Train Passengers Saw a Triangular Craft Leap Into the Sky

A train left Baku for Tbilisi. Two hours and 40 minutes later, one passenger called to his friends to look outside. Beside the tracks, at an airfield, stood a large triangular craft with three lights.

The craft rose, spun several times, then climbed rapidly at a steep angle. A spotlight followed it. Then a crew member lowered the curtains on the orders of a Soviet security officer who had boarded the train. What did the passengers see, and why couldn’t they keep watching?

Three Lights on the Ground

The incident took place on October 4, 1955. One passenger entered his friend’s compartment and said he had seen a flying saucer. His friend and the other person in the compartment nearly laughed, until the passenger pointed outside the window again. All three saw the same thing.

Between the train and the Caspian Sea was an airfield. A spotlight illuminated a craft that appeared to be about the size of a fighter jet. It was triangular, with a light at each of its three corners.

It Spun and Climbed

According to the passenger’s account, the craft rose from the ground and spun rapidly between three and seven times. Then it climbed at an angle of about 45 degrees. The spotlight tracked it as it rose to a great height.

The passenger said this was the craft’s second takeoff in a short time. He emphasized that it did not take off like a conventional aircraft but shot straight up. As the three men continued watching, a crew member came to the window and lowered the curtains.

The Order to Close the Curtains

The passenger tried to protest, but the crew member gestured for him not to press the matter. He pointed toward the rear of the train and explained that a Soviet security officer who had boarded at the train’s departure station had ordered the curtains closed. Once they were shut, the passengers could no longer see the craft.

What Remains Unknown

The story appeared in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency report written in November 1955 and based on the account of an American tourist. The report was marked as unverified information; it offered no explanation for what the passengers had seen and did not confirm that the account had been corroborated.