Manta_Ray_Liftoff

On 24 October 1994, a group of skywatchers gathered along the Northern end of West Searsville Rd.

On only two known occasions did the Manta Ray put on performances for people who gathered at the north end of West Searsville Rd. One of the performances took place on the night of 14 October 1994 (Friday), and is the subject of this web page. The other took place ten days later on 24 October 1994 (Monday). The picture below was taken on 24 October; it shows (from left to right) Jim Lyons, Cliff Larson, and George Filer (New Jersey State Director of MUFON). They witnessed the Manta Ray take off from a nearby field, fly in a large omega-shaped path above fields separating forests, and then spiral down into one of the forests (presumably into an opening in the forest) where its lights could be seen passing behind trees. The white orbs in the picture are of unknown origin. They are not street lamps. Cliff is watching one of them dance above his head.

The tree trunks and branches block the plasma headlights of the Manta Ray as it rose silently.

As I took this sequense of pictures as the Manta Ray spiralled down towards the forest, I took a long time exposure of 69 seconds duration in order to expose image of trees barely visible at night into which Manta Ray passed and then disappeared into the ground (white arrow). The Manta Ray has a characteristic diamond shape with bright outboard lights at the lateral angles of shape, which can be seen clearly in the following video taken on West Searsville Rd. on 4 May 2000 by Bruce Cornet and Barbara Hartwell.

Video of Manta Ray sending down paired searchlinghts as it flew over Bruce Cornet and Barbara Hartwell on 4 May 2000.

Later that same evening of 24 October 1994 several of us drove to Rowe Lane at South Searsville Rd. where I had captured a UAP flying over local farm fields in 1992. Back on 10 July 1992 I parked my truck on the shoulder of South Searsville Rd. just East of Rowe Lane (station), and set up my camera and tripod. It wasn't too long before I spotted a pair of aircraft lights approaching me from the North, but it was much too low in elevation unless it was headed for Orange County Municipal Airport several miles behind me, where small private airplanes land and take off. I began a long time exposure.

When I went to take my next time exposure, the camera would not advance. It was out of film. I immediately rolled back the film into its canister and popped the back of the camera. I took the film out and ran to my truck, wondering if I could get a new roll threaded in time before what I thought was an airplane flew over me. I grabbed any roll of film. It was a roll of color film. I ran back to my camera and threaded it into the sprocket and closed the back lid of the camera, completely focused on what I was doing. I looked up, but the lights were not over me. The aircraft had stopped in mid-air and waited for me to change the film! I was shocked! It was not an airplane. As soon as I looked up, the UAP began moving again, and flew directly over me, turning to the Southeast over me. The color film caught all of its colored lights. What I saw above me was a huge diamond-shaped object, which slowly flew away to the East. The lights were not symmetrically positioned as on a bilaterally-symmetrical fixed-wing aircraft. That is my first encounter with a flying object you will not find parked on any airport tarmac built by humans.

Back to 24 October 1994: At about 10:00 pm we witnessed another craft light up in a farm field to the East, and lift off in a curved flight path over us as it turned North away from us at a high rate of speed