PCF-103868 · case file

Hudson Valley

July, 1988 · New York · United States · 7,000+ witnesses

The record

It moved silently above the Taconic, the size of a football field, and seven thousand people watched it.

For more than four years, beginning in late 1982, residents of the Hudson Valley reported a vast, silent, slowly-moving object — most often described as a triangular or boomerang-shaped array of brilliant lights — gliding low over the towns north of New York City. The peak night was March 24, 1983, when traffic stalled on the Taconic State Parkway as drivers stepped from their cars to watch it pass overhead.

Characteristics

Shape: Segmented, elongated, undulating; composed of separate pieces connected by translucent tubes; described as organic/animal-like in motion
Nature: Unknown aerial object; large, segmented, silent, with colored and white lights
Sound: Completely silent
Site: Cornfield near reservoir, Congers, New York; rural/semi-rural area near Hudson River
Size: approximately 91 meters (size of a football field)
Time of day: Dusk
Theme: radar_aviation

Timeline

Late 1982
Initial sightings concentrated in Putnam and Westchester counties; many witnesses describe a slow, low-flying, V- or boomerang-shaped object.
March 24, 1983 · 20:10
Calls flood county and state police lines. Drivers stop on the Taconic State Parkway.
1984–1986
Sightings continue across the region; multiple investigators (Dr. J. Allen Hynek among them) interview hundreds of witnesses.

Source records · 1

The unmodified record(s) the master event was assembled from.

NIDS-DOCNIDS-DOC:e7e9a408:122 fields

city: Congers
date: 1988-07-01
site: Cornfield near reservoir, Congers, New York; rural/semi-rural area near Hudson River
shape: Segmented, elongated, undulating; composed of separate pieces connected by translucent tubes; described as organic/animal-like in motion
sound: Completely silent
state: New York
country: USA
date_raw: July, 1988
incident: Kirk Kristibas and friends observed a large object initially appearing as a coil of blinking red and green lights across the Hudson River. The object 'unraveled' into a wavy structure, moved in an undulating motion southward from Hook Mountain toward the witnesses, and appeared to be about the size of a football field. It was composed of separate segments connected by translucent tubes, allowing organic, fluid bends. Each segment was lit by four red and green alternating lights, with the front segment having a bright white headlight. The object was dark, silent, with no visible metallic surfaces or windows. Two friends ran toward it, one female companion hyperventilated. Dogs were barking for miles around. Many people in the area were in their yards watching. High in the atmosphere, small lights swarmed like fireflies, thought possibly to be fighter jets. An unusual number of shooting stars was noted. The next morning, radio station WRKL reportedly carried news of an object seen over Westchester County across the Hudson River. After the sighting, the primary witness experienced repeated out-of-body projections, saw auras, and had a vision of Manhattan being inundated with lava. No time loss was reported.
trajectory: Moved south to north across the sky toward Hook Mountain, then turned south and approached the witnesses in the cornfield
case_source: NIDS
size_meters: approximately 91 meters (size of a football field)
time_of_day: Dusk
source_quote: The object appeared to be composed of separate segments attached by translucent tubes, as it could bend at each section, allowing for almost organic bends and fluid animal like positions. Each piece was lit by four lights, two on each side, colored red and green alternately. The front piece was like the other, but had a headlight. He could detect no metallic surfaces and the object was dark.
catalog_entry: NIDS-DOC:e7e9a408:1
location_text: near a reservoir in Congers, New York, Rockland County; cornfield facing North toward Hook Mountain
photo_or_video: Witness indicated he would forward a sketch of the craft
source_doc_sha: e7e9a408eb7dea32510af8210f94ee21306fd33093cc2f5d9fd65e7ebbbdce58
light_emissions: Red and green alternating blinking lights on each segment (two on each side); bright white headlight on front segment
witness_sex_age: Male primary witness (Kirk Kristibas); mixed group of friends including at least one female companion; described as youths
witness_reactions: Two friends ran toward the object; female companion hyperventilated; primary witness was scared; female friend later refused to discuss the event; primary witness subsequently experienced out-of-body projections, aura visions, and apocalyptic visions; no negative experiences reported by other friends
nature_of_phenomenon: Unknown aerial object; large, segmented, silent, with colored and white lights

Geography

Sources

Hynek/Imbrogno/Pratt
Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings
NICAP
Hudson Valley case files
NUFORC
Witness reports, Putnam & Westchester counties

Related cases