15-20 mph. The road we are driving is parallel to the airport which is 2 miles south of our position. And we are driving uphill at a 5-7% grade that falls off just as steep within 1/2 mile. Also there was no reports of large flying debris.

Investigator's Notes: I originally thought that the object in the photo was a light airplane or helicopter. However, the witness stated the Colorado Springs Airport was closed because of the storm. (Most other airports in Colorado on the Front Range of Rockies were likely also closed due to the severe winter.) It is doubtful that any aircraft would be flying under the severe weather conditions noted at the time of the photo. (See weather observation above.) Therefore this makes it quite unlikely that the object was a helicopter or airplane. Another possible explanation is that the object could be a spot on the windshield. This is also unlikely because the witness checked his windshield and found no debris. Also the object is in focus. A spot on the windshield would likely be more out of focus. So what was object? At this time I consider this photo as unidentified.

Additional Note: A local investigator with the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) who lives in the Colorado Springs area has contacted me and says that he viewed aircraft moving in and out of the Colorado Springs airport on the day that the photograph was taken. This refutes the fact that the witness told me that the airport was closed. The local MUFON investigator also verified with one of the airlines that flights were arriving and departing on that day. Given this information it seems quite probable that the photograph above was of a conventional aircraft.